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Evergreen Airlines Crewmembers Reject Company Offer By |
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August 17, 2010 - Evergreen International Airlines (EIA) crewmembers, represented by the Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l (ALPA), rejected a tentative collective bargaining agreement with management. Ninety-two percent of EIA crewmembers participated in the ratification process. Ninety-six percent of voting members cast ballots against accepting the tentative agreement. “The crewmembers could not get past the fact that they are working under 1999 wages and work rules and would have continued to do so for another two years under the rejected tentative agreement.” |
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ALPA and
management negotiated for two-and-a-half years. Prior to the
Evergreen crewmembers joining ALPA in 2007, negotiations dragged on
for over three years between the crewmembers’ independent union, The
Aviators Group, and management. Mediated talks began in 2005 under
the supervision of the National Mediation Board (NMB). The tentative
agreement was reached in April 2010.
The tentative agreement was largely a renewal of the current collective bargaining agreement, which has been in place since 1999. The crewmembers concluded that the tentative agreement contract is not acceptable after more than 10 years of no improvements in pay or working conditions. “The crewmembers could not get past the fact that they are working under 1999 wages and work rules and would have continued to do so for another two years under the rejected tentative agreement,” said William Fink, MEC chairman of the Evergreen pilot group. “We are aware that the holding company is struggling to meet substantial debt obligations, but are convinced that the airline can afford reasonable improvements in wages and working conditions for its employees.”
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