Teamsters Urge Amerijet to Return to Bargaining Table

Statement By Captain David Bourne, Director, Airline Division, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, On Amerijet Strike

FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla., Aug. 28 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The following statement was released today by Capt. David Bourne, director of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Airline Division, on behalf of striking Amerijet pilots, Local 769 and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters:

“Despite Amerijet’s walkout from negotiations and refusal to negotiate in good faith, we and the federal mediator remain at the table waiting for Amerijet management to return and negotiate with honesty and integrity. The failure to reach a fair agreement and avoid this strike rests squarely on the shoulders of a management and law firm whose union-busting practices caused this strike. Amerijet management feels it’s perfectly acceptable to pay substandard wages and provide unsanitary and unsafe working conditions to its airline pilots. Its law firm specializes in preventing pilots from exercising their legal rights to representation and a decent contract.

“Amerijet’s management feels justified in paying the same substandard wages today that they have paid since 1999 – wages that are below the federal poverty level in many cases. They also feel justified in demanding to further cut pay if a crewmember is ill and not legally able to fly. Substandard conditions and pressure to fly sick are being considered as a factor in the tragic crash of Colgan 3407 this year.

“It’s reprehensible that we now see the same thing happening here in South Florida. To refuse to provide drinking water or meals on extended flights, to refuse to provide a safe operating environment, speaks volumes to the kind of airline Amerijet wants to run.

“Amerijet’s senior vice president of Business Development insulted his customers when he said there has been no interruption of service. Last night, two Boeing 767 aircraft operated for them by ABX were grounded by pilots who refused to cross the Amerijet picket line. Those two flights represent more than 372,000 pounds of freight per airplane that is not shipped for customers. In addition, two Amerijet 727′s were grounded because of the strike.

“Perishable food will not get to grocery shelves in San Juan and other islands and critical oil rig parts won’t get to Trinidad. Fresh fish, flowers and other cargo will not come to the customers of South Florida and elsewhere. Each 727 that does not fly is another 120,000 pounds of cargo that is not moving for customers.

“For Amerijet management to trumpet their recent multimillion dollar acquisitions while claiming they can’t afford to give back the money they took from their pilots – or provide a 3 percent pay raise that does not even cover cost of living increases – speaks to their lack of core values. To them, this five-year process has been about one thing: breaking the union.

“The millions spent over five years trying to deny the pilots their legal rights as Americans to a union is staggering when compared to the small amount they are asking for. It’s time for Amerijet to come back to the table, negotiate honestly and fairly and become a real airline.

“We’re still here and we’re still waiting.”

SOURCE International Brotherhood of Teamsters