Federal Aviation Administration v. Montana State Department of Labor & Industry

This case comes on appeal from an order of the District Court of the First Judicial District, Lewis and Clark County, reversing a decision of the Board of Labor Appeals which had granted twenty-four members of the Professional Air Traffic Controllers’ Organization (PATCO) unemployment benefits. We affirm.

The terms of the PATCO members’ employment were governed by a nation-wide collective bargaining agreement between PATCO and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). After the collective bargaining agreement expired in March, 1981, negotiations concerning a new contract ensued between PATCO…