Evergreen International Aviation pilots' union seeks relief

Sep 3, 2011

By Nicole Montesano

Of the News-Register

Evergreen International Aviation is scheduled to resume negotiations with its pilots and flight engineers this month, and union officials are calling on the company to commit to reaching a tentative agreement.

Though they have received some small increases in living allowances for the time they spend on the road, their wages have been frozen since 1999, a span of 12 years now. And they have had no improvements in wage or benefits the last seven years.

They received a new contract offer from Evergreen last year that would have ratified a continued wage freeze, and rejected it overwhelmingly in August. Two months later, they passed resolution of no-confidence in the company.

The company proposal would have frozen wages at the 1999 level for the foreseeable future. The vote by members of Evergreen flight crews was 96 percent no to just 4 percent yes.

The Air Line Pilots Association, known as ALPA, now represents Evergreen's 224 pilots and flight engineers. Previously, their union had no national or international affiliation.

At the time of last year's contract vote, William Fink, chairman of the unit's Master Executive Council, said pilots and engineers were especially soured to see Evergreen engaged in a $25 million expansion of its museum complex on Three Mile Lane, across from its corporate headquarters, even as the company was pleading that its finances didn't permit wage increases.

"The Evergreen pilots call on management to fully engage in the upcoming talks with the goal of reaching a tentative agreement by the end of the session," said Capt. James Touchette, chairman of ALPA's Evergreen chapter. "Our crews have continued to work over the ensuing years of negotiations without compensation for the soaring cost of living, while the company continues to pursue lucrative, guaranteed-paid government contracts that insulate it from any cost increases."

The union said, "Evergreen crew members have been paid subpar wages and endured substandard working conditions, which include 16-hour or longer duty days, for more than a decade.

"When contrasted with comparable cargo carriers, the average hourly rate of pay for Evergreen captains is as much as 23 percent less than their peers across the industry. Similarly, first officers at Evergreen are paid up to 56 percent less, and flight engineers are paid up to 33 percent less, than others in the same seat position based on longevity."

Touchette said, "We have invested our careers in this company, are dedicated to its success, and only ask for a fair and equitable commitment from Evergreen in the form of industry-standard wages, cost-of-living adjusted benefits and modern work rules. Flying to far-flung places around the world - many of them quite volatile - for weeks at a time takes stamina, professionalism and family sacrifices.

"Tangible enhanced working conditions and t-standard pay would go a long way to improving our pilots' quality of life and making our sacrifices more palatable. Surely that translates into a good business model for a successful company."

The upcoming negotiating session follows rounds of talks in February and May of 2011 that resulted in little if any tangible progress. The parties remain under National Mediation Board jurisdiction.

In January, just before the first round of 2011 balloting, 97 percent of crew members voted to authorize a strike in the event contract negotiations failed to produce results. More than 86 percent participating in the balloting, according to the union.

Source:  http://www.newsregister.com