This deserves its own thread.


Sep 1, 2015, 4:13pm CDT

Republic Airways late today hit a brick wall it may not have anticipated in its increasingly strained efforts to get a new contract with International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) Local 357.

Jim Clark, president of Local 357 which represents 2,200 Republic (NASDAQ: RJET) pilots — some of whom who operate regional flights out of Chicago for United Airlines, American Airlines and Delta Air Lines — said in a interview the general president of the national IBT decided today not to present Republic's last, best and final contract offer to Local 357 rank and file for a vote.

Clark was informed of the national IBT decision earlier this afternoon — a decision he subsequently conveyed to Republic management.

The national IBT had the final say on the proposed contract. Local 357's seven-member executive board already had voted not to present the contract to rank and file for a vote.

A Indianapolis, Ind.-based Republic Airways spokesman did not immediately respond to an email request for comment.

Local 357 president Jim Clark said he directly communicated the IBT general president's decision to Republic management this afternoon.

Clark said it remains to be seen if Republic management is willing to go back to the bargaining table now that it is clear the airline's last best and final contract offer will not be voted on by Local 357 rank and file pilots.

If Republic opts not to return to the bargaining table, one scenario, according to Clark, could be a 30-day cooling off period, after which the possibility of a pilots strike could loom.

But Clark today emphasized it's still too early to know if a strike is a likely option at this juncture.

Pilots union gives Republic Airways a dose of bad news - Chicago Business Journal

Hahaha I love the *hit pilots say comment:

"In the industry, the technical term would be *ick punched"

Impasse, 30 days, strike. Not a lot of pilot groups get the chance anymore; I think there's been enough press on how long Bedford's drawn it out that the NMB would allow it. Ideally this would also give other pilot groups some ammunition in their contract negotiations. Or I wonder if RAH could present another LBFO and claim the previous one didn't count since the Teamsters never accepted it.

there has been in impasse for about 4-5 years, why would the nmb release the pilots to strike now? it will never happen. washington will never voluntarily be the cause of a disruption in transportation and commerce over this nonsense. this was never a true LBFO, why? Didnt BB say if the pilots didnt agree to it quickly then the company would not hesitate to pursue an alternative path to "maximize shareholder value" and a bunch of other drivel about non consensual restructuring? Well, we're waiting.

Bedford WILL put Republic into bankruptcy before you guys get a chance to strike. You are not allowed to strike while in bankruptcy protection.

Bravo. A regional carrier that finally has some ballz.

I'll second that. This group deserves all the credit in the world

Republic is going to reorganize in bankruptcy court regardless of how the pilots vote. The great FO reshuffle is over. A new contract is great for the employees, but does nothing to attract new talent, there is no new pilots in the training pipeline, or at least not enough for Republic's needs.

Republic is going to shrink, and bankruptcy is the tool of choice to do just that.

I don't know what you guys are expecting, but trust me this is how its going to play out.

Ok, if you say so. We'll see how this comment looks a year from now. People who post absolute certainties in this board always get burned.

Why did you edit his post before you "quoted" it? It seems like you removed the most important part, and now the last remark is out of context.

Just curious.

Hog