To Fund Efforts During Protracted Contract Negotiations

Last week, Pinnacle Airlines pilots, represented by the Air Line Pilots Association, International (ALPA), received access to $2 million from the union's Major Contingency Fund (MCF) as negotiations with management on a new collective bargaining agreement passed the 27-month mark.

The allocation provides Pinnacle pilots with the needed resources to fully prepare themselves and their families for a strike in the event that a fair agreement cannot be reached at the bargaining table.

"Our 60,000 member airline pilots across the United States and Canada stand side-by-side with our Pinnacle brothers and sisters in their contract negotiating efforts -- what happens at one ALPA pilot group affects all ALPA pilot groups," said ALPA president, Capt. John Prater, when discussing the two MCF grants that the union made this week. "Pilot professionalism has been the key to many airlines' survival during the past five years, and Pinnacle pilots are no exception. They deserve -- and they will achieve --a contract that reflects their significant contributions to their company's bottom line."

"The pilots of Pinnacle Airlines are solidly committed to achieving our contract goals," said Capt. Wakefield Gordon, chairman of the Pinnacle unit of ALPA. "In an environment in which airlines such as Pinnacle are reporting industry-wide shortages of pilots, we are not going to accept management's proposals that would continue to make us the lowest-paid pilots in the industry."

The Pinnacle pilots began contract negotiations in February 2005, and their contract became amendable in May 2005. A mediator with the National Mediation Board has been helping in the negotiations since August 2006. Although most sections of the contract have been tentatively agreed upon, ALPA states Pinnacle pilots and management disagree on aspects such as scope, work rules, and compensation.

As Aero-News reported, Pinnacle missed its most recent deadline for a settlement on March 31, which led to the removal of several aircraft under an agreement between the regional carrier and contract partner Northwest Airlines.

FMI: www.alpa.org, www.nwairlink.com