KCSR and Tex-Mex secure preliminary injunction barring union from striking over new interchange procedures

Client(s) The Kansas City Southern Railway Company, The Texas Mexican Railway Company

Jones Day secured a preliminary injunction on behalf of The Kansas City Southern Railway Company ("KCSR") and The Texas Mexican Railway Company ("Tex-Mex") barring the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen from striking over the carriers’ implementation of new interchange procedures in Laredo, Texas. The union threatened to strike in late June if the carriers proceeded with a previously-announced plan to allow trains from Mexico to interchange at a rail yard about nine miles from the U.S.-Mexico border. Jones Day sought a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction on behalf of the carriers on the ground that the parties’ collective bargaining agreements permit the change and that a strike would violate the Railway Labor Act (RLA). Following an expedited evidentiary hearing before the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, the court granted the carriers’ request for injunctive relief, holding that the parties’ dispute is subject to arbitration under the RLA and that a strike by the union would be unlawful. The injunction ensures that the carriers will be able to proceed with the new interchange procedure, which will enhance safety and security of trains, increase the capacity and fluidity of rail operations crossing the border, and alleviate rail-traffic congestion in and around Laredo.

The Kansas City Southern Railway Company, et al. v. Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers And Trainmen, et al., No. 5:18-cv-00071 (S.D. Tex.)