Tentative contract agreement for Air Transport International flight crews

by B. N. Sullivan

The pilots and flight engineers at Air Transport International (ATI) have reached a tentative contract agreement (TA) with the carrier's management.  The TA was reached after six years of contract negotiations, and is the first contract for ATI crew since they joined the Air line Pilots Association (ALPA) in 2009.  ALPA negotiators and ATI management had been meeting under the supervision of the National Mediation Board.

According to ALPA, the proposed four-year agreement "would include pay increases as well as improved work rules and quality-of-life enhancements for cockpit crewmembers."

A ratification vote will be held after details of the agreement are presented to the membership in a series of road shows at ATI crew hub and training centers. The road shows will begin in January, 2011.

“We will be pleased to present to our crewmembers an agreement that satisfies their needs,” said Capt. Tom Rogers, chairman of the ATI unit of ALPA. “What brought these negotiations to where they are today is the fact that ATI crewmembers take great pride in the service they provide to the Company and that they are dedicated to seeing ATI prosper. It’s been a long road, and I believe that our determination has finally paid off.”

Pilots at Air Transport International vote unanimously to strike

Air Transport International (ATI) pilots are fed up with what they refer to as "stagnant contract negotiations." The pilots, who are represented by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) Local 747, have voted unanimously to strike if and when they are released by the National Mediation Board.

Strike ballots were counted and certified by the union this past Friday, November 7, 2008. IBT says that the ATI crew members voted "100 percent in favor of a strike job action."

ATI pilots have been in contract negotiations with management since June 2004. Negotiations have been held under the auspices of a mediator from the National Mediation Board since October 2006.

In a press release issued yesterday by the IBT, Capt. Tom Rogers, chairman of the ATI Executive Council, said, "We have willingly worked with ATI management throughout the negotiations process--it is past time for them to reciprocate. Not only are they unwilling to negotiate in good faith, but they continue to chip away at the few remaining benefits on which our crew members depend, such as home-basing."

IBT Local 747 President E.E. Sowell added, "The unanimous support for a strike by the ATI crew members, especially during an economic downturn within the airline industry, sends an unrivaled message to the management of ATI. The work ethic and productivity of this pilot group continues to be a core cause of ATI's profitability. Management's persistent unwillingness to recognize that sizable contribution will directly result in a loss for ATI and its shareholders."

Air Transport International, a subsidiary of Air Transport Services Group, Inc, is a U.S. certified air carrier offering air transportation services throughout the world for the United States Air Mobility Command (USAF AMC) and commercial customers such as BAX Global Inc and AMX Cargo.

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