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.