White Cap

Miami based Amerijet International has sued, once again, the IBT over the refusal of the International to recognize a Last/Best/Final Offer. This proposal was put forth even before the parties entered the mediation process. Enough "pilots" at AJT have asked the Division Director to take this offer, such that these pilots can get a pay bump until "they get on with a better airline". That being the case, the IBT is having a referendum on representation.
Many, many pilots have contributed their blood and sweat over the years to bring some sanity to the 36th Street operators. The three week strike in 2009 was the culmination of total disrespect for even basic human rights at that company, including giving no toilets, water, or catering for 16+ hour days. These people have drooled at the thought of getting rid of the IBT, and have never in ten years acted in any good faith. Most of the good people have moved on since 2009, what are left are Eastern scabs and people with violations. We took as many as possible at 5Y.
The actions taken by these companies and their sycophantic pilots have repercussions for all of us during our negotiations. It has been noticed by our union hiring board. These guys were hired knowing full well that the IBT was their bargaining agent. To undermine everything that previous pilots have worked for is morally indefensible, and these parasites should never be allowed to work at another union carrier.


Dear Crew Members:
Yesterday the International union’s lawyer in Washington complained that my email to you this week was an offer to bargain directly with crew members instead of the union that represents our crew members, and said I needed to retract that offer to bargain directly with you immediately.

As I have said, Amerijet is absolutely committed to following the labor laws, and so if my email this week gave the impression that I was attempting to bargain directly with crewmembers, that was not my intention at all and I retract any suggestion of that. To be clear, Amerijet recognizes the IBT as the representative of our employees, has been negotiating in good faith with the IBT, and remains ready and willing to do so in the mediation process in the future.

What I meant to say this week and what I continue to believe is that our crew members should have the opportunity to vote for or against Amerijet’s contract proposal. It is the chance to vote, and express your views to your union representatives, that seems only right to me, so that the union can know how Amerijet’s crew members want their union to act – whether that is to sign the contract proposal or to reject the contract proposal. That is why I encouraged you this week to continue to push the union leadership to arrange for a vote, and if the union leadership would not arrange for you to have a chance to vote you might consider holding your own vote.
On this Labor Day weekend, I want to thank you again for the dedicated and professional service you give to Amerijet. I want to repeat that Amerijet is committed to following the labor laws and to working with your democratically-elected union. I am hopeful that your union supports those same democratic principles and will arrange for you to vote on the contract proposal – again, for or against the contract proposal, it is your choice. But if the union leadership continues to refuse to arrange for a vote, I see no reason why our crew members can’t arrange for a vote themselves so that the union knows how our crew members want the union to act on Amerijet’s contract proposal.


Thanks
Dave

President and C.E.O.
Amerijet Holdings
954-320-5300


Additionally:


To our Amerijet crew members:
Back in August, I wrote to you that Amerijet is committed to reaching a new union contract, and told you we had put forward a complete contract proposal for our pilots that included significant compensation increases and other improvements. We expected the IBT would put that very promising contract out to our pilots for a vote.
As we all know, unfortunately the IBT refused to do that. When some of our pilots took the initiative and arranged for a vote among themselves on Amerijet’s contract proposal, the union also refused to accept that vote. Now — six months later — we hear the IBT may finally agree to allow our pilots to vote on Amerijet’s contract proposal. The catch is that the IBT has threatened that unless our pilots vote the way the union wants them to vote (instead of the way the pilots want to vote), the union will walk away from its responsibilities as the representative of Amerijet’s pilots.
Because of this IBT threat, I think it is important to say again now what I said last August: Amerijet stands behind its contract proposal and remains ready to sign it with the IBT -- or if the IBT is no longer our pilots’ representative, we are ready to sign that contract with any other union or group representing our crew members.
We will recognize and deal with the IBT so long as it is the representative of our crew members – that is the law, and we will absolutely follow the law. But if the IBT walks away from representing our pilots, I assure you that Amerijet is ready to work with any organization that our pilots choose as their representative -- including one “home grown” by Amerijet’s pilots. As you know, many other carriers, large and small, have unions that represent only that carrier’s employees and so are concerned only with what is best for those employees.
The IBT has suggested that Amerijet’s goal is not to have a contract at all, and says that is why the contract proposal lets Amerijet set up foreign bases that aren’t covered by the collective bargaining agreement. Ask yourselves: if the contract proposal (which is exactly the same as the initial contract on this that the IBT approved) really allows Amerijet to do what the union says, and Amerijet really doesn’t want to have to work with a union, shouldn’t Amerijet have assigned its crew members to foreign bases years ago? The truth is, we think having a union representing our crew members is a good thing. But we also think our crew members deserve a union that is looking out for their best interests, and not the union’s interests.
I say this to all our crew members, because Amerijet has now sent the IBT as a complete contract the proposal that we understand our flight engineers asked the union to propose to Amerijet. Amerijet also has informed the IBT that if the PFEs are asking the union to make that offer to Amerijet, we accept it, and all we need is for the union to sign it. In case the IBT decides it doesn’t want to represent our flight engineers, I want our flight engineers to know that Amerijet is prepared to sign the final contract proposal for the PFEs also, and deal in good faith with whatever group or union our flight engineers might choose to represent them.
Finally, I want to thank your union negotiating committee for getting all of us – union and company – to the point that we have good, complete, and carefully negotiated contracts for both our pilots and flight engineers that are ready for a signature by the union and Amerijet. It took commitment, and study, and lots of hard work to put these contract proposals together. The union negotiating committee sacrificed their own time for these negotiations, and those proposals are so much better for their efforts. I personally thank them and appreciate their contributions, and if you have a chance to thank them too, I hope you will do that.
David Bassett


Thanks
Dave

President and C.E.O.
Amerijet Holdings
954-320-5300