Republ

i
cofthePhi
l
ippi
nes
SUPREMECOURT
Manil
a

ENBANC

G.
R.No.L-
33705Apr
il15,
1977

AIRLI
NEPILOTSASSOCIATI
ONOFTHEPHI LI
PPINES(
GASTONGROUP)
, 
peti
ti
oner
,
vs.
THECOURTOFI NDUSTRI
ALRELATIONSandAI RLI
NESPI
LOTSASSOCI
ATIONOFTHE
PHILI
PPI
NES(GOMEZGROUP) ,
 
respondent
s.

G.
R.No.L-
35206Apr
il15,
1977

CESARCHAVEZ, JURFRANCI SCOACHONDOA, SERAFI NADVI NCULA, MAXI MOR.AFABLE,

ALFREDOAGBULOS, SOLOMONA.HERRERA, NEMESI OALMARI O, JULIUSAQUI NO, RENE
ARELLANO, CARLI TOARRI BEFERNANDOAYUBOGENEROSOBALTAZAR, EDDI EBATONG
MALAQUE, URSOD.BELLO, TOMASBERNALESRUDOLFOBI DESAUGUSTOBLANCO, HORACI O
BOBISROMEOB.BONTUYANANTONI NOE.BUENAVENTURA, PEDROBUNII SABELO
BUSTAMANTE, JOSEBUSTAMANTE, RICARDOBUSTAMANTE, ERNESTOD.BUZONTRANQUI LINO
CABEI SIDOROCALLEJA, CESARCARETAFERNANDOCARAG, ROGELI OCASI NO, JOSECASTI LLO,
NICANORCASTI LLO, RAFAELCASTRO, JOSEDELACONCEPCI ON, CARLOSCRUZ, WILFREDO
CRUZ, MAGI NOOCUSTODI O, TOMASDELAJOSEDELEON, BENJAMI NDELFI N, GREGORI O
DELGADO, IRINEODEROTASDUMAGUI NBENEDI CTOFELI CIANO, RODRI GOFRI ASJOSEGI L,
ANTONI OGOMEZ, ROBERTOGONZALEZ, BIENVENI DOGOROSPE, AMADOR.GULOYJOSE
GUTIERREZ, ANTONI OIBARRETAMUSSOLI NII GNACI O,ROBERTOI NIGOMATI ASJABI ER
ROGELI OJARAMI LLOHARRYJI SON,ALBERTOJOCSON, VALENTI NLABATAJAI MELACSON,
JORGELACSON, FRANCI SCOLANSANGMENANDROLAUREANO, JESUSLAQUI NDANUM
LEONARDOLONTOC, RAULLOPEZ, RENELORENZO, OSBORNELUCERO, ARI STONLUI STRO
MANUELLUKBAN, VIRGI LIOMABABA, MARI ANOMAGTI BAY, EDGARDOMAJARAI SEMI LIO
MALLARELEONCI OMANARANG, ALFREDOMARBELLA, ALFREDOMARTI NEZ, EDI LBERTO
MEDI NA,CLEMENTEMI JARES, EDMUNDOMI SA, CONRADOMONTALBAN, FERNANDO
NAVARRETE, EUGENI ONAVEAERNESTOTOMAS, NI ERRASPATROCI NIOOBRA, VI CTORI NO
ORGULLOCLEMENTEPACI S, CESARPADI LLA, ROMEOPAJARI LLORI CARDOPANGI LINAN, CIRI
LO
PAREDES, AMANDOPARI SALBERTOPAYUMO, PEDROPENERAFRANCI SCOPEPI TO, ADOLFO
PEREZ, DOMI NGOPOLOTANEDUARDORAFAEL, SANTOSRAGAZATEODORORAMI REZ, RAFAEL
RAVENAANTONI OREYES, GREGORI ORODRI GUEZ, LEONARDOSALCEDO, HENRYSAMONTE,
PAQUI TOSAMSON, ARTHURB.SANTOS, ARTUROT.SANTOSANGELESSARTE, VALERI ANO
SEGURA, RUBENSERRANO, LINOSEVERI NO, ANGELSEVI LLA, BENJAMI NSOLI S,PATROCI NIO
TAN, RAFAELTRI ASEDGARDOVELASCO, LORETOVERGEI RERUBENVI CTORI NO, ALEXANDER
VILLACAMPA, CAMI LOVI LLAGONZALOBAYANIVI LLANUEVA, RI ZALVI LLANUEVA, ROMULO
VILLANUEVA, ROLANDOVI LLANUEVA, CARLOSVI LLAREAL, andALFONSOSAPI RAI NAND
OTHERSandAI RLI NEPI LOTSASSOCI ATION.OFTHEPHI LIPPI NES( GASTON) ,
 pet it
ioners,
vs.
THEHONORABLEJUDGESARSENI OI.MARTI NEZ, AMANDOC.BUGAYONGandJOAQUI NM.
SALVADORoft heCOURTOFI NDUSTRI ALRELATI ONS, BENHURGOMEZ, claimi ngt or epresent
AIRLINEPI LOTSASSOCI ATI ONOFTHEPHI LIPPINES, CARLOSORTI ZANDOTHERS, and
PHILIPPINEAI RLI NESI NC. , respondents.
J.C.Espi
nas&Associ
atesf
orpet
it
ioner(
Gast
onGr
oup)

JoseK.Mangui
atJr
.forr
espondentCour
t,etal
.

E.Mor
abe&Associ
atef
orr
espondent(
GomezGr
oup)
.

C.
CASTRO,
  J.
:

Thesearetwopeti
ti
onsf
orcer
ti
orari
(L-
33705andL-35206),
consoli
datedforpur
posesofdeci
si
on
becausetheyi
nvol
vemoreorl
essthesamepart
iesandinter
locki
ngissues.

I L-
n  33705 thepeti
ti
onerAi rLinePilot
sAssoci ati
onoft hePhi li
ppines(Gastongroup)maintainsthat
theCour tofIndust
ri
al Relati
onsactedwi t
houtj uri
sdict
ioni npassingupon( 1)thequesti
onofwhi ch,
i
nacer t
ifi
cati
onproceedi ng,bet
weent hesetofof ficer
sel ectedbyt hegroupofPhili
ppineAirLines
pil
otsheadedbyCapt ainFelixGaston,ontheonehand, andthesetofof ficer
select
edbyt hegr oup
headedbyCapt ai
nBenHurGomez, ontheother ,
isthedul yelectedsetofof f
icer
softheAirLi ne
Pil
otsAssoci ati
onofthePhi li
ppines,and(2)thequest i
onofwhi ch,betweent hetwogroups,is
enti
tledtothename, of f
iceandf undsofthesai dAssoci ati
on.

I
n L-35206 theindivi
dualpetit
ioners(numbering127)andt heAirLi
nePi lotsAssoci ationofthe
Phil
ippi
nes( hereinaf
terr
eferredt oasALPAP)( Gastonmai ntai
nthatthei ndust r
ialCourtacted
wit
houtjurisdicti
onandwi thgr aveabuseofdescr eti
oninpr omulgati
ngi tsresol uti
ondat edJune19,
1972whi chsuspendedt hehear i
ngofthesaidpet it
ioners'
pleabelowf orr ei
nst atementand/ or
ret
urntowor kinthePhil
ippineAi rLi
nes(hereinaft
erreferr
edt oasPAL)or ,alternati
vely,t
he
paymentoft hei
rreti
rementand/ orseparat
ionpay ,asthecasemaybe, unt i
lthisCour t,
shallhave
deci
dedL- 33705.

L-
33705

OnJanuar y2, 1971,theAi rLinePi l

otsAssociationoft hePhi lippi
nes, r
epresentedbyBenHurGomez
whocl aimedt obei tsPr esident ,
fil
edapet i
ti
onwi tht heCour tofIndustri
alRelati
onspray i
ngfor
certi
fi
cat i
onast hesoleandexcl usivecoll
ectiv
ebar gai
ningr epresentativ
eof" al
lthepil
ot snow
underempl oy mentbyt hePhi l
ippineAirLines,Inc,andar eonact i
v efli
ghtand/oroperational
assignment s."Thepet iti
onwhi chwasdocket edi nthesal aofJudgeJoaqui nM.Sal v
adorasCase
2939-MCwasopposedi nt henameoft hesameassoci ationbyFel ixC.Gaston( whoalsocl ai
medto
bei t
sPr esident )ont hegroundt hattheindustri
alcour thasnoj uri
sdicti
onov erthesubject-
mat t
ero"
thepet i
ti
on" becauseacer tif
icationproceedingint heCour tofIndustri
alRelati
onsisnott heproper
forum fortheadj udicati
onoft hequest i
onast owhoi st helawf ulpresi
dentofal egi
timat el
abor
organizati
on. "

OnMay29,
1971,
aft
erhear
ingt
hepet
it
ion,
JudgeSal
vadorr
ender
edadeci
si
oncer
ti
fyi
ngt
he—

..
.ALPAPcomposedonl yofpi
lot
sempl oyedbyPALwi t
hCapt .BenHurGomezasi ts
presi
dent
,asthesol
eandexclusiv
eBar gaini
ngrepresentati
veofal lt
hepil
ots
employedbyPALandar eonacti
vefli
ghtsand/oroperationalassignments,andas
suchisent
it
ledtoal
ltheri
ghtsandprivi
legesofalegiti
mat elabororgani
zation,
i
ncludi
ngtheri
ghttoi
tsoffi
ceanditsunionfunds.
Thefol
l
owingcircumst
anceswer
eci
tedbyJudgeSal
vadort
ojust
if
ytheconcl
usi
onsr
eachedbyhi
m
i
nhisdeci
sion,
namely:

(a)t
hatt
her
ehasbeennocer
ti
fi
cat
ionel
ect
ionwi
thi
nthePer
iodof12mont
hspr
iort
othedat
ethe
peti
ti
onf
orcer
ti
fi
cat
ionwasf
il
ed;

(b)thatt
hePALenteredintoacol
lecti
vebar
gai
ningagr
eementwithALPAPfor"
pil
otsi
ntheemploy
oftheCompany"onlyforthedur
ationoft
heper
iodfrom Febr
uar
y1,1969t
oJanuary31,1972:

(c)t
hatPALpilot
sbelongingtotheGast on,group,i
ndefianceofcour
tor
dersissuedinCase101-
I
PA( B)(
seeL- i
35206,
 nfr
a) r
eti
red/r
esigned enmasse  f
rom thePALandret
ir
ed/resi
gned
accompaniedthi
swithactualactsofnotr eport
ingforwork;

(d)t
hatt
hepi
lotsaff
il
iat
edwit
htheGastongrouptri
edtothendeposit
sandotherfundsfr
om the
ALPAPCooperat
iveCredi
tuni
ononthegroundthattheyhaveal
readyret
ir
ed/
resi
gnedfrom PAL;

(
e)thatsomeofthemember
soft
heGast
onGr
oupj
oinedanot
herai
rl
ineaf
tert
hei
r
r
eti
rement/r
esi
gnat
ion;

(f)t
hattheGastongroupcl
aimedbef
oretheindust
rial
courtt
hattheor
derenjoi
ningthem f
rom
reti
ri
ngorresi
gningconst
it
utedavi
olat
ionoftheprohi
bit
ionagai
nsti
nvol
untaryserv
itude(
seeL-
35206,i
nf
  ra)
;

(g)thatt
hecontent
iont hatt
hemessreti
rementorresi
gnati
onwasmer elyaninvolunt
arypr
otestby
thoseaff
il
iat
edwitht heGastongr
oupisnotborneoutbytheevidenceas, asi
detheir
aforementi
onedacts, t
hesai
dgroupofpil
otsevenfi
ledacivi
lcomplaintagainstthePALinwhich
thecessati
onoftheiremploymentwi
thPALwasst rongl
yexpressedbyt hem.

