Amerijet Strike!
 

If Teamsters and management do not reach an agreement on August 27, 09 Amerijet pilots and flight engineers will go on strike. I guess they've had enough abuse, ajt crews work under the worst conditions imaginable. Low (ridiculous low pay), long days, min days off, no toilets, not even drinking water and poor treatment are a few of the things they deal with day in and day out. I please ask of all fellow professional pilots to support our brothers at ajt. Amerijet not only threatens the well being of its crews but the entire industry, as they are very close to starting B767 operations and expansion into new markets worldwide, all this believe it or not under the same conditions as the B727 same pay ohhh yeah not counting the 10% pay cut they recently imposed and all the other crap. So again please support our fellow aviators in any way possible.

Read on another forum that the strike indeed did go off, but that the company
is operating as normal. How does that happen when the pilots are the ones
on strike?

I think another forum said two of Amerijet's planes are flying. That is probably management pilots.

One Amerijet 727 moved with a scab crew, empty from MIA yesterday. ABX chartered a Lear, N88NJ to fly a management crew to MIA yesterday to move one of the ABX 767's on contract, as the ABX pilots have refused to cross the picket line.

To their integrity, after 30 minutes, the crew walked off the plane and also refused to fly.

Today, CargoJet, a Canadian freight operator was contracted and has moved a 767 to MIA to haul freight and break the picket line. Word is the line is solid. At the request of an Amerijet pilot, I posted the following on the Canadian board:


Eminent Brothers to the North:

As you may or may not know, Amerijet (Teamsters Airline Division) in MIA is now on strike. Over five years of negotiations asking for the 10% back that the company took this year when the pilots would not decertify the union and a 3% increase over the 1999 pay rates and a 4 year contract. The company is demanding the right to dock 2 days pay (5 hours) for each day a crewmember calls in sick and a 5 year contract with NO PAY RAISES in the last 20 months!!http://images.ibsrv.net/ibsrv/res/sr...s/censored.gif

In addition, they not only refuse to provide for basic physiological needs inflight, they refuse to provide even drinking water or a box lunch for flights.

U.S. airline pilots have stood with them. UPS (IPA), American(APA) Southwest (SWAPA), USAir and America West (USAPA), IBT Local 1224 (ABX, Atlas, Polar and Kalitta), and the airlines of IBT Local 747...all stand in solidarity. Unions across Florida and the U.S. are supporting them. The Venezuelan government has impounded a plane for violating their laws.:D

Today, in a bid to break the strike, they have chartered a CargoJet 767 to fly through the legal picket line. They will stop at nothing to break these pilots, who make so little money they qualify for government assistance and food stamps.

Please assist the Amerijet pilots in any way possible. If you fly for CargoJet or know somone who does, please forward this. Please DO NOT cross their picket lines and fly struck freight. Canadian labor unions are being contacted about this as well and being asked for their assistance.

PLEASE DON'T FLY STRUCK WORK! STAND UP FOR YOUR INDUSTRY!!

I just want to wish you guys all the best and Good Luck in the battle. I just hope the Teamsters do the frikken job they get paid for, unlike some of there past performances. Hang in there and fight it all the way !::ok:

Flying jets without toilets . . . ?
 

Haven't heard that before. How could your FAA inspectors allow that? You guys should also contact OSHA, your federal "Occupational Safety-Health Administration" on this incredibly bizarre issue. :eek:

Or, the local county health department at the company HQ/base.
Could be a rather large fine and/or cease/disist order, leading to shutdown.

Apparently CargoJet scabbed last night with one flight. Amerijet has one airplane that has now been impounded by the Venezuelan government for violation of it's laws.

This was emailed today:

UPDATE

Labor Rallies to Support Amerijet Pilots and Flight Engineers.
U.S. Congressman Hastings Weighs In. Congressman Hastings Deeply Troubled by and Concerned about the Unsafe and Unsanitary Conditions Amerijet Forces on its Pilots and Flight Engineers. Amerijet Now Attempting to Out Source its Cargo Operations to a Foreign Carrier

The pilots and flight engineers of Ft. Lauderdale based Amerijet Air Cargo remain on strike in their demands for a first contract providing for fair wages and benefits and safe and sanitary working conditions. Major passenger and cargo airline pilot groups across the U.S. have joined with the 62 Amerijet flight deck crewmembers and are showing their support for the South Florida-based pilots, flight engineers and their families. In addition to those pilot groups from the U.S. cargo and passenger airlines who have promised not carry Amerijet freight on their aircraft, several major national trucking firms have also joined in support, including UPS, YRC and ABF. At Miami International Airport, Teamster-represented maintenance workers and cleaners are also refusing to cross the picket lines at the cargo facility on the west side of the airport.

