Independent Union of Flight Attendants v. United States Department of Transportation

Petitioner Independent Union of Flight Attendants (IUFA) and four labor organizations, as intervenors, seek review of the Department of Transportation’s decision not to impose labor protective provisions on Pan American Airways’ sale of its Pacific Basin route authorities and assets to United Airlines. The department concluded that labor protective provisions were unnecessary.

Petitioners argue that the decision was erroneously grounded upon an assumption that a strike triggered by tbe merger would not disrupt the national air transportation system. They say the standard was wrong and they also challenge the department’s statement that it considered employee welfare and other relevant factors in its decision.

We need not reach the question whether the agency expressed an incorrect standard in reviewing the proposed merger if the record shows that by any choice of language expressing its rationale, the agency did consider employee welfare, along with other factors in determining whether the proposed merger was in the public interest. The more troubling question is whether an obvious change in Executive branch policy *1031 from that of previous administrations is “arbitrary and…