I
tappearsthatpr
iort
othefil
i
ngofthecert
if
icat
ionpeti
ti
onbelow,
ageneralALPAPmember shi
p
meeti
ngwashel donOctober30,
1970,atwhich221outof270member sadoptedaresol
uti
on
amendingALPAP'sconst
it
uti
onandby-l
awsbypr ovi
dinginanewsect
ionthereoft
hat—

Anyact i
vememberwhoshal lbef
orcedt oret
ireorfor
cedtoresi
gnorotherwise
ter
mi nat
edforunionacti
vi
ti
esassolelydeter
mi ne'
bytheAssoci
ati
onshallhav et
he
opti
ont oeit
herconti
nuetobeandremai nasanact i
vememberingoodst andingor
toresigninwri
ti
nghisacti
vemember shi
pwi t
ht heAssoci
ati
on..
..

Accordingt
oALPAP( Gaston),theforegoingamendmentwasadopt ed"Inanti
ci
pat i
onont hefact
thatt
heymaybef or
cedt oresignorr et
ir
ebecauseoft hei
r'uni
onacti
vit
ies.
'Att
hisperiodofti
me,
PALandALPAPwer el ockedin a 
labordisputecer
ti
fi
edbyt hePresi
denttotheIndustr
ial
courtand
docketedasCase101-IPA(B)(seeL-35206, i
nfr
a).

OnDecember12,
1970,
despi
teano-work-
stoppageor
deroftheindustr
ialcour
t,asubst
ant
ial
maj
ori
tyofALPAPmembersfi
ledl
ett
ersofreti
rement
/resi
gnat
ionfrom thePAL.

Thereaft
er,onDecember18-
22,1970,anelecti
onofALPAPof fi
cerswasheld.resul
ti
nginthe
el
ectionofFeli
xC.GastonasPresi
dentby180v otes.Upont heotherhand,
onDecember23, 1970,
about45pi l
otswhodidnott
enderthei
rret
irementorresignati
ont hePALgatheredatthehouseof
Att
y.Mor abeandelect
edBenHurGomezasALPAPPr esi
dent.
OnJune3,1971,ALPAP( Gast
on)fi
l
edanopposi
ti
oninCase101-I
PABtoanur
gentexpar
  te 
moti
on
oft
hePALt oenjointhemembersofALPAPf
rom r
eti
ri
ngorresi
gni enmasse 
ng  Itwascl
aimedby
ALPAP(Gaston)that—

1.Insofarasher ei
nopposi t
orsareconcer ned,theall
egati
onsofr espondentt hat
their'
resignati
ons' and'r
etir
ement s'aresham resignat
ionsandr etir
ement sandthat
'
Ther eisnohonestorgenui nedesi retoterminatetheempl oyeer elati
onshipwith
PALar ecompl etel
yf al
se.Theirbonaf i
deintentiontoter
mi natet heiremployer-
empl oyeer el
ationshipwithPALi sconclusivel
yshownbyt hefactt hattheyhav enot
soughtr einst
atementi norr e-
empl oymentbyPALandal sobyt hef actthattheyare
eit
herseeki ngempl oymentinanot herai
rli
necompany ;

2.Respondenti
neffectrecognizedsuchbonafideintent
ionoftheher
einopposi
tor
s
asshownbyt hefactthati
tacceptedsaidresi
gnationsandreti
rement
sanddidnot
i
nit
iat
eanycontemptpr oceedingsagainstt
hem; and

3.Theactionofhereinoppositorsinfi
li
ngtheirresi
gnat
ionsandr etir
ement swasa
l
egiti
mateexerciseoftheirl
egalandconst i
tuti
onalri
ghtsandthesame, theref
ore,
cannotbeconsideredasav alidgroundtodepr i
vethem ofbenefi
tswhi chtheyhad
al
readyearnedincludi
ng,amongot her
s,ret
irementbenefi
tstowhi chtheyar eenti
tl
ed
undertheprovi
sionsofanex isti
ngcontractbetweenpetit
ionerandr espondent.Such
depri
vati
onwoul dconsti
tuteimpairmentoft heobli
gati
onsofcont ract.

OnJune15,1971,thei
ndust
ri
alcourtenbanc, act
ingonamoti
onforreconsi
derat
ionf
il
edbyALPAP
(
Gaston)inCase2939-
MCagainstthedecisionofJudgeSal
vador
,deniedthesame.Thesai
dcour
t'
s
r
esol
utionwasthenappeal
edtothi
sCour t(L-33705).

L-
35206

OnOct ober3,1970,
thePresi
dentoft
hePhil
ippi
nescert
if
iedalabordi
sputebetweenmembersof
ALPAPandt hePALtotheCourtofI
ndust
ri
alRel
ati
ons.Thedisputewhi
chhadt odowit
hunion
economicdemandswasdocket edasCaseNo.101-I
PA(B)andwasassi gnedtoJudgeAnsber
toP.
Paredes.

OnOctober7,1970,
afterconf
erri
ngwit
hbot
hpart
iesf
ort
woday
s,JudgePar
edesi
ssuedar
etur
n-t
o
-
workorder,
thepert
inentport
ionsofwhi
chr
eadasfol
l
ows:

PALEAandALPAP, t
heirofficersandmember s,andi 11empl oyeeswhohav ej oi
ned
thepresentst r
ikewhichr esultedfrom thel
abordisput escert
ifi
edbyt hePresidentt
o
theCour t,orwhohav enotr eportedforworkasar esultofthestri
kes,arehereby
orderedfor t
hwithtocalloffthest ri
kesandli
ftthepi cketli
nes..
.andr etur
ntowor k
notlaterthanFr i
day,October9, 1970, andmanagementt oadmi tthem backtowor k
undert hesamet ermsandcondi t
ionsofempl oymentex ist
ingbeforethestri
kes,
i
ncludingwhathasbeenear liergrantedher
ein.

PALi sorder
ednottosuspend,
dismissorlay
-of
fanyemploy
eeasar esul
toft
hese
str
ikes.Readint
othi
sorderist
heprovisi
onofSect
ion19,
C.A.103,
asamended,for
theguidanceofthepar
ti
es,

xxxxxxxxx
 Fai
luretocompl ywithanyprovi
sionoft
hisOrdershal
lconsti
tut
econtemptofcourt,
andtheempl oyeefail
ingorr
efusingtoworkbyOctober9,1970,wi
thoutj
usti
fi
able
cause,shal
limmedi atel
yberepl
acedbyPAL, andmaynotber ei
nst
atedwithoutpri
or
Courtorderandonj usti
fi
abl
egrounds.

OnOctober10,1970,JudgeParedes,havi
ngbeeninfor
medthatthestri
keshadnotbeencall
edof f
,
i
ssuedanotherorderdi
recti
ngthestr
iker
stoli
ftt
heirpi
cket
sandr et
urntoworkandexplai
ningthat
hi
sorderofOctober7,1970partookofthenat
ureofamandatoryinj
uncti
onundert
hedoctri
nelaid
downi Phi
n  l
ippi
neAssoci at
ionofFr
eeLaborUnion(PAFLU)vs.Hon,Joaqui
nM.Salvador,
etal.
, 
(L-
29471andL-29487,September28,1968).

Thest
ri
ke,
howev
er,cont
inuedunti
lthei
ndust
ri
alcourt
 enbanc 
deni
ed,
onOct
ober19,
1970,
ALPAP'
smoti
onforr
econsider
ati
onofthesai
dorders.

OnOct ober22,1970,thestrikersreturnedt owor k,

except( accor
dingt ot hePAL)twopilots,oneof
them beingFeli
xC.Gast onwhoal l
egedl yrefusedtot akethefli
ghtsassi gnedtohim.Duet ohi s
refusal
,amongot herreasons, PALtermi natedGast on'sservi
cesonOct ober27,1970.Hisdismi ssal
wasr eport
edtot hei
ndust r
ialcourtonOct ober29,1970.Ther eaft
er,thecour t
 aquo 
sett hev al
idi
ty
ofGast on'
sdimissalforhearing,but,onsev eraloccassions,herefusedt osubmithissidebef orethe
hearingexaminer,cl
aimingthathi scasewoul dbepr osecutedthrought heproperfor
um att he
propertime.

OnNovember24,1970,thePALf il
edanurgentexpartemoti
onwit
ht heindust
ri
alcour
ttoenj
oint
he
membersofALPAPf rom proceedi
ngwit
ht hei
rint
enti
ontoret
ir
eorresi enmasse.OnNovember
gn 
26,
1970,JudgeParedesissuedanordercommandi ngALAPAPmember s—

.
..nottostrikeorinanywaycauseanyst oppageintheoper ati
onandservi
ceofPAL,
underpainofdi smisalandforfei
tureofri
ghts,andpri
vil
iegesaccr
uingtothei
r
respect
iveempl oyment sshouldtheydisr
egardthisOrder;andPALisal
soor der
ed
nottolockoutanyofsuchmember sandof f
icersofALPAPunderpai nofcontempt
andcancellati
onofi t
sf r
anchise.

ALPAPfil
edamotionforthereconsider
ati
onoft
hef
oregoi
ngor
dercl
aimi
ng,
amongot
her
,thati
t
subj
ect
edthem t
oinvolunt
aryservi
tude:

Iti
scry st
al-
cleart
hatthedi sputedOr derineff
ectcompel sthemember sof
peti
iti
onertowor kagainsttheirwill
.Stateddiff
erentl
y,t
hemember sofpeti
ti
oner
associati
onar ebi
engper cedorf orcedbyt heTrialCourttobeinastateofslav
ery
forthebeneiftofrespondentcor porati
on.Inthi
sr egar
d, t
heref
ore,
theTrial
Court
grosslyvi
olatedaConst i
tutionalmandat ewhichst at
es:

Noinvolunt
aryserv
itudeinanyfor
m shall
existexceptasapunishmentf
orcri
me
whereofthepart
yshallhavebeendulyconvi
cted.(Art
icl
eII
I,
Secti
on1(13))
.

