Zoner
20th Dec 2005, 19:12
http://www.oregonlive.com/search/index.ssf?/base/business/1135050911171710.xml?oregonian?fng&coll=7
Evergreen and pilots nearing mediation
Contract dispute! The union calls the McMinnville carrier's pay offer an "insult"
By Brent Hunsberger
THE OREGONIAN
Evergreen International Airlines Inc. and its pilots union appear ready to ask a federal mediator to help resolve a year-long contract dispute over pay issues, union officials say.
Representatives of The Aviators Group, a 220-member union representing Evergreen's pilots and flight engineers, say both sides have decided to seek help from the National Mediation Board in Washington, D.C., following nine months of face-to-face bargaining on a contract that expired Dec. 31, 2004.
Union officials say the McMinnville-based cargo carrier proposed a new pay scale this month that would slash the pay of veteran crew members - some by nearly $3,000 a month.
"The package they gave us was an insult," said William Fink, the union's president and an Evergreen flight engineer. "I'm very disappointed."
Jordan Hanson, public relations director for Evergreen International Aviation, declined comment. "We believe that bargaining should be conducted between the parties at the bargaining table," she said via e-mail.
Negotiations have taken place since March against a backdrop of financial turmoil and job cuts in the U.S. airline industry. Five major airlines and four cargo carriers have filed for bankruptcy since 2000.
Evergreen's parent, Evergreen Holdings Inc., lost a combined $11.8 million in the past two fiscal years, according to filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
However, the company's earnings have turned around in the first six months of its fiscal 2006, which began March 1, thanks largely to a boost in cargo shipments for the U.S. Military.
Evergreen Holdings reported net profits of $19.26 million in those six months, compared 3with a $4.27 million loss during the same period last year. The U.S. Air Force was Evergreen Airlines' top customer last fiscal year, accounting for three-fourths of its $371.2 million revenue.
In March, Evergreen's board gave Chairman Del Smith a $2.9 million bonus, which Smith used to pay "obligations" owed the company and taxes related to the bonus, SEC filings show. Smith owns more that 85 percent of Evergreen holdings shares, but the move annoyed some union members, Fink said.
"It becomes unfair that the management get all the bonuses, and the working person gets nothing," Fink Said.
The company's contract proposal, revealed earlier this month, roiled union members even further, said Hank Kaplan, an attorney for the union.
The proposal called for replacing a 30-year pay scale for flight engineers and first officers with a 15-year scale that caps pay at slightly more than $6,000 a month, Kaplan said. Under the scale that exists now, flight engineers with 15 to 30 years of experience earn between about $6,200 and $8,900 a month, he said.
Fink said the union plans to request a mediator this month, and Kaplan said Evergreen has agreed to mediation. Under the Railway Labor Act, which governs airline pilot contracts, most unions will seek mediation before declaring a strike.
Fink said the union has not held a strike vote. "We're nowhere even close to that yet," he said.
Evergreen is not the only cargo carrier to enter labor talks this year. Polar Air Cargo Inc., an Evergreen competitor based in Purchase, N.Y., withstood a two-week pilots strike this fall before agreeing to an 18-month contract extension with the Air Line Pilots Association.
The deal gave most Polar crew members a 10 percent pay increase and higher 401(k) contributions, said Ron Lovas, a union Spokesman.
Brent Hunsberger:
www.oregonlive.com/weblog
Evergreen and pilots nearing mediation
Contract dispute! The union calls the McMinnville carrier's pay offer an "insult"
By Brent Hunsberger
THE OREGONIAN
Evergreen International Airlines Inc. and its pilots union appear ready to ask a federal mediator to help resolve a year-long contract dispute over pay issues, union officials say.
Representatives of The Aviators Group, a 220-member union representing Evergreen's pilots and flight engineers, say both sides have decided to seek help from the National Mediation Board in Washington, D.C., following nine months of face-to-face bargaining on a contract that expired Dec. 31, 2004.
Union officials say the McMinnville-based cargo carrier proposed a new pay scale this month that would slash the pay of veteran crew members - some by nearly $3,000 a month.
"The package they gave us was an insult," said William Fink, the union's president and an Evergreen flight engineer. "I'm very disappointed."
Jordan Hanson, public relations director for Evergreen International Aviation, declined comment. "We believe that bargaining should be conducted between the parties at the bargaining table," she said via e-mail.
Negotiations have taken place since March against a backdrop of financial turmoil and job cuts in the U.S. airline industry. Five major airlines and four cargo carriers have filed for bankruptcy since 2000.
Evergreen's parent, Evergreen Holdings Inc., lost a combined $11.8 million in the past two fiscal years, according to filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
However, the company's earnings have turned around in the first six months of its fiscal 2006, which began March 1, thanks largely to a boost in cargo shipments for the U.S. Military.
Evergreen Holdings reported net profits of $19.26 million in those six months, compared 3with a $4.27 million loss during the same period last year. The U.S. Air Force was Evergreen Airlines' top customer last fiscal year, accounting for three-fourths of its $371.2 million revenue.
In March, Evergreen's board gave Chairman Del Smith a $2.9 million bonus, which Smith used to pay "obligations" owed the company and taxes related to the bonus, SEC filings show. Smith owns more that 85 percent of Evergreen holdings shares, but the move annoyed some union members, Fink said.
"It becomes unfair that the management get all the bonuses, and the working person gets nothing," Fink Said.
The company's contract proposal, revealed earlier this month, roiled union members even further, said Hank Kaplan, an attorney for the union.
The proposal called for replacing a 30-year pay scale for flight engineers and first officers with a 15-year scale that caps pay at slightly more than $6,000 a month, Kaplan said. Under the scale that exists now, flight engineers with 15 to 30 years of experience earn between about $6,200 and $8,900 a month, he said.
Fink said the union plans to request a mediator this month, and Kaplan said Evergreen has agreed to mediation. Under the Railway Labor Act, which governs airline pilot contracts, most unions will seek mediation before declaring a strike.
Fink said the union has not held a strike vote. "We're nowhere even close to that yet," he said.
Evergreen is not the only cargo carrier to enter labor talks this year. Polar Air Cargo Inc., an Evergreen competitor based in Purchase, N.Y., withstood a two-week pilots strike this fall before agreeing to an 18-month contract extension with the Air Line Pilots Association.
The deal gave most Polar crew members a 10 percent pay increase and higher 401(k) contributions, said Ron Lovas, a union Spokesman.
Brent Hunsberger:
www.oregonlive.com/weblog