Kaplan Kirsch’s broad and detailed knowledge of airports and mass transit systems is complimented by our experience in labor and employment matters in those contexts. Having that breadth of practical experience in this rarefied world of employment and labor matters, coupled with the broad substantive knowledge of the applicable regulations, enables us to provide an unparalleled level of support to airports and transit systems struggling with sticky labor and employment matters.
Airports
Working at an airport is unlike working elsewhere. There are federally-based rules and regulations governing many areas, including safety and security and airfield vehicular movement and safety management systems, to name just a few. Airport sponsors’ grant obligations further subject them to federal scrutiny. When employee issues arise that are specific to the airport environment, our team’s familiarity with the legal minefield of the airport environment enables us to provide valuable, insightful and practical advice. We assist airports in employee-based matters ranging from how to address employee performance issues related to on-airfield incidents, to partnering with local employment counsel to defend airports in federal employment cases (in both federal courts and agencies).
Airports are also distinctly situated in that labor organizations (private and public sector) and related stakeholders have an interest in employee welfare matters. Whether it is union organizing activity, informational picketing, or attempts to alter the means and methods by which unions may gain status as an authorized bargaining representative, our labor law experience allows us to guide airports through the challenge.
In recent years, several labor/employment issues have become of particular interest to airports and the municipalities in which the airport operates, including “labor harmony” or “labor peace” agreements and prevailing/living wage legislation. We counsel airports in these areas and successfully negotiate a multitude of solutions to the complex issues facing airports.
Rail and Transit Systems
The historical importance of the rail industry over the last century has resulted in a system of laws and protective arrangements for the benefit of rail employees to ensure uniform treatment of employees across the country and provide incentives for employees to continue working without interruption to address economic disputes. The “employee protective arrangements” that grew up in the railroad industry became part of the landscape of the transit industry along with the inclusion of Section 13(c) in the Urban Mass Transportation Act of 1965, now the Federal Transit Act. Our experience in serving both the freight and passenger sides of the industry allows us to offer clients a full range of services to address issues under the Railway Labor Act, the Railroad Retirement Act and the labor protective arrangements imposed under the Section 13(c) and the statutory and regulatory requirements of the Surface Transportation Board (STB).
We enable transit-industry clients to navigate the often unfamiliar world of rail labor arrangements and the laws that govern them when the agencies enter negotiations with rail carriers for acquisition of corridors. With these acquisitions comes the requirement of interacting with the rail industry unions and the laws that govern their relationships with the rail carriers. At the same time, addressing the protections available under Section 13(c) and the protective arrangements included in collective bargaining agreements or mandated by the STB to employees who are currently working on the lines or in facilities to be acquired, requires careful attention to the structure of the transaction and to the acquiring agency’s rights or obligations as the new owner or operator.
Our lawyers are deeply qualified to guide clients through the multifaceted challenges of these acquisitions and avoid the many potential pitfalls. We advise clients on how to structure their transactions to address these requirements, including Section 13(c) or Railroad Retirement obligations, without incurring costs and hiring mandates that are not required by applicable laws.