It is extremely difficult to achieve success in a DFR suit alleging that negotiations between labor and the company were conducted unfairly. Good luck with that.

Typically, DFR suits involve individual union members who were discriminated against by the union for some reason or another (personal animosity, gender, race, etc) in a grievance, SBOA, or disciplinary action of some sort.

In a 1991 suit between ALPA and a group of striking Continental pilots, the US Supreme Court established a DFR standard in the context of negotiations: "a union’s actions are arbitrary only if, in light of the factual and legal landscape at the time of the union’s actions, the union’s behavior is so far outside the ‘wide range of reasonableness’ . . . as to be irrational.”

The Court also held that “any substantive examination of a union’s performance . . . must be highly deferential, recognizing the wide latitude that negotiators need for the effective performance of their bargaining responsibilities.”

Finally, we're nowhere near an impasse. For an impasse to be declared, the NMB has to be called in, mediation has to be conducted, and the mediator must determine that negotiations are at an impasse. At a minimum, it is at least a 2 to 3 year process from the time mediation begins until an impasse is declared by the mediator. There is no hard and fast time set for mediation by the RLA, but the courts have established a standard that the time spent in mediation is based on the average time spent in mediation for the industry. Look around at other airline labor groups and how long they have spent in mediation. Note: mediation does not include time spent in negotiations prior to mediation.