In a desperate attempt to begin moving the backlog of hundreds of thousands of pounds of perishable and time critical freight that is growing daily since this past Thursday when the airline walked out of negotiations; Amerijet’s management is now attempting to hire foreign airlines to stem the backlog of undelivered freight. The Teamsters are also fielding reports that Amerijet management has begun a campaign of threatening crewmembers if they don’t cross the picket lines.

The Amerijet pilots and flight engineers have been joined in large numbers by pilots from UPS, Atlas Air, and Kalitta; all of whom are Amerijet competitors. Additionally, the pilot unions at American, USAirways, America West, Southwest and others have joined the Amerijet pilots and flight engineers on the picket lines and are contributing their time and money in support. Other South Florida unions, as well as organized labor in the Caribbean and South America are also supporting the strikers.

U.S. Congressman from Florida Alcee Hastings, (Dem-23rd), has also been advised of the dispute and is deeply troubled and concerned that Amerijet hasexhibited such a cavalier and callous disregard for the safety and sanitary conditions of its pilots and flight engineers. Congressman Hastings is a nationally and internationally acclaimed champion of working people and works tirelessly to protect their fundamental human rights. Congressman Hastings is also deeply concerned that Amerijet walked away from the negotiations with the Teamsters and that it caused the strike. He is dismayed that any air transportation company would insist on a sick leave policy that punishes people for calling off sick by docking their pay. Such a policy, especially when used by Amerijet against its pilots and flight engineers – who are among the lowest paid in the entire industry – forces the crewmembers to fly sick. Such a policy is dangerous and unsafe. It is also eerily similar to the commuter air tragedy in Buffalo, New York earlier this year, where one of the pilots killed in that terrible accident was so sick that she should not even have entered to cockpit but felt that she could not afford to call off sick.

Congressman Hastings is also concerned that Amerijet’s largest stock holder, a Miami-based investment company named HIG Capital, has not taken steps to ensure that Amerijet maintain safe, sanitary and fair working conditions. The Teamsters are also troubled by HIG’s apparent lack of concern over this matter. No company should capitalize on the misery of its or its companies’ workers. We remain hopeful, that HIG Capital will play a constructive role in resolving the dispute caused by Amerijet’s management team.

We hope that Amerjet’s CEO, David Bassett, will come to his senses, but only time will tell whether he will correct the mess that he and his management team have created. Had he spent as much time negotiating in good faith and integrity as has trying to break the spirit of the striking pilots and flight engineers with intimidation, lies and fear, there would never have been a strike. Instead, he and his management team have misled Amerijet’s customers and are now trying desperately to find foreign airlines and employees who will take U.S. jobs and fly a small portion of his customers’ cargo to cover up for his bad management. There is also a concern that Bassett is scrambling to move to market -- on a priority basis over Amerijet’s other customers -- perishable fish from another company in which he holds an ownership interest. Since he has been unsuccessful in having U.S. carriers’ pilots cross the picket lines, earlier today he and his management team turned to Ontario, Canada based Cargojet, Ltd. to enter the U.S. and fly across the picket lines.

Today, Cargojet flew into Miami to pick up Amerijet’s cargo that is set for delivery to Port of Spain, Trinidad. In outsourcing its cargo operations to a foreign airline, they are signaling that they have no interest in being an honest American company and will bring as many foreign nationals as needed into the U.S. to take American jobs and make a profit off American workers.

"Haven't heard that before. How could your FAA inspectors allow that? You guys should also contact OSHA, your federal "Occupational Safety-Health Administration" on this incredibly bizarre issue."

Find a reg that requires toilets on aircraft. And because the FAA has jurisdiction over aircraft, OSHA is preempted form enforcing its regs on aircraft.

