Railway Labor Executives' Ass'n v. Boston & Maine Corp.
Railway Labor Executives' Ass'n v. Boston & Maine Corp.
Opinion of the Court
MEMORANDUM OF DECISION AND ORDER ON PLAINTIFF’S MOTION FOR AN ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE
This motion represents one more attempt by the Plaintiff unions to hold the Maine Central both to its obligations under the Railway Labor Act (RLA) and to its preexisting collective bargaining agreements in light of orders by the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) approving Boston and Maine’s lease of certain portions of track and exempting the leases from regulation under 49 U.S.C. § 10505. In related motions in another case (Railway Labor Executives’ Association v. Guilford Transportation Industries, 667 F.Supp. 29 (D.Me. 1987), Plaintiff sought injunctive relief against the ICC-approved leases,
The instant motion seeks an order directing Maine Central Railroad, David Fink, and the Springfield Terminal Company to show cause why they should not be held in
As noted above, the Court found in 667 F.Supp. 29 that it was “without jurisdiction to consider claims ordinarily cognizable by this Court under the RLA where the alleged claims arise directly out of a lease transaction granted a statutory exemption by the ICC under the controlling statute.” Railway Labor Executives’ Association v. Guilford Transportation Industries, at 35. The motion to show cause brought here is not precisely described as a suit brought under the RLA. Effectively, it is the same thing, however, for, as examination of the previous injunction demonstrates, that order was designed to compel Defendants to live up to their obligations under the RLA. In the context of operational changes made in furtherance of ICC-approved lease transactions, the Order is, like the RLA, a legal obstacle that might impede the transaction. See Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, 788 F.2d at 800. Thus, although this Court clearly has the jurisdiction to enforce its order in a contempt proceeding, to do so would be contradictory to the broader teaching of Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers v. Boston and Maine Corporation and to this Court’s own ruling in 667 F.Supp. 29. The RLA questions at issue here have been or will be addressed by the ICC. 667 F.Supp. 29.
Accordingly, this Court will decline to exercise its jurisdiction to hear the instant motion and the motion is hereby DISMISSED.
So ORDERED.
. "Plaintiff alleges that the present pattern of intracorporate leases is just yet another step in Defendants’ ‘systematic and deliberate plan to effect without bargaining the changes in rules and working conditions’ which Defendants have heretofore failed to accomplish within the statutory requirements of the Railway Labor Act." Railway Labor Executives’ Association v. Guilford Transportation Industries, at 30 (quoting the Complaint).
Reference
- Full Case Name
- RAILWAY LABOR EXECUTIVES' ASSOCIATION v. BOSTON AND MAINE CORPORATION, Delaware & Hudson Railway Company, Maine Central Railroad, and Portland Terminal Company
- Status
- Published