Delta Appeals Ruling on Pilots

A T L A N T A, Dec. 13, 2000 -- Delta Air Lines is taking its case about pilots to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

The airline appealed Tuesday a federal judge’s refusal to force pilots to work overtime.

The nation’s third-largest airline says Judge Willis Hunt Junior misinterpreted the Railway Labor Act. That act prohibits so-called “self-help” and other job actions by airline and railroad employees.

Delta has been involved in contract negotiations with its pilots for more than a year. It requested an emergency injunction forcing the pilots to resume the extra shifts, which account for about 5 percent of Delta flights.

The airline said that by not picking up overtime flights, the pilots are engaged in an illegal job action that resulted in the cancellation or delays of hundreds of flights.

Hunt ruled Monday that Delta had not provided enough evidence to prove that the Air Line Pilots Association had coordinated a campaign against overtime.