American went to federal court seeking an injunction, and on Feb. 10, U.S. district judge Joe Kendall issued an order for the pilots to return to work. The union's leadership complied with the judge's order, calling on their members to return to work. At the same time, since the sickout was never an officially authorized action, they pointed out that they could not be held responsible for the actions of individual union members. Judge Kendall's injunction had the effect of leading to an actual increase in sickouts, as union members defied the court order. This included 12 of APA's 18 Executive Board members.
Further hearings are to be held to determine precise damages.
The judge's language in his contempt ruling is highly instructive as an indication of the supposed role of judges in the capitalist court system as upholders of impartial justice. The contempt ruling and accompanying threat of stripping the union of its assets finally had the effect of halting, and then reversing, the momentum of the sickout, as pilots began returning to work, though there was apparently a division within the pilot ranks over whether to stay out or not. By Feb. 16, American had more or less returned to its normal schedule, though pilots were still working to rule and refusing voluntary overtime, forcing continuing cancellations of some flights. The American pilots' action takes place in a context of increasing confrontation between workers and bosses in the airline industry. At Trans World Airlines, ground workers staged a systemwide walkout on May 1 last year, and flight attendants engaged in a sickout over the Christmas weekend.