Theconsti
tuti
onalprov
isi
ondoesnotprovi
deanycondi
ti
onastothecauseor
causesoftheunwill
i
ngnesstowork.Suf
fi
ceitt
osaythatanempl
oyeeforwhatev
er
reasonofhisown.cannotbecompell
edandforcedt
oworkagai
nsthiswil
l.

Thecour
taquo 
  howev
er,
deni
edt
hef
oregoi
ngmot
ionf
orr
econsi
der
ati
ononDecember11,
1970.

Justt
hesame,
onDecember12,
1970,
asubst
ant
ial
maj
ori
tyoft
hemember
sofALPAPst
ageda
massr
esi
gnat
ionand/
orr
eti
rementf
rom PAL

Invigorousprotesttoyourpr
ovocat
iveharr
assment,unf ai
rlabort
actics,the
contempt uouslockoutofourco-
member sandyourviciousandv i
ndictiv
eat t
it
ude
towardslabormostexempl if
iedbyt
heill
egalter
minationoft heser
vicesofour
President,Capt
,Feli
xC.Gaston

Thement i
onedindivi
dualletter
sofr eti
rement/
resi
gnati
onwereacceptedbyPALonDecember14,
1970,wi
ththecav eatthatthepilotsconcer
nedwi l
lnotbeenti
tl
edtoanybenefitorpr
ivi
legetowhi
ch
theymayotherwisebeent i
tledbyr easonofthei
remploymentwiththePAL,asthepil
ots'act
s
const
it
utedRv i
olati
onoft heNov ember26,1970orderofthei
ndustri
alcour
t.

OnDecember28,1970,BenHurGomez, all
egingthathewasel ectedPresidentofALPAPbyi ts
memberswhodidnotjoint
hemassr esignati
onandr eti
rement,fi
l
edamot ioninCase101I PAby
pr
ayi
ngthathebeall
owedt orepresenttheALPAPwhi chwast heret
oforerepresentedbyCapt.Fel
i
x
Gast
onbecausethepil
otswhor eti
redorresignedfrom PALceasedt obeempl oyeesThereofandno
l
ongerhav
eanyinter
estinthesubject-
mat t
erofthesai dcase.Thiswasl aterconvert
edint
oa
moti
ontoint
erv
eneonFebr uary9,1971.

OnSept ember1, 1971,

Feli
xGastonfil
edamoti
onforCont emptagai
nstPALstati
ngthathis
dismissalfrom PALonOctober27,1970waswit
houtjustcauseandviol
ati
onoftheOr deroft
he
i
ndust r
ialcourtdat
edOctober7,1970aswel
lassect
ion19ofC. A.103.Heprayedthathebe
reinst
ated.

OnOct ober23, 1971,twenty-onepi l

otswhof i
l
edt hei
rret
ir
ement .f
rom PALf i
ledapetit
ioni
nthe
'
Industr
ialcourtprayi
ngal sot hattheybereadmitt
edt oPALor ,fail
ingso,thattheybeall
owedto
ret
ir
ewi ththebenef i
tsprovidedf orunderthePALRet i
rementPl anor ,i
ftheyarenotyeteibeto
undersaidPlan, t
hattheybegi venseparat
ionpay, I
nthei
rpetit
ionf orrei
nstatement,
saidPi
lot
s(who
werelaterjoi
nedbyot herpilot ssi
mi l
arl
ysit
uated)all
eged,
 i
nteral i
a —

1.Thatt heyar esomeoft heempl oyeesoft herespondentcompanyandmember sof

thepet i
tionerunionwhor esi enmasse 
gned  orr
etir
edenmassef r
om therespondent
afterhav ingbeenl edtobel i
eveingoodf ait
hbyCapt .FelixGastonwhowast henthe
uncont est edpresi
dentoft hepetit
ionerunionandt heircounselthatsuchamass
resignationormassr eti
rementwasav al
idexerciseoftheirri
ghttoprotestthe
dismissal ofCapt.Gastoninconnect i
onwi ththeCer t
ifi
eddisputethatwaspendi ng
beforet heCour t.

2.Thatlat
erontheycamet oknowt hatsuchamassr esi
gnat
ionorsur
pass
reti
rementwasenjoi
nedbyt hi
sHonor abl
eCourt'
underthepainof
'di
smissaland
forf
eit
ingofri
ght
sandpr i
vi
legesaccruingtot
heirr
especti
veemploymentift
hey
disr
egardedsuchorderofi
njunct
ion,

3.Thattheydidnotdel iberat
elydi sregardsuchi njuncti
onor derandiftheyfai
l
edt o
complywit hi
twit
hinar easonabl et i
me,itwasbecauset heyweremadet obel
ieve
andassuredbythei rl
eadert hatsuchr esignati
onorr etir
ementwasal awfulexer
cise
ofconcertedact
iont hatt hefullconsequencesofsuchactwasnotexpl ai
nedto
them bycounsel
: andi naddition,theywer etol
dt hatthosewhor et
urnedtothe
companywoul dbeex pelledfrom t heunion,andsuf ferthecor r
espondingpenalt
y.

xxxxxxxxx
ALPAP(Gomez)opposedt hef or
egoingpetit
ions.I
nthisconnection,ther
ecordsdi
sclosethaton
August20,1971,89ofthepilotswhor et
ir enmasse 
ed  from PALf i
l
edacompl ai
ntwiththeCourtof
Fi
rstI
nstanceofMani l
ainCase15084f ortherecover
yofr eti
rementbenefit
sduethem underthe
PALRetir
ementPl an.Thecompl aintwasdismissedbyt hetri
al,
cour tonPAL'
smotion.Therecords,
however,donotdiscl
osether easonforthesaiddismissal.

OnDecember23, 1971,JudgeParedesissuedanorderdeferri
ngactionont hemot i
ont
odismissthe
peti
ti
onsforrei
nstat
ementonthegr oundthatthematter
sallegedinthesai dpeti
ti
onswould
requi
redthesubmissi
onofproof.ALPAP( Gomez ,
)fi
l
edamot i
onforr econsider
ati
onofthi
sorder
butthesamewasdeni edbytheindustr
ialcour
tenbancf orbei pr
ng  o for
ma.

OnFebruar
y1,1972,
ALPAP(Gast
on)j
oinedandconsol
i
dat
edthement
ionedpet
it
ionsf
or
r
einst
atement
,ThesamewasopposedbybothPALandALPAP(Gomez),

OnMar ch24,1972,ALPAP( Gomez )f

iledamot i
ontosuspendtheproceedi
ngsinCase101-IPA(B)
unti
ltheprej
udici
alquest
ionofwhoshoul dprosecutethemaincase(Case101-
IPA)i
sresolved.On
Apri
l18,1972,JudgeParedesissuedanor derdef
erri
ngtheheari
ngofthemaincaseunti
lthisCourt
shal
lhavedecidedL-33705,butal
lowingothermatters,i
ncl
udi
ngtheconsol
idat
edpeti
ti
onf or
rei
nstat
ement,tobeheard.

On.May5, 1972, ALPAP( Gomez)fi

ledanothermot i
ont osuspendthehear i
ngonthement ioned
pet
it
ionforreinstatementonthegroundthatthi
sCour t'
sdecisioninL-33705shouldbeawai ted.
ALPAP(Gast on)opposedt hatmoti
onont hegroundt hatthematterhadal r
eadybeendeniedt wi
ce
andtheorderset t
ingthecaseforheari
ngwasmer el
y.OnMay15, 1972, JudgeParedesdeniedthe
sai
dmot i
ont osuspendt heheari
ngont hepetit
ionforreinst
atementunlessacount er
mandi ngOrder
i
sissuedbyahi gherCourt.
"

OnMay18, 1972,
ALPAP( Gomez )fi
l
edamot i
onforreconsider
ati
onofJudgeParedes'
order
,
al
legi
ngthatempl
oy eestatusofthosewhoresi
gnedorr eti
redenmassewasani ssuei
nment i
oned
Case2939-MCdecisiononwhi chissti
l
lpendi
ngconsiderati
onbefor
eCourti
nL-33705.

OnJune19, 1972,t
heindustr
ial
courtenbancpassedar esol
utionr eversi
ngJudgeParedes'order
onthegroundthatthequesti
onoftheempl oyeestatusofthepilotswhower eseekingreinst
atement
withPALhasalreadybeenrai
sedsquar elyi
nCase2939- MCandr esolvedbythesaidtri
bunalfound
thatt
hesaidpil
otshavealr
eadylosttheiremployeestat
usasaconsequenceoft hei
rresi
gnations
and/orr
eti
rementfrom PALwhichhadbeendul yaccept
edbyt hel att
er.

DISCUSSION

In'
Itsbriefbef or
et hi
sCour t,ALPAP( Gaston)statesthatitgoesnotquesti
ont herecogniti
on
extendedbyPALt oALPAP( Gomez)t hecoll
ectiv
ebar gaini
ngagentofallPALpi l
otsonact ivefl
ight
duty.Neitherdoesi tdisputetheassumpt ionbyALPAP( Gomez )oftheauthori
tytomanageand
admi ni
sterthecol l
ecti
v ebargaini
ngagr eementbet weenALPAPandPAL( whichatanyr atehad
expiredonJanuar y31, 1972)northerightofALPAP( Gomez)t onegoti
ateandconcl udeanyot her
coll
ectiv
ebar gai
ningagr eementwi t
hPAL.Whati tdisputes,however
,istheauthori
zationgivenby
theindustri
al courttoALPAP( Gomez ),i
nacer t
ifi
cationproceedi
ng,totakeoverthecor poratename,
offi
ceandf undsofALPAP.

