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.

FMI: www.jetbluepilots.org, www.jetblue.com