SkyWest slapped over unions

St. George-based SkyWest Inc., the largest independent U.S. commuter airline by market value, was barred by a federal judge from interfering with union-organizing activities by a pilots' group.

The SkyWest Pilots ALPA Organizing Committee, an association of pilots seeking Air Line Pilots Association representation for collective bargaining purposes, won a temporary restraining order Tuesday blocking the airline from preventing its members from posting and handing out literature and wearing ALPA insignia on pins while on or off duty.

The order by U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer in San Francisco also requires SkyWest to give the group access to the same communication channels used by an airline-financed pilots association. The order was requested in a lawsuit filed Tuesday by the organizing committee, which claims SkyWest violated the Railway Labor Act allowing railway and airline workers to form unions.

SkyWest must "cease and desist from interfering in any way with plaintiffs, their members and their supporters' communications with fellow SkyWest pilots regarding ALPA and the ALPA organizing campaign," Breyer wrote in the order. A hearing on whether the order should become permanent was scheduled for Wednesday.

The pilots' group said in its suit that SkyWest this month prohibited pilots from wearing ALPA insignia, removed ALPA literature from bulletin boards and pilots' mailboxes, and prevented the group from communicating with pilots through company e-mail.

SkyWest spokeswoman Marissa Snow didn't immediately return a message left after business hours Tuesday.

SkyWest flies under contract for carriers including UAL Corp.'s United Airlines and Delta Air Lines Inc. The airline is the primary United Express carrier along the West Coast of the U.S. and has 114 daily scheduled departures from San Francisco International Airport.