ThisCourthasalwaysstr
essedthatacerti
fi
cationproceedingi
snotaliti
gati
on,inthesensein
whichthi
stermi sordi
nar
il
yunderst
ood,butani nvest
igati
onofanon-adversary,
factfi
nding
charact
erinwhichtheCourtofI
ndustr
ialRelat
ionsplaysthepartofadisi
nterest
edi nv
esti
gator
seekingmer el
yt oascertai
nthedesi resofempl oyeesast othemat t
erofthei rr epresentati
on
(National LaborUnionv s.GoSocandSons, 23SCRA436; BenguetConsolidat ed, I
nc.v s.Bobok
LumberJackAss' n.
,L-11029, May23, 1958; BulakenaRest aur
antandCater erv s.C.I.
R.,45SCRA95;
LVNPi ctures,I
nc.vs.Phili
ppineMusi ciansGui l
d( FFW)andC. I.
R.,
1SCRA132) .Suchbei ngthe
natureofacer ti
fi
cati
onpr oceeding,wef i
ndnocogentr easonthatshoul
dpr ev entt heindustri
al
court,i
nsuchapr oceeding,f
rom inqui r
ingintoandsat i
sfyingi
tsel
faboutmat terswhi chmaybe
rel
evantandcr ucial
.thoughseemi ngl ybeyondt hepur v
iewofsuchapr oceedi ng, t
ot hecompl ete
real
izationoft hewell-
knownpur posesofacer ti
ficat
ioncase.

Suchasi tuati
onmayar ise,asitdidinthecaseatbar ,whereagroupofpi l
otsofapart i
cularai
rl
ine,
all
egedlyant i
cipati
ont heirforcedretir
ementorr esi
gnati
ononaccountofst rai
nedr el
ationswiththe
air
li
near i
singf rom unfulfi
ll
edeconomi cdemands, deci
dedt oadoptanamendmentt otheir
organizat
ion'sconst it
utionandby -lawsi nordert
oenablethem tor etai
ntheirmember shipstanding
therei
nev enaf tert
het erminat i
onoft heiremploymentwiththeempl oyerconcerned.Thei ndust
r i
al
courtdefi
nitelyshoul dbeal lowedampl ediscr
eti
ontosecureadi sclosureofcir
cumst anceswhi ch
will
enablei tt
oactf ai
rlyinacer ti
fi
cationcase.

ThisCourtnonethel
essf i
nds,aft
eracloseanddispassi
onatest
udyoft hefactsonrecord,thatthe
i
ndustri
alcourt
'sconclusi
on, t
hatthementi
onedamendmentt otheALPAPconst i
tut
ionandby -
laws
i
sill
egal(a)becauseitwasnotadopt edinaccor
dancewi t
htheprocedureprescri
bedand( b)
becausememberofl aboror gani
zati
oncannotadoptanamendmentt ot hei
rfundamentalcharterso
astoincl
udenonempl oyees(ofPAL)asmember ,iserr
oneous.

Wehav emadeacar efulex aminati

onoftherecordsofL-
33705andwef i
ndtheadopti
onofthe
resol
uti
onintr
oduci
ngt hequest i
onedamendmentt obesubstancialcompli
ancewitht
heALPAP
consti
tut
ionandby-l
aw.I ndeed,therei
snorefutati
onoftheactthat221outofthe270member sof
ALPAPdi dcastt
heirvotesinfavorofthesai
damendmentonOct ober30,1970attheALPAPgener
al
member shi
pmeet i
ng.

Thei rCour tcannotl i

kewi sesubcr ibetot her estri
cti
v einterpretati
onmadebyt hecour tbel owoft he
term" laboror ganization,"whi chSect ion2( e)ofR. A.875def inesasanyuni onorassoci ati
onof
empl oy eeswhi chexist ,inwhol eorinpar t,forthepur poseoft hecol lecti
vebar gainingordeal ing
withempl oy er
sconcer ningt ermsandcondi tionsofempl oy ment .
"Theabsenceoft hecondi ti
on
whi cht hecour tbelowwoul dat tachtot hest atutoryconceptofal aboror ganizati
on, asbei nglimi ted
totheempl oyeesofpar ticularempl oyer,isqui teevidentf rom thel aw.Theemphasi sofI ndustrial
PeaceActi sclearl
yont hepour posesf orwhi chauni onorassoci at i
onofempl oyeesest abli
shed
rathert hant hatmember shipt hereinshoul dbel imitedonl ytot heempl oyeesofapar ticular
empl oy er.Trit
etosay ,underSect ion2(h)ofR. A875" represent at
ive"isdef i
neasi ncl udi ng"a
l
egi ti
mat el abororgani zat i
onoranyof f
iceroragentofsuchor gani zati
on, whetherornotempl oy ed
byt heempl oyerorempl oyeewhom her epresent s.
"Itcannotbeov eremphasi zedl ikewi set hatlabor
disputecanexi st"regar dlessofwhet hert hedi sputant sstandi nthepr oximat erel
at ionofempl oy er
andempl oyee.(Section2( j
),R.a.875) .

Thereis,fur
thermore,
nothi
ngintheconstit
uti
onandby -
lawsofALPAPwhi chindubit
ablyrest
ri
cts
member shiptherei
ntoPALpil
otsalone.1Althoughaccordi
ngtoALPAP(Gomezt herehasnever
beenani nst
ancewhenanon- PALpilotbecameamemberofALPAP, thecompl et
elackofanysuch
precondi
tionforALPAPmember shipcannotbutbeinter
pret
edasanunmi stakabl
eaut hor
ityf
orthe
associat
iontoacceptpil
otsi
ntoit
sf ol
dthoughtheymaynotbeunderPAL' sempl oy.

Thefundament
alassumpti
onsreli
eduponbytheindust
ri
alcour
tasbasesforaut
hor
izi
ngALPAP
(Gomez)tot
akeovertheof
ficeandfundsofALPAPbeing,i
nthi
sCourt
'sopini
on,
err
oneous,
and,
in
theabsenceofanyseriousdisputethatonDecember18-22,1970Fel
ixC.Gaston,andfourother
pil
ots,
wer eel
ectedbytherequir
edmaj ori
tyofALPAPmember sasof
ficer
softhei
rassociati
on, t
his
Courtherebyr
ulesthatthementionedauthori
zat
iont
oALPAP( Gomez)totakeovertheoffi
ce,funds
andnameofALPAPwasdonewi thgraveabuseofdi
screti
on.

Moreover,
thi
sCourtcannotholdasv al
idandbi ndingtheelecti
onofBenHurGomezasPr esidentof
ALPAP.Hewasel ect
edatameet ingofonl y45ALPAPmember scall
edjustonedayaftert
he
el
ecti
onofFelixC.GastonasPresidentofALPAPwho, asshown, r
eceivedamajori
tyof180v otes
outofatotal
member shipof270.tendertheprovisionsofsection4,art
icl
einoftheConstit
ution
andBy-LawsofALPAP, dul
yelect
edof fi
cersofthatassociationshallr
emaininoffi
ceforacleast
oneyear;

Theterm ofof
ficeoftheofficersoft
heAssociati
onshallst
artonthefir
stdayoft he
fi
scalyearoft
heAssoci at
ion.Itshal
lconti
nueforoneyearorunti
ltheyarere-
elected
orunti
lthei
rsuccessorshavebeenel ect
edorappointedandtakesoffi
cein
accor
dancewi t
ht heConstit
utionandby-l
aws.

Whil
ethisCourtconsider
sther
uli
ngofthecourtbel
ow,onthematterofwhohastheexcl
usi
ve
ri
ghtstotheoffi
ce,f
undsandnameofALPAP, ashavingbeener
roneousl
ymade,wecannothol
d,
however,t
hatthosebelongi
ngt
othegroupofALPAP( Gomez)donotpossessanyri
ghtatal
lover
theoff
ice,f
undsandnameofALPAPofwhi chtheyarealsomember s.

Inouropi nion,itisper fect lywi t

hint hepower sandpr er ogat i
vesofal aboror ganizat i
on,throughi ts
dulyel ectedof ficer s,toaut hor i
zeasegmentoft hator gani zationtobar gai ncol l
ect i
velywi t
ha
particularempl oyer ,par ticularlywher ethoseconst it
ut i
ngt hesegmentshar eacommonand
distinguishablei nt erest, apar tfrom t her estoft heirfell
owuni onmember s, onmat tersthatdirectly
affectt het er
msandcondi t
ionsoft heirpar ti
cularempl oy ment .Ast heci rcumst ancesper ti
nentto
thecaseatbarpr esent lyst and, ALPAP( Gast on)hasex t endedr ecogni t
iont oALPAP( Gomez)t o
enterandconcl udecol l
ect i
vebar gaini ngcont ractswi thPAL.Hav inggi venALPAP( Gomez )thi
s
author it
y,itwoul dbecl ear l
yunr easonabl eont hepar tofALPAP( Gast on)t odi sall
owt heformera
certainuseoft heof fi
ce, fundsandnameofALPAPwhensuchusei snecessar yorwoul dbe
requi r
edt oenabl eALPAP( Gomez )t oexer cise,inapr opermanner ,i
tsdel egat edaut horit
yt obar gai
n
collectivelywithPAL.Cl ear ly,anintel l
igentlyconsider edadj ustmentofgr iev ancesandi ntegrati
onof
thedi verseandv ar yi
ngi nterestst hatnoti nfr
equent l
yand, often,unav oidabl yper meat ethe
member shipofal aboror gani zati
on, wil
lgoal ongway , inachi evi
ngpeaceandhar monywi thinthe
ranksofALPAP.Ofcour se, i
nt heev entualit
yt hatthepi lot spresentlyempl oy edbyPALandwho
subscr ibet othel eader shi pofBenHurGomezshoul dconsi derittot hei
rbet terinteresttohav etheir
ownsepar ateof fice, nameanduni onf unds, nothingcanpr eventt hem from set ti
ngupasepar ate
l
aboruni on.Int hatev ent uali
ty,what ev erv estedrights, interestorpar ti
cipat iontheymayhav einthe
asset s,includingcashf unds, ofALPAPasar esultoft hei rmember shipt her ei
nshoul dproper l
ybe
l
iqui datedi nfav orofsuchwi t
hdr awi ngmember soft heassoci ati
on.

Onthemat t
erofwhethert
heindustr
ial
courtal
soabuseitsauthor
it
yf oral
lowi
ngALPAP( Gomez)to
appropr
iat
etheALPAPname, itdoesnotappearthatt
heherei
npetit
ionerhasshownbelowany
excl
usivef
ranchi
seorri
ghttotheuseofthatname.Hence,therei
snopr operbasi
sforcor
rect
ing
theacti
ontakenbyt
hecourtbelowont hi
sregard.

L-
35206

Thethreshol
dissueposedinL-35206iswhethertheCour
tofIndust
ri
alRel
ati
onsact
edwit
hout
j
uri
sdicti
onandwi t
hgraveabuseofdiscr
eti
oni npromul
gati
ngtheresol
uti
ondat
edJune19,1972
suspendi
nghear
ingsont
hement
ionedpet
it
ionf
orr
einst
atementunt
ilt
hisCour
tshal
lhav
edeci
ded
L-33705.

Wef
indnomer
itt
othechar
gemade.

