Election Fraud Allegations Hit Major US Flight Attendant Union

SkyWest Airlines Faces Legal Struggles

UTAH- SkyWest Airlines (OO) and the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA-CWA) are caught in a deepening legal battle linked to incidents at SkyWest’s base, often referred to as the SkyWest Election Fraud controversy.

The dispute has escalated after a Utah District Court permitted a counterclaim centered on conspiracy and computer fraud to move forward.

Accusations have emerged from a staff association representing crew members at SkyWest Airlines, which collaborates with major airlines like Alaska, Delta, and United.

In October 2023, AFA-CWA filed a lawsuit against SkyWest, alleging significant violations of labor laws connected to the funding of the SkyWest Inflight Association (SIA). In retaliation, SIA launched multiple counterclaims against AFA-CWA.

SkyWest’s Election Fraud Controversy

Representing over 50,000 flight attendants, AFA-CWA stands as the largest crew member union in the U.S. For years, it has sought to become the official union for approximately 4,600 flight attendants at SkyWest Airlines based in Utah.

Since 2019, SkyWest has funded the independent SkyWest Inflight Association (SIA) for its crew members.

Currently, SIA is the sole organization allowed to negotiate with SkyWest management concerning pay and working conditions, though AFA-CWA has challenged the legitimacy and independence of SIA.

The issue reached a boiling point in 2023 when the airline fired two experienced crew members after they uncovered grave security issues related to an internal election conducted by SIA.

These terminations followed the crew members’ revelations about the insecure voting system, which were shared with AFA-CWA as well.

Concerns About Election Vulnerability

In April 2023, one of the terminated flight attendants uncovered that SIA’s purportedly secure website had vulnerabilities that could be exploited by simply altering the URL.

This flaw granted access to sensitive information, including crew members’ names, IDs, and voting credentials for SIA elections.

Rather than promptly notifying SIA, the crew member allegedly conspired with coworkers and an AFA-CWA representative to access this vulnerability monthly.

This covert action continued until August 2023, when another crew member created a video demonstrating the vulnerability, resulting in the cancellation of the elections.

SIA Counterclaims Against AFA-CWA

AFA-CWA’s legal action against SkyWest commenced in October 2023, citing “extraordinary violations” of labor laws.

This lawsuit quickly followed SkyWest’s termination of the two flight attendants involved in uncovering the website’s security vulnerabilities.

In response, SIA filed eight counterclaims against AFA-CWA, which included:

• Violations of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act
• Claims under the Stored Communications Act
• Utah Computer Abuse and Data Recovery Act
• Breach of Contract against one of the crew members
• Conversion (civil theft of property)
• Trespass to Chattels
• Civil Conspiracy
• Tortious Interference with Contract

AFA-CWA subsequently sought to dismiss six of these counterclaims.

Judge Barlow’s Ruling on Counterclaims

Recently, District Judge David Barlow ruled on the counterclaims. He decided that several of SIA’s claims should be dismissed, including the civil conspiracy charge.

However, a segment of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act counterclaim related to conspiracy was allowed to proceed. The lawsuit continues to contend that SkyWest violated the Railway Labor Act in various regards, particularly concerning SIA’s funding and the termination of crew members without arbitration mechanisms.

Department of Labor Involvement

In August 2023, the Department of Labor initiated a separate lawsuit against SIA regarding its management of local elections that year.

The suit claimed that a former SIA executive and possibly additional members cast votes for over 300 individuals.

This came to light when members discovered their ballots had already been submitted. During a rerun of the election, SIA disqualified two candidates for allegedly showing disloyalty to the association due to their support for AFA-CWA.

The scope of this situation is limited, but a district judge has ruled that a counterclaim over alleged computer fraud conspiracy linked to the secure website used by the SkyWest staff association may continue.