Protect Future with Contract Ratification

The pilots of Mesa Airlines, represented by the Air Line Pilots Association, International, announced Tuesday that they have ratified a labor contract with management that provides employment protection for all pilots under the parent holding company, Mesa Air Group.

The new agreement brings all pilots from the Mesa Air Group carriers (Mesa Airlines, Air Midwest, CCAir, Freedom Air and any future MAG airlines) into one seniority list and under one contract. Management's practice of using alter-ego carriers to take jobs away from Mesa pilots determined that job protection be a priority in these negotiations.

"This agreement provides that not only will Mesa pilots' employment be protected, but also that any expansion of Mesa Air Group will include our ALPA pilots," said the Mesa pilots' Master Executive Council Chairman, Capt. Andy Hughes. "Included in this job protection is the right of our CCAir pilots to their rightful employment opportunities at Mesa Air Group. These fellow pilots have been unemployed since last year," he added.

Negotiating Committee Chairman for the pilots, Capt. Don Lyons said, "We have also secured the immediate employment of furloughed US Airways pilots under our 'Jets for Jobs' provision which allows for the expansion of Mesa's US Airways Express operation. We negotiated under very difficult circumstances and are pleased to have secured jobs as well as other improvements in our contract."

Of the 977 Mesa crewmembers eligible to vote on this proposed deal, 842 (86.2 percent) participated, with 663 (78.7 percent) casting ballots in favor of the new contract. The previous Mesa pilot contract became amendable in December 2001.

FMI: www.alpa.org