Originally Posted by
SWAcapt
Carl are you sue about this? It is my understanding that RLA contracts never expire but are amendable. I found this on a google search:
When do collective bargaining agreements expire under the RLA?
Under the RLA, agreements do not have expiration dates; instead they have amendable dates which are indicated within the agreement. Until a mutually negotiated change is accepted by both parties to the agreement, the provisions of the original agreement remain in full force. This is commonly referred to as "status quo." Both the union and the company have a legal obligation to maintain the status quo until the process of the RLA has been fully exhausted.
The salient point in what you've posted from the RLA is the following:
Both the union and the company have a legal obligation to maintain the status quo until the process of the RLA has been fully exhausted.
Once a legal strike begins, that represents the end of the RLA process and as such it is deemed to have been fully exhausted. At that point, neither side has an obligation to maintain status quo.
Carl