United Airlines sues union over slowdown

CHICAGO, July 30 (UPI) -- United Airlines sued its pilots' union in U.S. District Court in Chicago Wednesday, accusing its pilots of work slowdowns.

The airline is asking a federal judge to stop its pilots from engaging in slowdowns, which the carrier alleges have led to hundreds of flight cancellations in the last 10 days, The New York Times reported.

The lawsuit seeks a preliminary injunction against the Air Line Pilots Association and four pilots -- Steven Tamkin, Robert Domaleski Jr., Xavier F. Fernandez and Anthony R. Freeman -- who are accused of organizing the slowdowns.

The airline accused the pilots' union of conducting a "public campaign of intimidation" meant to discourage pilots from filling in for pilots who used their sick time, "effectively engaging in a slowdown," the newspaper reported.

United said it had canceled 329 flights July 19-27, costing the airline "millions of dollars in lost profit, damaging its reputation and customer good will," court papers say.