Atlas Air pilot negotiations move into arbitration

This story has been updated with comments from Atlas. Negotiations recently ended between Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings and the union representing its Atlas Air pilots, and the dispute between the parties will enter binding interest arbitration in mid-March, President and CEO John Dietrich announced during today’s earnings call. [caption id="attachment_92886" align="alignright" width="300"] Photo courtesy of Atlas Air.[/caption] In response to the move to begin arbitration, Robert Kirchner, head of the International Aviation Professionals (IAP), Teamsters Local 2750, placed the responsibility for the negotiation failure on Atlas, stating that the company has stalled discussions while pilots called for talks to reach an agreement around pilot contracts. Kirchner stated that following years of failure to reach an agreement , “morale is at an all-time low and attrition is extremely high.” Current attrition rates at Atlas’ airlines are unconfirmed, but in November 2020, representatives at UPS and Teamsters Local 1224 noted an uptick in applications from experienced pilots to cargo airlines, which have been less severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Kirchner warned that arbitration is unfavorable, as it hands the decision to a third party. “If the arbitrator rules all the issues in the company’s favor, workforce discontent will soar,” he said. Atlas prevailed in previous arbitration with Teamsters Local 1224, related to the collective bargaining agreement connected to Atlas’ 2016 acquisition of Southern Air. For Atlas’ part, Dietrich pointed out during the call that Atlas has increased pilot pay during pandemic operations, with premium pay provided for pilots operating into certain areas significantly impacted by COVID-19, “as well as the 10% pay increase we provided to our pilots in May 2020, pending the completion of our joint collective bargaining agreement.” The timeline for arbitration is unclear. While scheduled hearings are set to begin in mid-March and run through the end of the month and will likely be followed by post-hearing briefs summarizing both sides’ arguments, “there’s no defined timeline that’s binding on the arbitrator,” Dietrich said in response to an analyst question during the call. A company spokesperson told Air Cargo World that the contract requests an arbitration decision on an expedited basis. “A lot of it depends on how many open issues remain to be resolved,” Dietrich said. “The more issues open, the longer it may take for the arbitrator to render a decision.”

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Atlas Air pilot negotiations move into arbitration

Union leadership objects to arbitration, warns of low morale among pilots

Vaccine shipments account for 120,000 tonnes of airfreight, Cargo Facts Consulting finds

Consultant Insight: Post-pandemic airline survival depends on transformation

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