Takeaway: Under the Railway Labor Act (RLA), federal jurisdiction may exist over a seemingly minor disciplinary issue if the discipline was allegedly based on anti-union animus.

A union established RLA discrimination when an offsite brawl resulted in the suspension of its leadership, but not a pro-railway member, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled.

The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen is a labor union representing more than 5,000 Union Pacific engineers. It is made up of a number of local units or divisions. Division 192 is the exclusive representative for Union Pacific employees in and around El Paso, Texas. During early 2021, tension arose within the division over the union's stance on "shoves."

Engineers take shoves when they accept extra shifts at the request of the railroad. The union took a position against taking shoves, but one engineer continued taking them. Two Division 192 officers, the local chairman and vice local chairman, confronted the engineer about his behavior via text message and the division's Facebook page.

Mounting tensions ultimately erupted into an off-duty fist fight before a union meeting. The meeting was scheduled at a local restaurant. The pro-shove engineer arrived a half hour before the start time. A number of the division's officers, including the local chairman and vice local chairman, had already arrived and were chatting in the parking lot.

The engineer approached the vice local chairman and allegedly struck him...

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