Mon, May 01, 2006
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.
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