Whi l
ei tiscorrect ,
assubmi ttedbyALPAP( Gaston),t
hatinthe1971caseof  Phil
ippineFederati
onof
Petroleum Wor kers( PFPW)vs.CI R 
(37SCRA716)t hi
sCour theldthatinacer ti
fi
edl abordi
sputeall
i
ssuesi nvolv
edi nthesameshoul dbedetermi nedinthecasewher et hecerti
fi
eddi sputewas
docket edandt hatthepar t
iesshouldnotbeper mit
tedtoisolateothergermanei ssuesordemands
andr eser vethem f ordeter
mi nat
ionintheot hercasespendingbef oreotherbranchesoft he
i
ndust rialcourt,non-compliancewi t
hthisruleisatbestaner rorinprocedure,ratherthanof
j
urisdiction,whi chisnotbey ondthepoweroft hisCourtt
or eviewwher esuffi
cientreasonsexists,
a
si
tuat i
onnotobt ai
ninginthecaseatbar .

Afterat hor oughgoi ngstudyoft herecor dsoft heset woconsol i

datedpet it
ions, thi
sCour tf i
ndst hat
themat teroft her einstatementoft hepi l
otswhor etiredorr esignedf rom PALwasv entilatedf ul
ly
andadequat elyint hecer ti
fi
cat i
oncasei nallitssubst ant i
veaspect s,includingt heallegat ionoft he
herei npet i
tioner st hattheywer emer elyledtobel ievei ngoodf aiththatinr etiri
ngorr esigni ngf r
om
PALt heywer esimpl yexercisingtheirrightstoengagei nconcer t
edact ivi
ty.Int hel i
ghtoft he
cir
cumst ancest husf oundbel owitcanbesaf elyconcl udedt hatt hemassr et i
rementand
resignationact i
onoft heher einpetit
ioner swasi ntent ionall
ypl annedt oabor ttheef fectsoft he
Oct ober7, 10and19, 1970r eturn-
to-wor korder soft hei ndust r
ialcourt(whi cht hey ,i
nf act ,ignored
formor et hanaweek)bypl acingthemsel vesbey ondt hejurisdicti
onal control oft hesaidcour t
throught heumbr ellaoftheconst i
tutional,prohibitionagai nstinvoluntaryser vitude, t
her ebyenabl i
ng
them t opur suet hei rmainpr essureobj ectiveofgr oundi ngmost ,
ifnotal l
,PALf lightoper ati
ons.
Clear l
y,thepower sgi v
ent ot heindust r
ialcourtinacer t
ifi
edl abordisputewi ll
bemeani ngl essand
usel esstopur suewher eitsjur i
sdi
ctioncannotoper ate.

Wecannotconsequent lydisagreewi ththecour t

 aquo  wheni tconcl udedt hatt heactuationsoft he
hereinpetiti
onersaf tertheyr et
iredandr esigned  enmasse  —t hei rretri
ev al ofdeposi t
sandot her
fundsf r
om t heALPAPCooper ativeCr editUni onont hegr oundt hatt heyhav ealreadyretiredor
resi
gned, theirempl oymentwi t
hanot herai r
line,thefili
ngofaci v i
l suitfort her ecoveryoft hei
r
reti
rementpaywher et heyinvokedt hePr ovisionagai nsti
nv olunt ar yservitudet oobt ai
npay ment
thereof,andt hei
rr epeat edmani f estationsbef oret heindustri
al cour tthatt heirretir
ementand
resi
gnat i
onwer enotsham, butvolunt ary,andi nt
ent i
onal—ar e, i
nt heaggr egate, i
ndubitable
i
ndicationst hatthesai dpilotsdidr etire/r
esignf rom PALwi thf ull awar enessoft heLikely
consequencesoft hei racts.Theirpr otestationsofgoodf aith,af ternear l
yay earofunder scori
ngt he
factthattheywer enol ongerempl oy edwi thPAL, cannotbutappeart oar easonabl emi ndasal ate
andr egrett
abl eratiocination.

Par entheti
cally,cont rarytoALPAP( Gaston)'
sar gumentt hatthepi l
ots'r
etir
ement 'resignationwasa
l
egi timateconcer tedact iv
ity, cit
ingSect ion2( 1)oft heIndustrialPeaceActwhi chdef i
nes" stri
ke"as
"anyt empor arystoppageofwor kbyt heconcer tedact i
onofempl oyeesasar esultofani ndust ri
al
disput e,
"itiswor thwhi letoobser vet hatast helawdef i
nesit,ast ri
kemeansonl ya" tempor ary
stoppageofwor k."Whatt hement ionedpi l
otsdi d,howev er,cannotbeconsi dered, i
nt heopi nionof
thisCour t,asmer e" t
empor ar ystoppageofwor k."Whatt heycont emplatedwasev i
dentlya
permanentcut -
offofempl oy mentr elati
onshi pwi t
ht hei
rerstwhi l
eempl oyer,thePhi l
i
ppi neAi rLines.
Inanyev ent,thedi sput ebel owhav ingbeencer t
ifi
edasexi stinginani ndustryindispensabl etot he
national i
nterest,thesai dpilots'rankdi sregardf orthecompul soryordersoft heindust r
ialcour tand
theirdaringandcal culati
ngv enturet odisengaget hemselvesf rom thatcourt'
sjurisdicti
on, forthe
obv iouspur poseofsat i
sfyingt heirnar r
oweconomi cdemandst otheprejudiceoft hepubl i
ci nterest
,
ar
eev
identbadgesofbadf
ait
h.

Alegitimateconcer tedact i
vi
tyisamat terthatcannotbeusedt ocircumventjudi
cialordersorbe
tossedar oundli
keapl aythi
ngDef i
nit
ely,neit
herempl oy
ersnorempl oyeesshouldbeal lowedt o
makeofj udi
cialauthorityanow- y
ouve-got-i
t-now-you-dontaffai
r.Thecourtscannothopef ull
y
effectuateandvindicatet hesoundpoliciesoft heIndustri
alPeaceActandal lourlaborlawsi f
empl oyees,part
icularl
yt hosewhoonaccountoft heirhighl
y,advancedtechni
cal backgroundand
rel
at i
velybett
erlif
est atusarefarabovet hegener alworkingclassspectrum,will
beper mi t
tedto
defyandi nvokethej uri
sdicti
onoft hecourtswhenev erthealt
ernati
vechosenwi l
l ser
vet ofeather
theirpureandsimpl eeconomi cdemands.

ACCORDI NGLY,inL-33705theresolut
ionoftheCour tofIndustr
ialRel
ati
onsdat edJune15, 1971
upholdi
ngthedecisionofJudgeJoaqui nM.SalvadordatedMay29, 1971isherebymodi fi
edin
accordancewit
ht heforegoi
ngopini
on.Feli
x6.Gast onorwhoev ermaybet hei ncumbentPr esi
dent
ofALPAPi sherebyorderedtogivetoanymemberwi thdrawinghismember shipfrom ALPAP
whateverri
ght
,inter
estorparti
cipat
ionsuchmembermayhav eintheassets,i
ncludi
ngcashf unds,
ofALPAPasar esul
tofhi smembershipinthatassociati
on.

InL-35206, thepet it
ionassai l
i
ngt her esolutionoftheCour tofIndustri
alRelationsdatedJune19,
1972, isherebydi smi ssedf orlackofmer itinsofarast hepet i
ti
oners'all
egationsoft heirri
ghtt
o
reinstatementwi t
hPALi sconcer ned.Wi t
hr efer
encet othealternati
veaction,r
 e:paymentoft hei
r
claimsf orretirementorsepar ationpay ,theSecr etaryofLabor ,inaccordancewi t
htheappl i
cabl
e
procedur epr escri
bedbyl aw, i
sher ebyor deredtodet erminewhet hersuchcl aimi si
nor der,
par t
icular
lyinv iewoft he caveat  
madebyPAL, i
naccept i
ngthepet i
t i
oner
s' i
ndi v
iduall
et t
ersof
retir
ement /resignati
on, thatsaidpet it
ioner sshallnotbeent i
tl
edt oanybenef itorprivi
legetowhich
theymayot her wisebeent it
ledbyr easonoft hei
rempl oymentwi thPALast hef ormer'
sact s
const i
tutedav iol
ati
onoft heor deroft heindustrialcourtdatedNov ember26, 1970.

Wi
thoutcost
sinbot
hinst
ances.

Bar
redo,
Makasi
ar,
Ant
oni
o,MuñozPal
ma,
Concepci
on,
Jr.
,andMar
ti
n,JJ.
,concur
.

Fernando,
J,concur
sintheopi
nionoft
heChi
efJust
icei
nL-
33705andi
ntheopi
nionofJust
ice
TeehankeeinL-
35206.

Aqui
no,
J.,
tooknopar
t.

Separ
ateOpi
nions

 
J.
TEEHANKEE,
  ,
 
concur
ri
ng:

I L-
n  33705,acert
ifi
cati
onproceeding,Iconcurwiththeruli
ng 
1
 t
hatt
herei
snothingi
nt helawwhich
support
srespondentcourt
'sr
estr
ict
iveint
erpret
ati
onthatwouldl
imitmembershipi
nal abororgani
zat
ion
totheemployeesofaparti
cul
arempl oy
er,(f
orsuchanar chai
cvi
ewwoul dbepract
ical
l
yadeat hblowto
thecauseofuni oni
sm andwoul df r
agmentuni onsintoasmanyempl oyersthatther
emaybe) ;andthat
specifi
call
yinthecaseofALPAP( AirLinePi l
otsAssociati
onofthePhi li
ppines)ther
eisnothingi nit
s
Const i
tuti
onandby -
lawst hatwouldrestr
ictit
smember shiptoPhil
ippineAirLines,I
nc.(PAL)pi l
otsalone.
(Obv i
ously,t
heorganizat
ionalsetupwasf orALPAPasauni ontobecomposedofal lai
rli
nepilotsinthe
Phil
ippinesregardl
essofempl oyer,patt
ernedaf t
ertheALPAP( AirLinePilotsAssociati
on)intheUni t
ed
Stateswhi chhasareputedmember shipof46,000wi t
hl ocal
sestabli
shedbyt hemember sattheir
respectiv
ecompani esofempl oyment )
.

TheCour tther
eforeproperl
yupheldtheelect
ionoftheGast onfacti
onbyaclearmajorit
yofthe
ALPAPmember shi
p(1221outof270)asagai nsttheGomezf acti
onof45member s;recogni
zed
Gaston'select
ionaspresidentofALPAPasagai nstther umpel ecti
onofGomezt othesame
posit
ion;andruledoutrespondentcourt
'sacti
onofaut hori
zi ngtheGomezfacti
ontotakeov ert
he
off
ice,fundsandnameofALPAPasagr aveabuseofdi scretionandanull
i
ty.

