Union Fights Mesaba Management And Wins

The aviation business is a tough one these days... especially for a new generation of pilots trying to work their way up the ladder in the airline industry. It has been particularly difficult for the latest generation of pilots for Mesaba Airlines, currently operating under bankruptcy protection. Mesaba is attempting to renegotiate contracts with their pilots, flight attendants and mechanics in order to try and seek an additional 19.4 percent reduction in labor costs.

First year pilots who left the airline after learning that they were about to be furloughed were recently sent letters demanding repayment of their training costs, since they had left before the end of the first year of employment. Mesaba pilots have had to sign an agreement whereby they'd stay for at least a year so that Mesaba would be able to amortize the costs (estimated to be as much as $21K per flyer) of the initial training... an agreement that also left the impression that the pilots would still be employed by the end of the term of the agreement.

It was not to be... Mesaba let pilots know that furloughs were pending and a number of them found other employment rather than be left on the unemployment line. Many of those that did soon received demands for repayment from Mesaba, threatening them with having their debts turned over to a collection agency if they failed to repay the costs within 30 days.

It was shaping up to be a pretty serious battle when Mesaba finally relented, under pressure from the pilots' union, and agreed to forgo their attempts to collect these costs.

A spokesperson for Mesaba, Elizabeth Costello, noted that, "We looked into this issue and we determined the right thing to do was not to enforce the contract provision in this matter."

Originally, Mesaba pilots union chairman Tom Wychor had harsh words for the attempt to collect training costs from the beleaguered pilots, "Financially it's stupid, and morally it's reprehensible." However; Wychor explained that airline management relented after the union conducted meetings with Mesaba President John Spanjers.

FMI: www.mesaba.com, www.alpa.org