What does the airplane's MEL say about the toilet? Ours (747) says:

Give 'em heck!!!
 

Most of the folks reading/following this thread and Amerijet's despair have either been in a similar situation or are in one now. Personally, my hat goes off to the crews who have walked off the job and remain until things are rectified. :ok:

You and your families will be in my thoughts and prayers for a successful outcome.

The Master MEL for 727s has a dash under minimum required. I'll bet Amerijet's says "Not Used."

Lavatory installation should be a function of fuel tank capacity.

If you can haul enough fuel for a flight more than, say, two hours, then a lavatory should be installed.

Just my opinion. And since I'm in MIA with some free time, I'll be picketing on Monday with my Teamster brothers to show my support.

Good luck.
:ok:

You tube
 

Watched your video. While I certainly wish you the best and hope you "give 'em h$ll", maybe next time a bit more eloquence in your delivery. We ARE professionals and should be treated/compensated as such. Maybe losing the ballcap/crossed arms and a tie would serve the message with a bit more integrity. I've spent time in MIA during summer, so you certainly don't have to explain the heat. Flown freight, so I know there is not a need for a tie there either. Call me old school, but the DELIVERY of a VERY IMPORTANT message is just as important as the message itself, and you have chosen a large viewing audience with youtube.

Good luck to all, and thanks for having the b@lls to maybe turn the tide for us all.

Not my video...it came to me from an AJT pilot. Can't speak to the ballcap or crossed arms, but given what they deal with, I can understand. Certainly not a place that lends it self to precision picketing in perfectly starched shirts. In fact, that would probably lend itself to the generally held opinion that pilots are overpaid.

Wait!!..$32,000 a year pre tax. Of course...they ARE!

I'm wondering how much management makes...:mad:

Courtesy of youtube.

Canadian Scab Outfit CargoJet is flying their B762 under the Amerijet callsign now.

If Americans went into Canada to break a strike you can sure as hell bet the socialist government in Canada would be all over CNN crying rape!

ughwhatajob...

I gave your post some thought and made a phone call. The guys in the YouTube video have been on the picket line non-stop since the picket line went up Thursday at 0001 local time. Both have been sleeping in their cars in shifts and walking the line. They've been in rain, heat and the usual lovely August MIA weather. The one guy happened to have a clean shirt brought to him.

That being the case, and that level of dedication...which very few would exhibit, I'm not gonna be too upset with the way they look.

Am I understanding this correctly...there are no toilets in the aircraft???!!!!:confused:

No toilets in a Boeing 727 that regularly flies many hours per sector.

Toilets cost money. A five gallon can with some trash bags is so much cheaper and less maintenance.:E

Try balancing yourself and the little bag...forget the bigger one:eek: inflight. And no place to wash your hands. Then back to the controls...

Maybe management figures if they don't provide food, they won't get those nasty germs from their hands on the food:mad:

BTC
 

BTC Calls For Congressional Investigation of Amerijet International

The flying public at significant risk each and every day

August 31, 2009, RADNOR, PA--Business Travel Coalition (BTC) today called on the U.S. Congress and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to immediately investigate working conditions and perverse contract incentives at Amerijet International that place schools and neighborhoods and the flying public at significant risk each and every day.

There are no toilets aboard the air cargo operator’s Boeing 727s. Female pilots are required to squat and defecate into bags. Male pilots likewise urinate into bags just outside the cockpit doors hanging them on hooks when finished. There is no food or water onboard and no sanitary facilities in which to wash up.

The Amerijet sick-leave policy, low $30,000 co-pilot salaries and 18-hour work days combine to create pilot-fatigue conditions, poor morale and dangerous crew resource management problems. Pilots who call out sick within 2-1/2 hours of their flight, and even up to 7 hours prior, are docked the equivalent of 2-days pay creating a condition that pressures pilots to fly even when sick or exhausted.

“These working conditions are worse that the sweatshops of the 1930s. These Boeing 727s are operating in some of the most complex and congested airspace on the planet and operating on the busy taxi and cross-runways of Miami International Airport, among other airports, and often ferrying hazardous material,” said BTC chairman Kevin Mitchell. “The preventable circumstances that led to a fatigued pilot and sick co-pilot to command the ill-fated Colgan Air flight should be a wake-up call not just for the regional airline model but for the all-cargo model as well. Congress should immediately investigate Amerijet’s training, operational policies and working conditions.”

