Release #: FFT 17.08
October 19, 2017
Frontier Pilots Receive $2 Million Grant for Strike Preparedness
HERNDON, Va.—Frontier Airlines pilots received substantial financial firepower from their international union today to help them prepare for a possible strike if they are released from mediation.
The Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l (ALPA) Executive Board unanimously approved an initial $2 million grant to the Frontier pilots from its Major Contingency Fund (MCF). The MCF is a $46 million “war chest” that provides ALPA pilot groups with the necessary resources to respond to threats to their jobs and to the piloting profession.
The grant announcement comes one month after Frontier pilots voted by a 100 percent margin to authorize their leaders to call a strike if negotiations break down and the federal government allows a strike or management lockout.
“We are putting Frontier management and ownership on notice—the days of looting our airline are over,” said Capt. Tracy Smith, chairman of ALPA’s Frontier pilot group. “With this new funding we will not be outspent by the Company should they force us into a lawful strike. We would much rather have a new contract than a strike, but the pilots at Frontier demand a market-rate agreement.”
The $2 million grant will be used to pay rent and supplies for future strike centers in Denver and elsewhere, as well as fund pilot communications, advertising, family awareness programs, and other strike-related preparations.
Frontier’s more than 1,100 pilots are working under a bankruptcy-era contract that’s more than 10 years old and makes them the lowest-paid pilots for their aircraft type in North America. The pilots have been in direct negotiations since March 2016, and entered federal mediation in October of last year. Currently, no mediation sessions are scheduled after November 2017.
Founded in 1931, ALPA is the largest airline pilot union in the world and represents over 58,000 pilots at 33 U.S. and Canadian airlines. Visit the ALPA website at www.alpa.org or follow us on Twitter @WeAreALPA.
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CONTACT: ALPA Media, 703-481-4440 or Media@alpa.org