Union Victory Sinks In at Flight Options

PA16

Veteran
Contributor
Nov 12, 2005
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Low and Slow
www.usaviation.com
Last Thursday’s union victory for the Flight Options pilots has received mixed reactions. The fractional’s 795 line pilots, two-thirds of whom voted for representation by IBT Local 1108, are “eagerly look[ing] forward to the hard work ahead that will be required to secure our first contract.†Flight Options management, however, was “disappointed by our pilots’ decision to be represented by the Teamsters, [though] the company respects the pilots’ right to choose a representative as their bargaining agent.†Flight Options CEO Michael Scheeringa, in his weekly address to employees yesterday, lamented that individual pilots can no longer talk with management about “pay, benefits or other terms of employment.†He pledged to “bargain with the Teamsters in good faith in an attempt to reach an agreement.†Meanwhile, during the next “few months†the pilots organizing committee “will be preparing to vote for our first elected leadership.†Once elected, the leadership will assemble a pilot negotiating committee to bargain with the company.