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CommutAir CLE Info Picket a Huge Success
More than 75 ALPA pilots from 14 ALPA airlines answered the call, picketing at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport on Oct. 26, and sending a strong message to CommutAir management that the piloting profession will not accept any lowering of standards for regional airlines.
Despite high winds and thunderstorms that buffeted the Midwest and made it hard for commuters to make it into CLE, pilots from Delta, Continental, AirTran, Spirit, ExpressJet, Mesaba, Colgan, Comair, Atlantic Southeast, Trans States, Air Wisconsin, Mesa, and North American joined more than 34 CommutAir pilots for the group’s first-ever public demonstration as ALPA members. It was a history-making occasion, as CMT Acting Chairman Jay Dougherty told his pilots.
“This is our first contract, and this is just the beginning,” Dougherty said. “We are not doing this just for us. As pilots in the regional industry, we refuse to lower the standards of our industry and drag all regional pilots into a race to the bottom. We are willing to work with our management to help our carrier grow, but it is essential to move our pilot group to the industry standard to retain and attract the pilots we will need to resume our growth.”
The 134 pilots of CommutAir sponsored the picket in CLE as ALPA’s response to management’s opening economic proposal, which management finally offered after 20 months of negotiations for the pilot group’s first contract. The company’s proposal reflected current policies accompanied by a 9 percent reduction in guarantee, which would make the group—already the second-lowest-paid small turboprop pilots in the industry—the lowest-paid pilots in the United States.
Assisting the rookie picketers were experienced ALPA hands like ASA SPC Chairman Nick Tomlin and Spirit SPC Chairman Paul Hopkins, who both served as picket-line supervisors during the event.
“You guys are going to get the contract you deserve if you stay unified and stick together,” said Hopkins, who saw his group do just that during a five-day strike in June.
The CMT pilots resume negotiations on Nov. 1.
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