Pilots Union Sues NetJets

A union lawsuit filed this week against NetJets Inc. alleges the private charter company illegally accessed a pilots union message board and created an imposter Twitter account in efforts to undermine the NetJets Association of Shared Aircraft Pilots, which represents about 2,700 pilots who fly for the company. The action is the latest in heated labor negotiations that have been ongoing since mid-2013, and also involve non-pilot employees represented by the Teamsters.

The pilot union's lawsuitalleges Columbus, Ohio-based NetJets violated two federal laws, the Stored Communications Act, which addresses electronic communications, and the Railway Labor Act, which governs labor relations in the airline and rail industries. Specifically, the lawsuit claims that NetJets created a Twitter account, titled"TwinkieTheKid," to undermine union efforts.A Bloomberg report said the complaint filed in federal court alleges thatin a September meeting, a company lawyer revealed she had "multiple pages of confidential communications."NetJets declined comment on the report.Karl Kronenberger, a lawyer for the pilots association, said "union members have the legal right to communicate with each other privately within their own Internet message boards, and, unfortunately, NetJets' actions, as detailed in the complaint, are inconsistent with their obligations under federal labor law."