Take a look at the case of Airline Pilots Association Intl v. United, 802 F.2d 886 (1986). In that case united wanted to make a pool of strike breakers and went to great lengths to make sure they were not employees so as to violate the status quo. They put the pilots through training but made it clear they were not hired or guaranteed employment. The appellate court looked at what an employee was and said, " the district court did recognize that the RLA specifically defines the term "employee." Under the Act an employee "includes every person in the service of a carrier (subject to its continuing authority to supervise and direct the manner of rendition of his service) who performs any work defined as that of an employee or subordinate official in the orders of the Interstate Commerce Commission...." 45 U.S.C. Sec. 151, Fifth. See 45 U.S.C. Sec. 181 (providing that 45 U.S.C. Sec. 151 extends to "every air pilot or other person who performs any work as an employee or subordinate official of such carrier or carriers, subject to its or their continuing authority to supervise and direct the manner of rendition of his service ") (emphasis added). See also 45 U.S.C. Sec. 182 (applying definition of 45 U.S.C. Sec. 151, Fifth to the airline industry "as though such carriers and their employees were specifically included within the definition of 'carrier' and 'employee' respectively, in section 151 of this title")."

The appellate court went on to say that the pilots United trained but never had fly any trips and had made no actual guarantee of future employment were not employees because:
1. The pilots never performed actual work for United;
2. The pilots never had to submit to United's supervision of them in while working.

The pilots at Republic and G7 who are getting the bonuses have been employees since the day they showed up. They were hired to go through training and then to fly the planes. The pilots who went to United were trained but specifically told they had no guarantee of ever being hired. They were never paid anything except per diem.

No matter what judge gets the case he will have no problem determining that they are employees. The bonuses are even contingent upon the pilots staying and flying trips. This quid pro pro means violation of status quo.

You can't pay a pilot outside of the CBA.

 

Why didn't IBT seek an injunction until the case could be heard?

 

That's fine and well ComAirColonel, but might a judge say they're not employees at the time of receiving the bonus? They're not technically in the service of the carrier performing work when they receive it.

 

No.

They are barely negotiating at the moment but that is because each side is meeting separately with the NMB rep. As I recall next session is July 27, but this was all scheduled prior to the lawsuit, not because of it.

 

In light of this never-ending process of negotiations, does anybody know how many pilots RAH is losing every month? They must be struggling to keep pilots there.

 

Anywhere from 25-40. Usually far more leave than are hired. I believe the best month so far has only been +2 pilots.

 

That's pretty bad, actually. Are other airlines shrinking as fast?

 

I'm curious why you are blaming the "idiot teamsters." You guys elected your local officers. Just for the heck of it, I made a call and did some checking...you guys DON'T have Teamster lawyers. You guys have an independent lawyer that you hired seven years ago who doesn't work for the Teamsters, but for himself. Seems like you've been paying a lot of assessment money for legal fees that have gotten you nothing; in a new contract or grievance protections.

That's not the IBT's fault. But I bet that lawyer loves your money.

 

And the spiral downward continues. How many pilots do you think they will be able to recruit now. I am not even certain a new contract can fix this any more.

Republic Airways Holdings Inc. reports preliminary
second quarter 2015 financial results
Indianapolis, Ind. (July 2
4
, 2015)
–
Republic Airways Holdings Inc
.
(NASDAQ: RJET/NM) today
announced preliminary second quarter 2015 results.
Preliminary Second Quarter 2015 Results
The Company expects to report second quarter net income of $4.0 to $5.0 million or $0.08 to $0.10 per
diluted share, and pretax margins of 2
.5% to 3.0% on operating revenues of $338 to $3
40
million. The
second quarter results were negatively impacted by
,
among other factors, an operation that produced
approximately 4% fewer block hours than
forecasted
due to the
ongoing
operational
disruption
caused by
regulatory changes and further intensified by our ongoing
pilot
labor dispute.
National Pilot Shortage
and Labor Dispute
Continue to Disrupt Operations
The
Airline Safety and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Extension Act of 2010
directed
the FAA to
enact significant regulatory changes
.
The law had several elements, one of which was a
change
to
pilot
qualification standards
that
became effective on August 1, 2013
, adding
new
require
ment
s
for
first officers
to hold an Airline Transport Pilo
t (ATP) certificate, requiring
additional training and a minimum
1,500 hours
total
flight
time as a pilot. Previously, first officers were required to have only a commercial pilot certificate,
which require
d
250 hours of flight time
before
beginning an FAA
approved commercial airline training
program
.
Another
element of the law required the FAA to implement more restrictive limits on pilot flight
and duty times. The new limits became effective on January 1, 2014 and immediately had the effect o
f
reducing p
ilot productivity 5
-
7%
,
further exacerbating the growing pilot shortage.
The Company’s
ongoing labor dispute with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT)
, the
union
which
represents the bargaining rights of all Republic pilots, is further amplify
ing our
pilot staffing
challenges.
The IBT and the Company are currently negotiati
ng under the
supervis
ion of
the National
Mediation Board for an amended collective bargaining agreement.
Since April 2015, limited progress has
been made
in the negotiations
due to the IBT’s unrealistic and unsustainable demands.
The Company
has presented
a comprehensive
proposal to the IBT that
would place our pilots ahead of their peers in the
regional airline industry
for
both
compensation and work rules
.
The lack of a new
agreement
for our pilots
requires the Company to maintain its below market contract and is contributing to increased levels of
attrition and an inability for the Company to attract new pilots.
Due to the IBT’s
unrealistic bargaining position
, the Compan
y cannot predict with any certainty a timeline
for resolution.
As a result
,
the Company
anticipate
s
continued operational disruption related to the
ongoing labor dispute and the
growing
national
pilot labor
shortage
. T
he Company
has
initiated
discussi
ons
w
ith our mainline partners to take the necessary actions to
both temporarily and
permanently
reduce scheduled flying commitments for the remainder of 2015
and the first half of 2016
.
In light of the
anticipated f
leet reductions,
the Company is
rescinding all previously issued financial and operational
guidance
.
On July 9, 2015, the IBT filed suit against the Company alleging that the Company unilaterally increased
compensation for its pilots and new hire pilots in violation of the Railway Labor
Act. We believe the suit is
completely without merit, and the Company will take appropriate steps to respond
.
The Company
is exploring all of its options to mitigate
any adverse impact from these matters
and restore
its operational and financial performa
nce
to normal levels
. The Company
has
engaged Seabury Group
as
an
advisor to assist
in these efforts
.
Republic Airways Holdings Inc., based in Indianapolis, Indiana, is an airline holding company that owns
Republic Airlines and Shuttle America, collective
ly called “the airlines.” The airlines operate a combined
fleet of about 240 aircraft and offer scheduled passenger service with more than 1,250 flights daily to
approximately 100 cities in the U.S., Canada and the Caribbean through fixed.

 

Glad most of my RAH friends have moved onto greener pastures....