Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings, Inc. has announced that
negotiations with the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) for a new
collective bargaining agreement covering the Crewmembers employed
by its subsidiary Polar Air Cargo, Inc. (Polar) have been
unsuccessful, and that ALPA has elected to call a strike at
Polar.
"While we regret the Polar Crewmembers' decision to strike,"
said Jeffrey H. Erickson, President and Chief Executive Officer of
AAWW, "we have prepared for this contingency. Consistent with our
strategic initiatives to place our aircraft where they are most
profitable, we have returned three aircraft on dry lease to Polar
back to Atlas Air, Inc. We have also placed two Polar aircraft for
sale or lease, and are in the process of placing the remaining
seven aircraft in other uses, including dry leases. As a result,
only seven of the Company's 42 aircraft are affected by the
strike."
The final offer from Polar to ALPA called for no changes to the
current work rules, pay rules and benefits, and provided for an
immediate 10.5% across-the-board pay raise. Polar claims that ALPA
was demanding significantly higher wage increases, which precluded
reaching an agreement. "Our goal was to put our Polar Crewmembers
at parity with our Atlas Crewmembers pending merger of the two
carriers," Mr. Erickson continued.
"ALPA's demands were simply not justified in any respect,
particularly given the current competitive and fuel environment in
which Polar competes."
The Other Side the Story
The following statement was issued
today by Captain Bobb Henderson, chairman of the Polar Air Cargo
crewmembers' MEC:
"As of 1:34 a.m. EDT, on September 16th, Polar Air Cargo
crewmembers are on strike. We have negotiated with our management
for more than two years to achieve a fair contract that recognizes
our real worth to this company. Polar crewmembers have numerous
years of flight experience and advanced education, and are simply
not fairly compensated for an airline of this size, sophistication,
and profitability. In response to our concerns about compensation,
our management has generally offered nothing more than numbers that
were well below what our peers are paid. They have continued to
negotiate using smoke, mirrors, and sleight of hand. We are
saddened that management has refused to address our issues at the
negotiating table prior to our strike deadline, leaving us with no
choice but to walk away from our livelihoods to get the contract
that we deserve. We have always been prepared to settle but
management has forced our hand to exercise our self-help
option.
We feel that our proposal is fair and reasonable and we remain
fully committed to working with management to resolve this
situation. After all, we are professional airline pilots, and we
want to be flying, not walking the picket line."
AAWW and the Airline Pilots Association (ALPA), the collective
bargaining representative for Polar's Crewmembers, had been in
negotiations for an amended Collective Bargaining Agreement since
2003. The parties were released from negotiations last month by the
National Mediation Board (NMB) into a mandated 30-day cooling off
period. That period ended last night at midnight, after which the
strike action was taken by the Polar Crewmembers.