Negotiations To Obtain Furlough Protections for CitationAir Pilots Terminated

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International Brotherhood of Teamsters

Feb 28, 2012, 04:35 ET

Management Rejects Industry-Standard Agreement

WASHINGTON, Feb. 28, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Teamsters Local Union 1108 announced today that it has terminated negotiations to obtain a Furlough Letter of Agreement for its members who are pilots employed by CitationAir, the Greenwich, Conn.-based provider of luxury business jet fractional ownership, jet-card and aircraft management services.

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Negotiations to reach agreement commenced earlier this month when management announced the company was exiting the fractional ownership segment of its business and would lay off pilots beginning in late March of this year.

CitationAir employs about 370 pilots and is wholly owned by Cessna Aircraft Company, which itself is wholly owned by Textron, Inc., a government defense contractor. The pilots voted to join the Teamsters last summer, even though management mounted an intense anti-union campaign against them doing so.

The parties met at CitationAir corporate headquarters during the second week of February and continuously exchanged proposals throughout the month. Management steadfastly resisted adopting industry-standard furlough and recall provisions as they prepared to lay off a large portion of their pilot workforce between now and the end of the year.

"The International Brotherhood of Teamsters stands firmly behind the CitationAir pilots," said Capt. Dave Bourne, Teamsters Airline Division Director. "It is unfortunate management intends to end the employment of these dedicated flight crewmembers without providing the same protections and benefits available to their peers at CitationAir's major competitors."

"We had hoped our relationship with management was steadily improving," said Capt. Mat Slinghoff, President of Teamsters Local 1108. "However, management's final take-it or leave-it proposal demonstrated a lack of respect for the pilots at CitationAir—both those who will be leaving and those who will remain."

Local 1108, which is part of the Teamsters, represents the pilots employed by CitationAir and more than 500 pilots employed by Cleveland, Ohio-based Flight Options, LLC, which is also a provider of luxury business jet fractional ownership, jet-card and charter services. Founded in 1903, the Teamsters Union represents 1.4 million hardworking men and women throughout the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. Visit www.teamster.org for more information. Follow us on Twitter @TeamsterPower.

SOURCE International Brotherhood of Teamsters