Amerijet Strike Gains Labor Support
As Miami-based Amerijet moves into a second week of strike action by its flight crew employees, the company says it is continuing to operate as normal. The International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) claims this is because it has turned to interline partner Cargojet, an Ontario, Canada-based airline.
In a statement, the Teamsters’ union says Amerijet officials "are signaling that they have no interest in being an honest American company and will bring as many foreign nationals as needed into the U.S. to take American jobs and make a profit off American workers.”
On Sept. 2, the International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF), representing 4.5 million workers in 148 countries, joined the AirLine Pilots Association (ALPA) in support of the strike action. Gabriel Mocho, Secretary of the ITF’s Civil Aviation Section, commented: “Amerijet has become a byword for low pay and shabby treatment, and the revulsion that is being expressed is a direct result of this.”
ALPA added, "These men and women are looking for basic improvements in their first contract while dealing with a company that has shown no respect for them or the negotiating process."
Also supporting the strike is Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-Fla.). In a letter to both Amerijet CEO David Bassett and Doug Berman, Managing Partner of the airline's majority owner HIG Capital, the House lawmaker said, " I am deeply disturbed by you company's seeming disregard for the health and safety of your employees. Your failure to provide adequate drinking water or sanitary facilities is simply degrading and inhumane."
Striking pilots have noted that the lack of toilets on Amerijet aircraft require them to use plastic bags when necessary.
Congressman Hastings added, "The docking of pay of pilots who are too ill to fly pressures them to fly when sick and endangers the lives of not only employees, but also innocent bystanders on the ground. Though having to work in such substandard conditions is sufficiently reprehensible, Amerijet pilots and engineers are also among the lowest paid in the industry.”
Amerijet pilots claim they are required to work up to 16 hours a day for a starting salary of $36,000 a year that hasn’t changed since 1999. In March this year, Amerijet cut salaries by 10 percent.
According to Teamsters' spokeswoman Daisy Gonzalez, "The key hang-up in the contract talks involved Amerijet's insistence on a five-year contract without any raise in the last 20 months of the contract's term. The company also refused the union's demand to restore severe wage and benefit cuts that the company imposed earlier this year.”
Pamela Rollins, Amerijet’s Senior Vice President of Business Development noted, "We are disappointed that IBT's inability to reach a fair agreement has resulted in their decision to strike. The demands were simply not justified in any respect, particularly given the current competitive and economic environment."
The Teamsters’ Local representing the Amerijet flight crews says it has been attempting to negotiate with the airline’s management since 2004.
On Sept. 3 Amerijet said, "The comments that have been issued in the media from sources other than the company are not unexpected under the current circumstances. As long as Amerijet is engaged in labor negotiations we are not at liberty to discuss labor related issues. This means that until such time that the strike has ended, the company is in labor negotiations and ask that you respect our position."
