Rocky Start For Amazon Prime Air

      For two days in November 2016, an ABX Air pilot strike grounded flights for DHL and Amazon. Last week, ABX pilots and the airline—owned by Air Transport Services Group (ATSG)—reached a settlement agreement that returns the pilots’ right to take compensatory days when they are forced to work on off days covering flights due to staffing shortages.
      ABX Air Captain and Executive Council Chairman Rick Ziebarth said:
      “By sticking together and standing up for our families, airline, and customers, we won an agreement that restores our time off to rest so we can work and fly safely.”

Atlas In Pilots' Crosshairs

      In the meantime, pilots at Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings (AAWW), Amazon’s other cargo contractor and DHL’s largest one, are also bargaining for a “fair contract, while struggling with severe staffing shortages.”
      Atlas pilots say the company’s refusal to come to an industry standard contract is driving many pilots to seek opportunities at other carriers, such as FedEx and UPS.
      “In January 2017 alone, the pilot attrition rate at Atlas Air more than doubled compared to the monthly average for 2016, with 30 pilots leaving for other airlines and 6 pilots not showing up for their hiring class.
      “AAWW,” Atlas pilots said, “recently acquired Southern Air and is attempting to force Atlas and Southern pilots to merge the Atlas Air contract with Southern Air’s concessionary contract, which was negotiated during bankruptcy and falls far below industry standards.”

No Bed Of Roses At UPS, Either

      Elsewhere, UPS aircraft mechanics filed a request with the National Mediation Board to be released from mediated negotiation with the company as workers critical to the UPS supply chain move closer to a strike.
      UPS depends on these mechanics—some 1,200 in total, located in 90 gateways across the U.S.—for maintenance on its air cargo fleet.
      “This request,” the mechanics said, “comes after more than 3 years of UPS refusing to agree to a new contract with mechanics.
      “Instead, UPS is calling for massive cuts to retiree and health benefits, a critical issue for mechanics who do physically demanding and often dangerous work around jets, toxic chemicals, and exhaust.
      “UPS is investing in its fleet and preparing for a future where home package delivery is increasingly common,” said Kevin Gawlik, a 20-year aircraft mechanic at UPS’s Rockford, IL, gateway.
      “But UPS must also invest in the workforce that keeps those planes flying.
      “No one wants to go on strike, but we are ready to if necessary because UPS mechanics and our families deserve better from UPS.”
Geoffrey