Ofcourse,onl
yt hepi
lot
sact ual
l
yintheemployofthePALt otheexcl
usionofthosewhohad
resi
gnedorretir
edorotherwisebeenseparat
edf r
om itsemploymentcouldtakeparti
nthePAL
certi
fi
cat
ionelecti
on.Undernormalcir
cumstances,t
heALPAPast hedulyorganizedl
aboruni
on
(composedofbot hfact
ions)wouldmanageandadmi nist
erthecol
lect
ivebargai
ningagr
eement
arri
vedatbetweenempl oyerandemployees.

Butthisdidnotholdt r
uei nthepresentcase, si
nceineffecttheGomezf acti
onconsistingofpi l
ots
whocont i
nuedintheempl oyofPALanddi dnotf oll
owt heacti
onoft hemaj ori
tycomposi ngthe
Gastonf acti
onofresigningandr eti
ring enmasse  fr
om thei
rempl oymentsepar at
edt hemsel ves
fr
om ALPAPandwer egr antedsepar aterecogniti
onbyPALast heALPAP( Gomez)fact ion
constit
utingtheexclusi
vecol l
ecti
vebar gai
ningrepresentat
ionforthepilotswhocont i
nuedi nit
s
employ ,
Theor igi
nalunionALPAPasheadedbyGast ononconcedest hisandmakesi tqui t
ecleari
n
i
tsbriefthatitdoesnotquest ionther ecogniti
onextendedbyPALt ot heGomezf act
ionnort he
l
atter
'srighttomanageandadmi nisterthecol l
ecti
vebargaini
ngagr eementandt onegot iateand
concludeanyot hercoll
ectiv
ebar gainingagreementwi t
hPAL.

Theactual
disput
ewast husreducedtowhethert
heGomezfact
ioni
nsepar
ati
ngt
hemselvesf
rom
ALPAPasheadedbyGast oncouldtakeoverandappr
opr
iat
ethecor
por
atename,
off
iceandfunds
ofALPAP,asauthor
izedbyrespondentcour
t.

Sucht ake-ov
erorappr opr i
ationofALPAPbyt heGomezf actioncouldnotbevalidl
ydonenor
authorizedbyrespondentcour t,
asnowr uledbyt hisCourt.ButsinceALPAPdoesr ecognizet he
ri
ghtoft heGomezf acti
ont oseparateandsecedef r
om ALPAPandf orthemember soft heGomez
facti
oncomposedofpi l
otswhohav eremai nedint heemployofPALt oformtheirownuni on, the
Court'
sj udgmenthasor deredALPAPasheadedbyGast onast herecognizedpresi
dentt hereofor
hisdulyelectedsuccessort ogi vet
oanywi t
hdrawi ngmemberi .
e.themember softheGomez
facti
on" whateverr
ight.interestorpar
tici
pat i
onsuchmembermayhav eintheasset s,
includingcash
fundsofALPAPasar esultofhismember shipint hatassociati
on."

Itakethistomeant hatALPAPi sther ebyor der

edt oli
qui
datethemember shipofeachwi t
hdrawing
memberal thoughALPAPi sanon- st
ockassoci ati
on)andgiv
ehimt heequi val
entoft henetbook
valueincashofhi saliquotshareint henetassetofALPAPasoft hedateofwi thdrawal ofdefacto
oftheGomezf acti
onwhi chmaybef ixedasDecember23, 1970,thelat
ewhenBenHurGomezwas
electedaspresidentofhi sfacti
onbyALPAPmember swhodi dnojointhemassr esignati
onof
reti
rement,Ibeli
evet hatinfair
nesst heEqui val
entv al
ueofanyusemadebyt heGomezf acti
onof
theALPAPof f
iceandf undsfrom andaf t
ertheirdateofwi
thdrawal(whichobv i
ouslywasi nandf or
theirownexclusiveinterestandbenef it)shouldinturnbeoff
setagainstwhat evermaybe
determinedtobet hecol lect
ivevalueoft heirALPAPmember shi
pasoft hedat eoft heirwit
hdrawal
onDecember23,
1970.

I L-
n  35206,thejudgmentpennedbyt heChi efJust icereject sthepet iti
oners-
pilots'
pet i
ti
onf or
readmissiontoPALandt heirroundsi nsuppor tther eof,
 i
nt erali
a,thatt heywer eledt obeli
ev ein
goodf ai
thbyt heirunionpr esi dentGast onandt hei rcounsel t
hatthei rmassr esignationand
reti
rementwer eav al
idexer ciseof 'theirri
ghtt opr otestthedi smi ssal ofGastonnot wi t
hstandingt he
pendencyoft heircertif
ieddi sput eint heindustrial court
, thattheywer eassuredbyt hei
rleadert hat
i
twasal awfulexer ci
seofconcer tedact i
on, t
hatt hef ullconsequencesofsuchactwer enot
explai
nedt othem bycounsel andt hattheyhadsoact edundert hreatofexpul sionfrom theuni on
(whichappeart obebor neoutbyt hef actthatwi thinthey earafterfinall
yappr eciat
ingthef ull
consequencesoft heiri
llconcei vedmasspr otestr eit
rementandr esignationtheysoughtt owi t
hdraw
thesameandpet i
tionedf orr eadmi ssioninl i
newi thther eturn-t
o-wor kor der
s).

Thepr incipalgroundf ortheCourt'

sjudgmentcannotbef aul t
ed,towi t
,thatsuchact ionofmass
retir
ementandr esignationwhichplainlyintendedt oaborttheef fect
soft heindusgt r
ialcourt
'sr et
urn
-
t o-workor der
sandt oplacepetit
ioners-pil
otsbey ondthecour t'
sr et
urn-t
o- workordersandt opl ace
pet i
ti
oners-pil
otsbey ondt hecourt
'sjuri
sdictionalcontrol
,afterthePresidenthadcer t
if
iedthel abor
disputether et
of orcompul soryar
bitrati
oni nthepubl i
cinterest,
couldnotbesanct ionednor
tolerat
edsi nce"clearl
y ,t
hepower sgivent othei ndust
rialcourti
nacer t
ifi
edl abordisputewil
l be
meani nglessandusel esstopursuewher eitsjuri
sdict
ioncannotoper ate. 2

Still
,sincet heindustrial court enbanc 
  setasi deJudgePar edes' order stor eceiveproofont hepilots'
pet i
ti
onsf orrei
nstatementont hebasi i
s nteral i
a oft heGomezf actions' contentionthattheprejudicial
quest ionofwhooft het wof action' scont ent i
ont hatt hepr ejudici
al quest ionofwhooft hetwofactions
shoul dpr osecutethemai ncase( thel abordi sput e)shoul dfirstber esol vedi nthecer t
ifi
cati
oncase
3
pendi ngasCaseL- 33705bef oret heisCour t  andsi ncet hemat t
ersr aisedi nthepet it
ionfor
reinstatementwer equi teser iousanddi dr equi r
edt hesubmi ssionofpr oofashel dbyJudgePar edesi n
theDecember23, 1971or der,thequest i
onofmer i
toft hepi l
ots'rank- and- f
il
epet i
ti
onsf orrei
nstatement
couldper hapshav ebeendef erredandl i
kewi ser emandedt otheNat ional LaborRel ati
onsCommi ssion—
sinceaf terallthei
ral t
er nat i
vepr ay erforpay mentoft hei
rclaimsf orr etir
ementorsper ati
onpayisbei ng
remandedt otheNat ional LaborRel at
ionsCommi ssi on"todet erminewhet hersuchcl aimisinorder "by
receivingt heproofoft hepar ti
es—andsuchpr oofcov er
st hev erysamemat tersraisedassuppor ting
groundsandr easonsi nt hepet itionsf orr einstatment .

Aft erall,
ifthepi l
ot sdul ysubstantiat
edwi thconv inci
ngpr oofthei
rallegati
onsinsuppor toft heir
pet it
ionsf orreinstat ementt hattheyhadbeenmi sledand/orcoercedbyt heirl
eaderandcounsel
i
nt opr esent i
ngt heirmassr et
ir
ementandr esignationwithoutthefullconsequenceshav ingbeen
expl ainedt othem t hepi lotswouldbei nthesamesi t
uati
onofr ank-and-fi
l
emember sofauni onwho
engagei nani ll
egal str
ike,inwhichcaseundert hisCour t
'sliber
alandcompassi onatedoct r
ine,only
thel eaders( andt hosewhoact uallyr
esortedt oviolencewhi chisofnoappl i
cati
onher e)woul d
recei vethecapi tal ofdismi ssal—unlesst hisCour tweresomehowt omakeanex cepti
onoft he
pilotsandexcl udet hem f r
om theapplicati
onoft hi sest
ablisheddoctrinebecause"ofthei rhighly
adv ancedt echnical backgr oundandr elat
ivelybetterli
festatus—f arabov ethegeneralwor king
classspect rum. "
 4

Withal,t
heCour t
'sdeci si
onr equirestheNationalLaborRelationsCommi ssionwithreferencetot he
pil
ots'alt
ernativeclaimsf orr eti
rementorseparationpay" t
odet er
mi newhethersuchcl ai
mi sin
order,part
icularl
yinv iewoft hecaveatmadebyPAL, i
naccept i
ngthepetit
ioners'i
ndivi
dual l
ett
ersof
reti
rement/resignation, t
hatsai dpeti
tioner
sshallnotbeent i
tledtoanybenef i
torprivi
l
eget owhi ch
theymayot herwisebeent it
ledbyr easonoftheiremploy mentwi t
hPALast heformer'
sact s
consti
tutedav i
olat
ionoft heor deroftheindustr
ialcourtdatedNov ember26, 1970.
"
Thesai
dNov ember26, 1970ordercommandedALPAPmember s" nottostri
keorinanywayCause
anyst
oppageintheoper at
ionandser v
iceofPAL,underpai
  nofdismissal 
and f
orf
eit
ureofri
ght
s
andpri
vi
leges 
accrui
ngt othei
rrespect
iveemploymentsshouldtheydisregar
dthisOrder
;andPALis
al
soorderednottolockoutanyofsuchmember sandoff
icersofALPAP  underpai
nofcontemptand
cancel
l
ati
onofi
tsf
ranchi
se.

Iventuretosuggestasaspeci f
icguideli
ne 
5
 f
ortheNati
onalLaborRel
ati
onsCommi ssion'
s
consider
ati
on( i
nordertoexpedi
tesett
lementofthecaseandassuagetheanxiet
iesofpeti
ti
oner
sand
theirf
amili
es)thatthependi
ngquesti
onappearstobeoneof l
aw,
  whoseresol
uti
onwouldnotbe
affect
edbyt heproofthatmaybesubmi t
tedt
ot hesai
dcommi ssi
onuponr emandofthecase.

