Pilot Union views NetJets' decision to terminate high-ranking Union officials as escalation of continuing feud

News provided by

NetJets Association of Shared Aircraft Pilots (NJASAP)

Aug 19, 2024, 16:12 ET

Rather than reset labor-management relationship, Company opts for crusade
of intimidation, retaliation and steamrolling protected activity

COLUMBUS, Ohio, Aug. 19, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Berkshire Hathaway's NetJets Aviation, Inc., escalated adversarial activity against its 3,430 unionized pilots by terminating the employment of two high-ranking Union leaders, the NJASAP Vice President and Strategy Group chair, earlier this month. NJASAP, the independent labor advocate that represents the NetJets pilots, characterized the decision as unlawful, unjust and in retaliation for the $1.6B in improvements the pilots negotiated during mid-term bargaining that concluded earlier this year. The Union will contest these unprecedented terminations through the contract-based minor dispute resolution process.

"These union leaders were not terminated because of anything they did as NetJets pilots, but because of their role in supporting contract negotiations," NJASAP President Capt. Pedro Leroux said. "The NJASAP Vice President, a duly elected Union official, is a 23-year NetJets captain with an unblemished professional record, and the NJASAP Strategy Group chair is an 18-year captain with a likewise spotless tenure at NetJets. "Even so," Leroux continued, "these union officials were aggressively interrogated about lawful, protected activities."

The move to terminate these Union officials began in late-May when they, along with 11 other pilots, were subjected to Crewmember Review Board meetings, during which they were badgered with the same questions asked repeatedly and in multiple ways about the Union's lawful and protected activities conducted by NJASAP strategy officials. Company officials were laser focused on gathering information about Union members' participation in informational picketing and other demonstrations to focus public attention on the dispute. "In a word, NJASAP members are outraged by the company's egregious conduct," Leroux said. "Intimidation and retaliation aside, this behavior equates to unlawful surveillance of protected union activity under the Railway Labor Act."

The terminations come as NJASAP has emphasized their interest in resetting the labor-management relationship at NetJets since the parties signed an agreement in principle in early February. "Choosing to terminate two high-ranking Union leaders is not simply another hurdle to resetting the landscape, but a move reflective of a strategy that is not sustainable in the long term," Leroux said. It is this very action coupled with other Union concerns that compelled the NJASAP president to challenge NetJets CEO Adam Johnson to reconsider the course that the company seems to have set.

"The parties can certainly, in time, repair the partnership," Leroux said, adding, "but NetJets must replace adversarial tactics with a sustained, good faith commitment to resolving our differences. Otherwise, the parties will continue to waste time, money and energy on managing a feud rather than fully capitalizing on the growth potential in our industry sector."

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.njasap.com and www.genuineqs.com, or find us on Facebook, facebook.com/njasap, Instagram, www.instagram.com/njasap, and Twitter, @njasap.

SOURCE NetJets Association of Shared Aircraft Pilots (NJASAP)