Airline Pilots Association vs.

Court of Industrial Relations (DIGEST)

FACTS: Airline Pilots Association(ALPAP) and Philippine Airlines(PAL) were involved in a labor
dispute with ALPAP Members staging a strike. CIR issued a return-to-work several times before the
strikers halted. Two pilots, one of them being Felix Gaston, refused to take the flights assigned to him
which prompted PAL to terminate his services.

A majority of ALAP members adopted a resolution amending its constitution and by-laws, allowing any
active member who shall be forced to retire or forced to resign or otherwise be terminated for union
activities to have the option to either continue to be and remain as an active member in good standing or
to resign in writing. PAL files an urgent ex-parte motion to enjoin any ALPAP members from proceeding
with their en masse resignation/retirement.

Despite a no work stoppage order from CIR, a substantial majority(180) of ALAP members filed letters
or retirement/resignation with PAL.PAL withheld from them any benefit or privilege they may have been
entitled by reason of employment because of their defiance of the CIR order. Those who left PAL elected
Gaston as President, those who remained in PAL (45 in all) elected Ben Hur Gomez.

The Gomez Faction filed a certification petition with the CIR praying that it be declared as the sole and
exclusive bargaining representative of all pilots then employed by PAL and were on active flight and/or
operational assignments. This was opposed by the Gaston group on the ground that the CIR has no
jurisdiction over the subject matter because of a certification proceeding in the CIR is not the proper
forum for the adjudication as to who is the lawful president of a legitimate labor organization.(Gaston did
not want the Gomez faction to take over the corporate name and funds of ALPAP)

CIR rendered a decision certifying ALPAP as the sole and exclusive bargaining representative of the
above mentioned pilots with Gomez as President. CIR held that the amendment to the by-laws was illegal
because it was not adopted in accordance with the procedure prescribed and because non-employees
cannot be included as ALPAP members.

ISSUES:

*WoN employees can represent and be a member of a union of employees of a certain employer

*Who between Gomez and Gaston is the true president of ALPAP

RULING: Yes, procedurally 221 out of 270 members voted in favor of the member during a general
membership meeting, all in compliance with ALPAP by-laws. Substantially, the restrictive interpretation
made by CIR is erroneous.

Sec 2(e) of RA 875 defines a "labor organization" as any union or association which exist, in whole or in
part, for the purpose of collective bargaining or dealing with employees concerning terms and conditions
of employment." The absence of the condition which the CIR would attach to the statutory concept of a
labor organization, as being limited to the employees of a particular employee is quite evident from the
law. The emphasis of the Industrial Peace Act is clearly on the purposes for which a union or association
of employees is established rather than that membership therein should be limited not only to the
employees of a particular employer. Even under section 2(h) "representative" is defines as including "a
legitimate labor organization or any officer or agent of such organization, whether or not employed by the
employer or employee whom he represents." It cannot be overemphasized likewise that a labor dispute
can exist "regardless whether the disputants stand in the proximate relation of employer and employee."
Moreover, nothing in the Constitution and by-laws of the ALPAP restricts membership therein to PAL
pilots alone. Although there has never been an instance where a non-PAL pilots became a member of
ALPAP, the complete lack of such precondition for ALPAP membership cannot be interpreted as an
unmistakable authority for the association to accept pilots into its fold though they may not be under
PAL's authority.

As between Gomez and Gaston, the court help that Gomez's election cannot be valid and binding. He was
elected at a meeting of only 45 ALPAP members called just one day after the election of Gaston as
President of ALPAP who received majority of 180 votes out of a total membership of 270.