Thequest ionofl awi s:wasitwi thi

nthei ndustri
al cour t'
spoweraspr ovidedinJudgePar edes' above
-quotedor dert oor der"forf
eitureofri
ght sandpr ivil
egesaccr ui
ngt otheirrespecti
veempl oy ments"
shoul dtheydi sregardhi sreturn-t
o-workor der?I
tshoul dbenot edthatthePALi naccept i
ngt he
l
ettersofr etir
ement /resi
gnat i
onmadet he caveat thatt hepil
otsconcer nedwoul dforfei
tany
reti
rementbenef i
torpr ivi
l
eget hattheywoul dot her wisebeent itl
edtobyr easonoftheirempl oyment
withPAL, asthei ractsconst i
tutedav i
olationoft heci tedreturn-t
o-workor der,t
husindicatingthat
werei tnotf orsuchor der,PALwoul dhav enobasi sf ori mposinganyf orfeit
ureofearnedr eti
rement
priv
ilegessi ncei twasi nturnaccept i
ngt hepilots'retirementandr esignat i
on.

I
ftheindustr
ial
courthadnosuchpowert oorderf
orf
eitur
eofthepil
ots'r
eti
rement
/resignati
on
pri
vi
legesandbenefi
tsforvi
olat
ionofit
sret
urntowor korder
,thent
herewouldbenol egalbasi
sfor
thedenial
ofsuchreti
rementpri
vil
egesandbenefi
ts.

Thatt heindust r
ialcourthadsuchpoweri sopent ogravedoubts.Fordisregardandv i
olati
onoft he
returntowor korder,theindustrialcourtcouldimposet hecapi t
alpenaltyofdismi ssalfr
om
empl oyment .Tr
ue,thepi l
otscar ri
edoutanadv isedmassr et
ir
ement /
resignationtoabor tt
heef f
ects
oft hereturn-to-
wor korderbutt heef fecti
venessoft hepenaltyofdismissalisbor neoutbyt hefact
thatwi thi
nt heyeart hepilot
shadcomet oreali
zeandr egretthefut
ili
tyoftheiractandwer eseeking
readmi ssionThenagai n,theindustrialCourthadt hepowerofcont empt—i tcouldhav edeclaredthe
massr eti
rementi l
legal asthi
sCour thasi nfactsodeclaredandusedi t
scoer civ
epowerof
cont emptunderRul e71, sect
ion7byr equir
ingimprisonmentoft hepetiti
onersunt i
ltheypurged
themsel vesofcont emptbycompl y i
ngwi ththereturn-
to-
wor korder.

Butt odeclar
ethef or
fei
tur
eofr et
ir
ementpr i
vil
egesandbenef it
swhichthepet i
ti
oner
shadear ned
andwoul dot
herwisebeentitl
edtobyr easonoftheiry
earsofempl oymentofPALappear stobe
bey ondthecoerci
veaswel laspunit
ivepowersoft heindustr
ialcour
t—int hesamewayt hati
s
threatenedcancel
lati
onofPAL' sf
ranchiseasgrantedbyCongr essforvi
olati
onofthelockout
prohibit
ionaspectofthesameor derwasbey onditspower s.

Theendr esult,then, wouldbet hatassumi ngthatpeti

ti
onershadwi l
lful
lyv i
olatedt herert
un-to-
work
orderofNov ember26, 1970andhadnotbenmi sledintopresentingtheirmass
reti
rement/r
esi gnation,suchv iol
ati
oncoul dnotlegall
yresultinaf or
feit
ur eoft heirret
ir
ement
prvi
legesandbenef i
tsasdecr eedintheor dersi
ncesuchf orfeit
urewasbey ondt heindustri
alcourt
's
powerandaut hor i
tuy.Theirlossofempl oymentandt hedeni alofthei
rr eadmi ssioncertainl
y
constit
utesufficientpunshmentandv i
ndicati
onoft hecourt'
saut hori
ty.Allthemor esowoul dsuch
non-for
tei
tureofear nedreirementprivi
legesandbenef it
sbei nconsonancewi thf ai
rnessandequi t
y
shouldthepilotsdul yestablishthefactualavermentsofthiercitedpet i
tionforr eadmissionandf or
paymentoft hei rsaidprivi
legesandbenef its.

 
 

Separ
ateOpi
nions

J.
TEEHANKEE,
  ,
 
concur
ri
ng:

I L-
n  33705, acerti
fi
cat i
onpr oceedi ng, Iconcurwi thther ul
ing 
1
 t
hatt herei snot hi
nginthelawwhi ch
suppor t
srespondentcour t'
srestri
ctiveinterpretati
onthatwoul dli
mi tmember shipinalabororgani zation
totheempl oyeesofapar ticul
arempl oyer,(f
orsuchanar chaicvi
ewwoul dbepr acti
call
yadeat hblowt o
thecauseofuni oni
sm andwoul df r
agmentuni onsintoasmanyempl oyerst hatt her
emaybe) ;andt hat
specifi
call
yi nthecaseofALPAP( AirLi nePi l
otsAssociationofthePhi li
ppines)t her
eisnothingi nits
Const i
tuti
onandby -
lawst hatwoul dr estri
ctit
smember shipt oPhil
ippineAi rLines, I
nc.(PAL)pi l
otsalone.
(Obv i
ously,theorganizational setupwasf orALPAPasauni ontobecomposedofal lai
rli
nepilotsint he
Phil
ippinesr egardl
essofempl oyer,patternedaf tert
heALPAP( AirLinePi l
otsAssoci ati
on)intheUni ted
Stateswhi chhasar eput edmember shi pof46, 000withlocalsestablishedbyt hemember sattheir
respectiv
ecompani esofempl oyment ).

TheCour tther
eforeproperl
yupheldtheelect
ionoftheGast onfacti
onbyaclearmajorit
yofthe
ALPAPmember shi
p(1221outof270)asagai nsttheGomezf acti
onof45member s;recogni
zed
Gaston'select
ionaspresidentofALPAPasagai nstther umpel ecti
onofGomezt othesame
posit
ion;andruledoutrespondentcourt
'sacti
onofaut hori
zi ngtheGomezfacti
ontotakeov ert
he
off
ice,fundsandnameofALPAPasagr aveabuseofdi scretionandanull
i
ty.

Ofcourse,onl
yt hepi
lot
sact ual
l
yintheemployofthePALt otheexcl
usionofthosewhohad
resi
gnedorretir
edorotherwisebeenseparat
edf r
om itsemploymentcouldtakeparti
nthePAL
certi
fi
cat
ionelecti
on.Undernormalcir
cumstances,t
heALPAPast hedulyorganizedl
aboruni
on
(composedofbot hfact
ions)wouldmanageandadmi nist
erthecol
lect
ivebargai
ningagr
eement
arri
vedatbetweenempl oyerandemployees.

Butthisdidnotholdt r
uei nthepresentcase, si
nceineffecttheGomezf acti
onconsistingofpi l
ots
whocont i
nuedintheempl oyofPALanddi dnotf oll
owt heacti
onoft hemaj ori
tycomposi ngthe
Gastonf acti
onofresigningandr eti
ring enmasse  fr
om thei
rempl oymentsepar at
edt hemsel ves
fr
om ALPAPandwer egr antedsepar aterecogniti
onbyPALast heALPAP( Gomez)fact ion
constit
utingtheexclusi
vecol l
ecti
vebar gai
ningrepresentat
ionforthepilotswhocont i
nuedi nit
s
employ ,
Theor igi
nalunionALPAPasheadedbyGast ononconcedest hisandmakesi tqui t
ecleari
n
i
tsbriefthatitdoesnotquest ionther ecogniti
onextendedbyPALt ot heGomezf act
ionnort he
l
atter
'srighttomanageandadmi nisterthecol l
ecti
vebargaini
ngagr eementandt onegot iateand
concludeanyot hercoll
ectiv
ebar gainingagreementwi t
hPAL.

Theactual
disput
ewast husreducedtowhethert
heGomezfact
ioni
nsepar
ati
ngt
hemselvesf
rom
ALPAPasheadedbyGast oncouldtakeoverandappr
opr
iat
ethecor
por
atename,
off
iceandfunds
ofALPAP,asauthor
izedbyrespondentcour
t.

Sucht ake-ov
erorappr opr i
ationofALPAPbyt heGomezf actioncouldnotbevalidl
ydonenor
authorizedbyrespondentcour t,
asnowr uledbyt hisCourt.ButsinceALPAPdoesr ecognizet he
ri
ghtoft heGomezf acti
ont oseparateandsecedef r
om ALPAPandf orthemember soft heGomez
facti
oncomposedofpi l
otswhohav eremai nedint heemployofPALt oformtheirownuni on, the
Court'
sj udgmenthasor deredALPAPasheadedbyGast onast herecognizedpresi
dentt hereofor
hisdulyelectedsuccessort ogi vet
oanywi t
hdrawi ngmemberi .
e.themember softheGomez
facti
on" whateverr
ight.interestorpar
tici
pat i
onsuchmembermayhav eintheasset s,
includingcash
fundsofALPAPasar esultofhismember shipint hatassociati
on."
Itakethistomeant hatALPAPi sther ebyor der
edt oli
qui
datethemember shipofeachwi t
hdrawing
memberal thoughALPAPi sanon- st
ockassoci ati
on)andgiv
ehimt heequi val
entoft henetbook
valueincashofhi saliquotshareint henetassetofALPAPasoft hedateofwi thdrawal ofdefacto
oftheGomezf acti
onwhi chmaybef ixedasDecember23, 1970,thelat
ewhenBenHurGomezwas
electedaspresidentofhi sfacti
onbyALPAPmember swhodi dnojointhemassr esignati
onof
reti
rement,Ibeli
evet hatinfair
nesst heEqui val
entv al
ueofanyusemadebyt heGomezf acti
onof
theALPAPof f
iceandf undsfrom andaf t
ertheirdateofwi
thdrawal(whichobv i
ouslywasi nandf or
theirownexclusiveinterestandbenef it)shouldinturnbeoff
setagainstwhat evermaybe
determinedtobet hecol lect
ivevalueoft heirALPAPmember shi
pasoft hedat eoft heirwit
hdrawal
onDecember23, 1970.

