NetJets continues assault on union member rights, according to NJASAP

Manager behavior in pilot disciplinary meeting viewed as outrageous

COLUMBUS, Ohio, May 24, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Berkshire Hathaway's NetJets Aviation, Inc., continued the assault on its unionized pilot group by subjecting a crewmember who participated in a late-November 2023, informational picket – as was their lawful, federally protected right to do – to coercive interrogation, according to NJASAP. An independent labor advocate, the NetJets Association of Shared Aircraft Pilots (NJASAP) represents the 3,400-plus professional flight deck crewmembers who fly in the service of NetJets.

During an hour-long meeting held late Thursday afternoon, the pilot was badgered with the same questions asked repeatedly and in multiple ways about protected Union activity. This occurred even after the pilot was falsely reassured at the meeting's outset that the issue and line of inquiry was not about picketing activity. "Management's line of questioning suggests this was a picketing logistics fishing expedition," NJASAP President Capt. Pedro Leroux said. "NJASAP and our members are outraged by this egregious conduct, which we view as unlawful surveillance of protected union activity under the Railway Labor Act."

The hearing was allegedly held in connection to a similar meeting conducted this past Tuesday morning during which NJASAP Vice President Paulette Gilbert, a 23-year NetJets employee with an unblemished professional record, was interrogated for three hours. Much like her pilot peer, she was repeatedly questioned about the Union's lawful and protected activities conducted by NJASAP strategy officials.

NJASAP considers the ongoing campaign as retaliation and intimidation for its lawful public-facing campaign. The parties recently signed a $1.6B, five-year collective bargaining agreement, following a contentious labor dispute during which NJASAP members engaged in informational picketing and other demonstrations – as is their legal right to do – to focus public attention on the dispute.  

"A tense labor-management relationship in the aviation industry is nothing new – even though I do not recall such a level of animus ever being directed at the pilot group," Leroux said. "The fact, however, is this: The pilot group ratified a five-year deal approximately 45 days ago, and our Contract Administration Team will make for absolute certain that the wages, benefits and working conditions memorialized in our contract are followed to the letter. Any violation of our members' rights will be addressed in the proper forum."

Despite the Union's insistence that the parties' time is far better spent by focusing on the unprecedented demand for the NetJets product, management behavior has signaled a much greater interest in exacting a pound of flesh than accepting the Union's olive branch.

About NJASAP Founded in 2008 as an independent labor advocate, the NetJets Association of Shared Aircraft Pilots (NJASAP) represents the professional interests of the 3,400-plus pilots who fly in the service of NetJets Aviation, Inc., a Berkshire Hathaway subsidiary. For more information, please visit our websites, www.GenuineQS.com, and  www.njasap.com, or find us on Facebook, www.facebook.com/njasap, Instagram, www.instagram.com/njasap, and Twitter, @njasap. 

SOURCE NetJets Association of Shared Aircraft Pilots (NJASAP)