United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit United States Court of Appeals ____________ Fifth Circuit

FILED No. 23-11065 October 28, 2024 ____________ Lyle W. Cayce Clerk Southwest Airlines Pilots Association,

Plaintiff—Appellant,

versus Southwest Airlines Company,

Defendant—Appellee. ______________________________

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas USDC No. 3:21-CV-2608 ______________________________ Before Elrod, Chief Judge, Wiener and Wilson, Circuit Judges. Jennifer Walker Elrod, Chief Judge: A union representing the pilots of Southwest Airlines Company sued the airline, alleging that it violated the Railway Labor Act (“RLA”) by intimidating and disciplining pilots who affiliated with the union. The district court concluded that the parties’ dispute was subject to arbitration under the RLA and that no exception applied that would vest the court with jurisdiction. Accordingly, it dismissed the union’s complaint. Because we conclude that the union sufficiently pleaded the anti-union animus exception, we REVERSE and REMAND. Case: 23-11065 Document: 63-1 Page: 2 Date Filed: 10/28/2024

No. 23-11065

I Southwest Airlines Pilots Association (the “Union”) is a union representing the more than 9,000 pilots employed by Southwest Airlines Company. The Union contends that Southwest has a long history of “thwart[ing]” the Union’s ability to represent an elite corps of pilots known as “check pilots” and “standards check pilots.”1 Check pilots are a special category of pilots who work closely with the management of Southwest and who are responsible for the training and evaluation of other pilots. Check pilots must have the “appropriate knowledge, training, experience, and demonstrated ability to evaluate and certify the knowledge and skills of other Pilots.” Under the parties’ collective bargaining agreement, Southwest selects certain pilots to perform check-pilot duties in addition to their normal duties as pilots. Because of these additional duties, check pilots are paid more than other pilots. Out of the more than 9,000 Southwest pilots, only around 300 are selected to become check pilots. Around 30 check pilots are selected to be “standards check pilots,” who are responsible for the training and evaluation of check pilots. Although check pilots are unique in many respects, the parties’ collective bargaining agreement guarantees that check pilots enjoy the full suite of Union protections offered to other Southwest pilots. The Union’s complaint contains many allegations of Southwest’s isolation of check pilots. For example, the Union alleges that “[f]or decades”

_____________________ 1 The Federal Aviation Administration has adopted the term “check pilot” as a gender-neutral term to replace “check airman.” The parties use the terms interchangeably. We use the term “check pilot” unless citing a document in the record that uses the now-replaced phrase, “check airman.” Further, as in the Union’s complaint, any reference to “check pilots” in this opinion includes both check pilots and standards check pilots.

2 Case: 23-11065 Document: 63-1