Thu, Feb 05, 2009
Carrier Remains Free Of Organized Labor Groups
An effort to unionize pilots flying
for low-cost carrier JetBlue Airways fell short of the required
majority of votes, according to numbers released Tuesday by the
National Mediation Board.
Newsday reports 646 ballots were cast in favor of the JetBlue
Pilots Association, out of 1,937 pilots eligible to vote on the
proposal. Members of the all-volunteer group cast a petition in
November 2008 asking for the vote.
The results appear to indicate JetBlue's pilots are reasonably
content with their relationship with management... a point the
group conceded in its petition announcement last year,
as ANN reported.
"We have complete faith in our current company leadership and
believe that this will be a cooperative effort," JetBlue Pilots
Association leaders Captains Michael Sorbie and William Evans said
in November. "As our airline matures, we want to ensure that the
career expectations of our pilots will remain intact regardless of
organizational changes."
With Tuesday's vote, JetBlue remains the largest US carrier
without any organized labor groups... which allows the carrier to
avoid messy contract negotiations.
"We are very pleased that JetBlue's Pilots have chosen to retain
their direct relationship with the company," said JetBlue CEO Dave
Barger in a written statement Wednesday. "We will continue to work
closely with our Pilots and all JetBlue crewmembers to ensure
JetBlue's competitive position remains strong and our culture
remains unique in the industry. We truly believe culture, an
environment of collaboration and the company's agility are key
competitive advantages for JetBlue."
In its response to the union vote, the JetBlue Pilots
Association took a pragmatic approach. "While the road we started
down over a year ago has not granted our pilots access to the
collective bargaining process, we believe the journey itself
contains its own value."
JetBlue is partly owned by Germany's Deutsche Lufthansa AG.
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