ABX strike enters second day, Judge to rule on strike later today

The ABX Air strike has entered its second day, with other cargo carriers still refusing to cross the picket line as the carrier’s parent company, Air Transport Services Group (ATSG), takes the Airline Professionals Association, Teamsters Local 1224 to court at 3:30 pm local time Cincinnati to force the pilots back into the cockpit and prevent massive delays for Amazon and DHL cargo.

U.S. District Court Judge Timothy Black has given the union representing the pilots until noon Wednesday to file a reply to ATSG’s request for a court order sending the pilots back to work, the carrier said late Tuesday. Today’s 3:30 pm hearing will address the matter.

Earlier this month, on November 7, Judge Black ruled that the dispute between ATSG’s cargo airline, ABX Air, and its pilot employees was a “minor dispute” under the Railway Labor Act and that it should be “resolved through the grievance and arbitration process contained in the parties’ current labor agreement,” per Business Wire. The ruling essentially refused to block a potential strike, saying the pilots had not violated their contract.

This time around, the union is claiming that abuse of the “emergency assignment” designation constitutes a “major dispute” under the Railway Labor Act.