Meeting With NPA Ends Without Agreement

For years, about 1,600 pilots at low-cost carrier AirTran Airways have been represented by the National Pilots Association, a relatively small independent union that has seen its share of difficulties. In a bid to strengthen its ranks and carry more clout into ongoing contract negotiations, the union recently reached out to two prominent labor organizations to explore a possible partnership.

However, we may strike -- so to speak -- at least one of those organizations from consideration.

On Wednesday, Capt. David Bourne, director of the Teamsters Airline Division, met with the board of directors of the NPA... and announced shortly thereafter the Teamsters aren't interested in adding AirTran pilots to their ranks at this time.

"Given the current volatility of the airline industry, and the tendency toward continued consolidation, it is to everyone's benefit that the pilots at AirTran strengthen their own organization before entertaining any other representational possibilities," Bourne said. "We remain in solidarity with our union brothers and sisters at AirTran, and are ready to assist them in their endeavors. However, we are not planning to pursue a more official relationship at this time."

NPA officials also have meetings planned with representatives of the Air Line Pilots Association, which represents pilots at most of the nation's major airlines.

As ANN has reported, the NPA has been locked in contract talks with AirTran for years, with little success. Both sides reached a tentative agreement in May 2007, but AirTran later withdrew the offer. Since that time, neither side has budged from their position -- pilots want more pay, while the airline wants to trim its pilot-related costs by 12.5 percent.

The NPA and AirTran have since entered mediation... while union members recalled their former president and vice-president.

"The NPA leadership desires nothing but the best for our pilots as far as representation and we are, at the request of our pilots, exploring all options to strengthen their representational bargaining agents," National Pilots Association president Mike Best told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution last week, ahead of the Teamsters talks.

Predictably, AirTran executives are steering clear of the matter. "If there's going to be a change, when that change happens, we'll bargain with the replacement union," said Stephen Kolski, AirTran's Executive VP of Operations and Corporate Affairs.

FMI: www.airtran.com, www.teamsters.org, www.alpa.org