Union Says Airline Bargaining Style Is "Antiquated"

Omni Air International flight deck crewmembers, represented by the Airline Professionals Association (APA) Teamsters Local 1224 of the Airline Division of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT), last week asked the National Mediation Board (NMB) to be released from mediated negotiations because they say Omni management wants to continue to compensate Omni crewmembers well below industry standards and maintain health and welfare and other worker provisions at unacceptably low levels.

This request of the NMB comes after 18 months of direct negotiations and almost 24 additional months of mediated negotiations between the IBT and Omni. The two sides are now at an impasse in the negotiations process and the union says it has become apparent Omni management will not provide industry standard rates of pay, work rules, working conditions and benefits unless compelled to do so. Because of Omni's antiquated bargaining style on many fronts, the IBT has asked the NMB to end mediated negotiations and to proffer binding arbitration to both sides.

If the NMB grants this request, and either party declines binding arbitration, a 30-day cooling off period will commence, at the end of which the IBT will be released to conduct a strike at Omni Air International.

"Management's posture during these negotiations has been wretched," said Joe Muckle, APA Teamsters Local 1224 president. "I am very disappointed that Omni's negotiators have treated these negotiations like a sideshow. Our negotiations have spanned a considerably long period of time. We eventually came close to a Tentative Agreement, but immediately realized when attempting to put concepts into contract language that many of the same undesirable antics we've come to expect from Omni were likely to continue well beyond the conclusion of these negotiations. It became clear during the 'clean-up' period that they didn't want to honor the word they gave at the table, but instead intended to 'sharp shoot' our contact with the hope of undermining the intent of the CBA language."

Disputes over hostile areas and Civil Reserve Air Fleet (CRAF) operations are also significant areas of dispute, as Omni flight crews are routinely assigned to fly to some of the most dangerous regions in the world. As an example, Omni stationed crews in a country during a bloody attempted overthrow of government where the president of that country was forced to flee, hundreds were injured, and scores killed. The flight crews seek to be fairly compensated for their exposure to those dangers and for the skills that they demonstrate on a daily basis to safely fly in and out of those dangerous regions.

"Recent actions by senior Omni management are indicative of disrespect for the negotiations process and a lack of respect for the dignity and well-being of their workers like I have never seen before in this industry," said Captain Joe Muckle. "Omni principals had to be compelled to attend negotiations, and even then, their first and foremost priority was to arrive late and leave early. Omni is a private corporation that reported profits of about $60 million in 2009 according to Department of Transportation reports, and Omni is on track to report profits of $75 million in 2010, and most of that was through contracting with the U.S. Government. This kind of corporate profit without regard for the welfare of its employees takes advantage of the government contracting process and must stop. Omni flies B-767s with up to 276 passengers, DC-10s with up to 355 passengers, and now proposes to fly B-777s with up to 380 passengers and a range of more than 14 hours; but Omni pays many of their flight crewmembers a wage that is well below the industry standard and even below that of many other occupations that don't require comparable years of specialized training. It's outrageous, and it's an insult to our members and their families."

The Airline Professionals Association Teamsters Local 1224 represents the flight crewmembers of ABX Air, Atlas Air, Cape Air, Gulfstream International, Horizon Airways, Kalitta Air, Miami Air, Omni Air International, Polar Air Cargo, Southern Air and USA 3000.

FMI: www.apa1224.org