I L-
n  35206,thejudgmentpennedbyt heChi efJust icereject sthepet iti
oners-
pilots'
pet i
ti
onf or
readmissiontoPALandt heirroundsi nsuppor tther eof,
 i
nt erali
a,thatt heywer eledt obeli
ev ein
goodf ai
thbyt heirunionpr esi dentGast onandt hei rcounsel t
hatthei rmassr esignationand
reti
rementwer eav al
idexer ciseof 'theirri
ghtt opr otestthedi smi ssal ofGastonnot wi t
hstandingt he
pendencyoft heircertif
ieddi sput eint heindustrial court
, thattheywer eassuredbyt hei
rleadert hat
i
twasal awfulexer ci
seofconcer tedact i
on, t
hatt hef ullconsequencesofsuchactwer enot
explai
nedt othem bycounsel andt hattheyhadsoact edundert hreatofexpul sionfrom theuni on
(whichappeart obebor neoutbyt hef actthatwi thinthey earafterfinall
yappr eciat
ingthef ull
consequencesoft heiri
llconcei vedmasspr otestr eit
rementandr esignationtheysoughtt owi t
hdraw
thesameandpet i
tionedf orr eadmi ssioninl i
newi thther eturn-t
o-wor kor der
s).

Thepr incipalgroundf ortheCourt'

sjudgmentcannotbef aul t
ed,towi t
,thatsuchact ionofmass
retir
ementandr esignationwhichplainlyintendedt oaborttheef fect
soft heindusgt r
ialcourt
'sr et
urn
-
t o-workor der
sandt oplacepetit
ioners-pil
otsbey ondthecour t'
sr et
urn-t
o- workordersandt opl ace
pet i
ti
oners-pil
otsbey ondt hecourt
'sjuri
sdictionalcontrol
,afterthePresidenthadcer t
if
iedthel abor
disputether et
of orcompul soryar
bitrati
oni nthepubl i
cinterest,
couldnotbesanct ionednor
tolerat
edsi nce"clearl
y ,t
hepower sgivent othei ndust
rialcourti
nacer t
ifi
edl abordisputewil
l be
meani nglessandusel esstopursuewher eitsjuri
sdict
ioncannotoper ate. 2

Still
,si ncet hei ndustri
al courtenbanc 
  setasi deJudgePar edes'or derst or ecei vepr oofont hepi l
ots'
pet i
tionsf orreinstatementont hebasi s interal i
a oft heGomezf act i
ons' content i
ont hatthe
prejudi cial questionofwhooft het wof act i
on'scont enti
ont hatthepr ejudicial quest i
onofwhooft he
twof act i
onsshoul dprosecut ethemai ncase( thelabordi spute)shoul df irstber esolvedinthe
cer ti
ficationcasependi ngasCaseL- 33705bef oret hei
sCour t 
3
 andsi ncet hemat tersrai
sedint he
pet i
tionf orr ei
nstatementwer equiteseriousanddi drequiredthesubmi ssionofpr oofashel dbyJudge
Par edesi nt heDecember23, 1971or der,thequest ionofmer i
tofthepi lots' r
ank-and- f
il
epetit
ionsf or
reinstat ementcoul dperhapshav ebeendef err
edandl ikewiseremandedt ot heNat ionalLaborRelat i
ons
Commi ssion—si nceafteral l
theiralter
nativ epray erforpay mentoft heirclaimsf orr eti
rementor
sper ationpayi sbeingremandedt ot heNat ional LaborRel ati
onsCommi ssi on" t
odet erminewhet hersuch
claimi si nor der"byreceiv i
ngthepr oofoft hepar ties—andsuchpr oofcov er sthev erysamemat ters
raisedassuppor t
inggroundsandr easonsi nthepet i
ti
onsf orrei
nstatment .

Afterall,
ifthepi l
otsdul ysubstantiat
edwi thconv inci
ngpr oofthei
rallegati
onsinsuppor toft heir
petit
ionsf orreinstatementt hattheyhadbeenmi sledand/orcoercedbyt heirl
eaderandcounsel
i
ntopr esent i
ngt heirmassr et
ir
ementandr esignationwithoutthefullconsequenceshav ingbeen
explainedt othem t hepi lotswouldbei nthesamesi t
uati
onofr ank-and-fi
l
emember sofauni onwho
engagei nani ll
egal strike,inwhichcaseundert hisCour t
'sliber
alandcompassi onatedoct r
ine,only
theleaders( andt hosewhoact uallyr
esortedt oviolencewhi chisofnoappl i
cati
onher e)woul d
receivethecapi talofdi smi ssal—unlesst hisCour tweresomehowt omakeanex cepti
onoft he
pil
otsandexcl udet hem f r
om theapplicati
onoft hi sest
ablisheddoctrinebecause"ofthei rhighly
advancedt echnical backgr oundandr elat
ivelybetterli
festatus—f arabov ethegeneralwor king
cl
assspect
rum.
" 
4

Withal,t
heCour t
'sdeci si
onr equirestheNationalLaborRelationsCommi ssionwithreferencetot he
pil
ots'alt
ernativeclaimsf orr eti
rementorseparationpay" t
odet er
mi newhethersuchcl ai
mi sin
order,part
icularl
yinv iewoft hecaveatmadebyPAL, i
naccept i
ngthepetit
ioners'i
ndivi
dual l
ett
ersof
reti
rement/resignation, t
hatsai dpeti
tioner
sshallnotbeent i
tledtoanybenef i
torprivi
l
eget owhi ch
theymayot herwisebeent it
ledbyr easonoftheiremploy mentwi t
hPALast heformer'
sact s
consti
tutedav i
olat
ionoft heor deroftheindustr
ialcourtdatedNov ember26, 1970.
"

Thesai
dNov ember26, 1970ordercommandedALPAPmember s" nottostri
keorinanywayCause
anyst
oppageintheoper at
ionandser v
iceofPAL,underpai
  nofdismissal 
and f
orf
eit
ureofri
ght
s
andpri
vi
leges 
accrui
ngt othei
rrespect
iveemploymentsshouldtheydisregar
dthisOrder
;andPALis
al
soorderednottolockoutanyofsuchmember sandoff
icersofALPAP  underpai
nofcontemptand
cancel
l
ati
onofi
tsf
ranchi
se.

Iventuretosuggestasaspeci f
icguideli
ne 
5
 f
ortheNati
onalLaborRel
ati
onsCommi ssion'
s
consider
ati
on( i
nordertoexpedi
tesett
lementofthecaseandassuagetheanxiet
iesofpeti
ti
oner
sand
theirf
amili
es)thatthependi
ngquesti
onappearstobeoneof l
aw,
  whoseresol
uti
onwouldnotbe
affect
edbyt heproofthatmaybesubmi t
tedt
ot hesai
dcommi ssi
onuponr emandofthecase.

Thequest ionofl awi s:wasitwi thi

nthei ndustri
al cour t'
spoweraspr ovidedinJudgePar edes' above
-quotedor dert oor der"forf
eitureofri
ght sandpr ivil
egesaccr ui
ngt otheirrespecti
veempl oy ments"
shoul dtheydi sregardhi sreturn-t
o-workor der?I
tshoul dbenot edthatthePALi naccept i
ngt he
l
ettersofr etir
ement /resi
gnat i
onmadet he caveat thatt hepil
otsconcer nedwoul dforfei
tany
reti
rementbenef i
torpr ivi
l
eget hattheywoul dot her wisebeent itl
edtobyr easonoftheirempl oyment
withPAL, asthei ractsconst i
tutedav i
olationoft heci tedreturn-t
o-workor der,t
husindicatingthat
werei tnotf orsuchor der,PALwoul dhav enobasi sf ori mposinganyf orfeit
ureofearnedr eti
rement
priv
ilegessi ncei twasi nturnaccept i
ngt hepilots'retirementandr esignat i
on.

I
ftheindustr
ial
courthadnosuchpowert oorderf
orf
eitur
eofthepil
ots'r
eti
rement
/resignati
on
pri
vi
legesandbenefi
tsforvi
olat
ionofit
sret
urntowor korder
,thent
herewouldbenol egalbasi
sfor
thedenial
ofsuchreti
rementpri
vil
egesandbenefi
ts.

Thatt heindust r
ialcourthadsuchpoweri sopent ogravedoubts.Fordisregardandv i
olati
onoft he
returntowor korder,theindustrialcourtcouldimposet hecapi t
alpenaltyofdismi ssalfr
om
empl oyment .Tr
ue,thepi l
otscar ri
edoutanadv isedmassr et
ir
ement /
resignationtoabor tt
heef f
ects
oft hereturn-to-
wor korderbutt heef fecti
venessoft hepenaltyofdismissalisbor neoutbyt hefact
thatwi thi
nt heyeart hepilot
shadcomet oreali
zeandr egretthefut
ili
tyoftheiractandwer eseeking
readmi ssionThenagai n,theindustrialCourthadt hepowerofcont empt—i tcouldhav edeclaredthe
massr eti
rementi l
legal asthi
sCour thasi nfactsodeclaredandusedi t
scoer civ
epowerof
cont emptunderRul e71, sect
ion7byr equir
ingimprisonmentoft hepetiti
onersunt i
ltheypurged
themsel vesofcont emptbycompl y i
ngwi ththereturn-
to-
wor korder.

Butt odeclar
ethef or
fei
tur
eofr et
ir
ementpr i
vil
egesandbenef it
swhichthepet i
ti
oner
shadear ned
andwoul dot
herwisebeentitl
edtobyr easonoftheiry
earsofempl oymentofPALappear stobe
bey ondthecoerci
veaswel laspunit
ivepowersoft heindustr
ialcour
t—int hesamewayt hati
s
threatenedcancel
lati
onofPAL' sf
ranchiseasgrantedbyCongr essforvi
olati
onofthelockout
prohibit
ionaspectofthesameor derwasbey onditspower s.

Theendr esult
,then,
wouldbethatassumi
ngt
hatpet
it
ioner
shadwi l
l
full
yvi
olat
edt
her
ert
un-
to-
wor
k
orderofNov ember26,1970andhadnotbenmisl
edi
ntopresent
ingthei
rmass
ret
ir
ement /r
esi gnation,suchv iol
ati
oncoul dnotlegall
yresultinaf or
fei
tur eoftheirr
etir
ement
prvi
l
egesandbenef i
tsasdecr eedintheor dersi
ncesuchf orfeit
urewasbey ondt heindustri
alcourt
's
powerandaut hor i
tuy.Theirlossofempl oymentandt hedeni alofthei
rr eadmissioncertainl
y
consti
tutesufficientpunshmentandv i
ndicati
onoft hecourt'
saut hori
ty.Allthemor esowoul dsuch
non-f
ortei
tureofear nedreirementprivi
legesandbenef it
sbei nconsonancewi t
hf ai
rnessandequi t
y
shouldthepilotsdul yestablishthefactualavermentsofthiercitedpetitionforreadmissionandf or
paymentoft hei rsaidprivi
l
egesandbenef its.