The 62 pilots and flight engineers at Amerijet International, Inc. went on strike on August 27, 2009 after 5 years of endeavoring to secure a contract that would jettison these toxic working conditions. (Watch a YouTube video here.) The support from other unions, especially given how small Amerijet is, has been truly unprecedented. When it comes to safe skies, obviously these industry professionals are drawing a line in the sand.

The following organizations have lent their support to the Amerijet pilots and flight engineers. U.S. Airline Pilots - American (APA) - UPS (IPA) - Southwest (SWAPA) - US Airways & America West (USAPA) - IBT Local 1224 (ABX, Atlas, Polar & Kalitta) - IBT Local 747 (Gulfstream International, Arrow, ATI, Horizon) - IBT Local 769 (Centurion Air Cargo, Continental Express, Vista, UPS Ground, Waste Management) - Freight Drivers from UPS, Yellow & ABF - Transport Workers Union Miami - PATCO

Congress and FAA need to address this outrageous and unsafe situation before a tragedy occurs.

About BTC

Founded in 1994, the mission of the Business Travel Coalition is to bring transparency to industry and government policies and practices so that customers can influence issues of strategic importance to them.

I am sorry i did not live up to your professional standards but this was an impromptu event which took place in 97 degree heat[plus humidity] after over 12 hours on the picket line.

I'm sorry if I came across stronger with my critic than meant.

I have the utmost respect for you folks and would certainly walk with you if I were in the area. Have walked more than one line in my day.

Just trying to add an old codger's input as I do believe as a group we have lowered our standards on many fronts ourselves just to tout we want to be treated and compensated as professionals. Yes, as a group, many of us have sold out...(let the firing squad begin)

Best to you, you are in my thoughts. Didn't mean to add to your turmoil. Thank you for standing for what is right.

The folks over on AVCANADA :::WELCOME::: seem to defending the scabs. They just don't understand.:mad:

AJT management has been asking for a union for years. The piss bags are for real. After an 18 hour duty day you have a trash bag full of piss bags. At least they have **** bags now. When I was there (7 years) you were **** out of luck if you had to do anything more than piss. I was a Capt, FO and FE at that place. Then one day they decided to lay off some pilots based on seniority in seat. There were Fo's and Fe's that kept their job with only a couple years in and I was told (amongst others) to hit the road with 7 years in. Anyone who was senior in their seat stayed. Then a month or two later the corrupt and since arrested chief pilot Dave Samor called and offered me my job back. As a new hire captain. Let me get this straight every time one of the guys I flew with upgrades they'll be senior to me. He responded " Well yeah". I told him to get lost and hung up. They deserve what they get. Good luck, to a bunch of good sticks. The flying there is very demanding. Runways under 5000', long duty days, no pay and no pissers. You deserve better.

Remember they are dealing with the Teamsters, plus they need to think of their future, if the want to look for another job remember the community is small so the guy interviewing them may have been impacted by them in a previous life.

Astar MEC fastread supporting AJT pilots
 

Good luck AJT'ers!

ASTAR MEC FastRead September 1, 2009

Amerijet Strike



On August 27, 2009, the pilots and flight engineers of Amerijet, represented by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 769 went on strike.



Nobody from Teamsters has asked the ASTAR MEC or ALPA National for support in the Amerijet pilot and Flight Engineer Strike. However, we understand that communications can be difficult in this situation, and the ASTAR MEC wants to make it clear that we fully support the Amerijet pilots and Flight Engineers in their fight for a fair and equitable contract.



If you are in the Miami area and would like to show your support for the Amerijet pilots, picketing is occurring at the following location;



6185 Northwest 18th St.
Building 716
Miami (Cargo City)



You should go in uniform and introduce yourself to the picketing coordinator.



Below is a link to the article that the IBT has put out regarding the Amerijet strike.



FIVE YEARS OF BAD FAITH BARGAINING BY AMERIJET RESULTS IN STRIKE | International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT)

SW_US

Just so you know those pilots were told they had a charter and had no idea what was going on until they arrived.

