Claim Company "Refuses To Bargain In Good Faith"

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters asked the National Mediation Board (NMB) Tuesday to release it from mediation with Amerijet International, Inc., and to push for binding arbitration in an effort to reach a collective bargaining agreement.

If the NMB releases the parties from mediation, and if either of the parties refuses to accept binding arbitration, then -- barring intervention by President Obama -- they will be free to engage in "economic self help" at the conclusion of a 30-day cooling off period.

Typically, the Teamsters admit, "self help includes strikes and lockouts."

The Teamsters were certified by the NMB in June 2004 to represent the pilots and flight engineers working for Amerijet. The company is a South Florida cargo carrier that is two-thirds owned by Miami-based investment company HIG Capital. Amerijet serves the Caribbean and Latin America and recently announced plans to bring service to Asia and the Middle East.

Amerijet and the Teamsters have been attempting to reach a collective bargaining agreement for nearly five years. The last three years of negotiations have been supervised and directed by the NMB and its team of mediators.

The Teamsters informed the NMB the parties are at an impasse in their negotiations, after Amerijet announced last week that it was unilaterally cutting the employees' wages by 10 percent and eliminating their 401(k) pension matching contributions.

"It is abundantly clear that Amerijet's tactics and antics throughout the mediation process were designed to ensure that no self-respecting labor organization would ever be able to reach an agreement with it," said Teamsters Airline Division Director Capt. David Bourne in the NMB filing. "In doing so, Amerijet has also evidenced a total lack of respect for the NMB process and indeed has made a mockery of it."

The NMB is expected to issue a ruling on the Teamsters' request shortly.

FMI: www.teamster.org, www.amerijet.com/amerijet/cargo