Teamsters, Flight Options Reach Tentative Agreement

News provided by

International Brotherhood of Teamsters

Feb 01, 2010, 04:47 ET

500 Pilots to Vote on First Contract in March

WASHINGTON, Feb. 1 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Teamsters Airline Division said today that it has reached a tentative agreement for a first contract on Thursday with Flight Options, LLC, the Cleveland-based provider of luxury business jet fractional ownership and charter programs. Union members will vote on the proposed contract in March.

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More than 500 Flight Options pilots are represented by Teamsters Local 1108 in Gahanna, Ohio. The tentative first contract was reached on Thursday.

The tentative agreement contains a variety of improvements, including across-the-board pay increases for every pilot, longevity-based salary increases, scope and job security protections, additional paid time off, overtime provisions, an expanded crew basing system and health insurance security.

"Flight Options pilots secured a first contract under very difficult circumstances," said Capt. David Bourne, Teamsters Airline Division Director. "The economic downturn has hit the fractional segment of aviation particularly hard, but our members stuck together and union representatives and senior management worked together to craft a contract that delivers real improvements for pilots."

"The new contract will become the foundation for a labor-management partnership at Flight Options," said Capt. Mat Slinghoff, Local 1108 President. "There is no substitute for a collective bargaining agreement that provides job security and contractually guaranteed rates of pay and benefits."

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters was founded in 1903 and represents more than 1.4 million hardworking men and women in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico.

SOURCE International Brotherhood of Teamsters