YOU don't know all the details asshole

How the Amerijet guys earn their living
 

Operating into places like this among others....

They didn't know?
 

When they got to Miami, they knew. That bullhorn and people hanging off the Western U had to make them think that something was up. Maybe the car of people who followed them to the hotel may have jarred their memory. Or the other half-dozen flights that they did may have convinced them that something was amiss. You know what an American does? ABX had a contract, their pilots didn't fly, Tradewinds pilots brought an aircraft to Miami, and then refused to fly. Every other freighter, including Tampa, won't fly charters. Saying that these clowns didn't know anything until they hit Miami is just b@llsh*t. Have a nice time in Toledo with our union brothers.

No they didn't know
 

Having said that from what I understand Cargojet pilots have told management not to do any more of these trips. So if you and other douche bags like yourself want to intimidate Cargojet pilots who had nothing to do with this go ahead, but you are wasting your breath. Why not call the managers that booked the trip?

By the way I support the Amerijet pilots, and I wouldn't fly the freight. I still say there are a lot of assholes out there that talk to much about things they know to little about.

Just my point of view
 

A few years ago (2004), I was offered a Flight Engineer Position with Amerijet. The Salary was $32.000 a year. At the time I was flying in Europe and Africa making double that and did not take the job. I can’t believe that after a few years they still make the same and have to work in those conditions.

I feel that the Airline bosses that allow an Aircraft to operate without at least toilets and crew meals should be reprimanded.

I hope that the Crews of Amerijet get what they deserve. A good pay for a good job!!!

Good luck the all the Amerijet Flight Crews

Unfortunately, in the US, mgt. are invariably rewarded for practices such as these...

Peter:

We can all agree that not all CargoJet crewmembers are involved. We can also agree that the crew may not have known when they left, but they were made aware of it on arrival. And on return to the airport to operate.

What they can't explain away was the laughing at the picketers and the conversing in single digit universal sign language.

At that point, their credibility was lost.

New AP video about Amerijet!
 

...shamelessly copied from elsewhere with the writers approval...


Folks,

I understand they aren't a major. But look at this video and ask yourselves if management wouldn't try to do the same to any of us if they had the chance.

After you watch it, send it to EVERYONE you know...ask them to do the same. Send it to your Congressmen, Senators, TV, Radio and newspapers. Bi-Partisan pressure is rapidly boiling over on Capitol Hill. With your help, these guys can have some common decency like we have.

YouTube - Pilots Claim Inhumane Conditions at Amerijet

And if you have even a few bucks, consider a PayPal donation to help them. Strike bennies are $100.00 a week. Pretty ballsy of these guys to stand up for so little.

You can donate by going to www.teamsters-local769.com and scrolling down to the red Amerijet link.

This Labor Day, they're standing for all of us. Let's stand for them.

"What they can't explain away was the laughing at the picketers and the conversing in single digit universal sign language.

At that point, their credibility was lost."

I'm sorry that happened, but put yourself in their shoes, they where thrust into an uncomfortable situation out of their control and it is human nature to defend ones self. They had no option but to do the flights once they arrived or face dismissal. Cargojet pilots are now aware of the situation and have, as far as I know, universally refused any more of these flights. Of course that won't stop management pilots from being forced into this work.

"What they can't explain away was the laughing at the picketers and the conversing in single digit universal sign language.

At that point, their credibility was lost."

I'm sorry that happened, but put yourself in their shoes, they where thrust into an uncomfortable situation out of their control and it is human nature to defend ones self. They had no option but to do the flights once they arrived or face dismissal. Cargojet pilots are now aware of the situation and have, as far as I know, universally refused any more of these flights. Of course that won't stop management pilots from being forced into this work. "

Peter:

I and everyone applaud the universal refusal to do any more flying for Amerijet. I understand the option having been there myself and also having taken a different course than they did.

That said, as uncomfortable as they may have been, their actions were inexcusable and cannot be justified in any manner whatsoever. They had numerous chances to talk to the picketers and could have explained the predicament they faced. While it may not have sufficed, it would have helped. For them as adults and professional airmen to act in that manner and then say it was "human nature to defend ones self" just does not cut it.