ALPA Says Furloughs Were 'Illegal'

ALPA reports in its "Fast Read" online that Thirty-three pilots from Rockford, Ill.-based Ryan International Airlines returned to work on February 13th after being illegally furloughed less than two weeks earlier. The airline said the move was due to a company cash shortfall. The furloughees—almost a quarter of the active pilots on RYN’s seniority list, including two-thirds of the MEC officers—got their jobs back thanks to a quickly drafted letter of agreement, which was ratified by 96 percent of the pilot group in less than 36 hours.

These members of the Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l, were furloughed, along with more than 125 flight attendants and other employees, on Feb. 1. The furloughs were made out of seniority order and without warning in violation of the pilots’ contract. But by Feb. 10 negotiators had completed the LOA, and after a short but successful communications blitz to educate pilots of the details, it was approved the next day, Feb. 11.

The furlough LOA will reduce work days and minimum guarantees for one bid period and postpone a planned pilot pay increase for several months to help Ryan conserve cash until its military charter flying picks up as expected this summer. In addition to bringing the 33 pilots back to work, the group also negotiated a new long-call reserve provision, one of the MEC’s goals in its current Section 6 negotiations with management.

FMI: www.alpa.org