FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
24 , 2002
West Pilots to Conduct Informational Picketing, Leafleting in Phoenix
PHOENIX – Uniformed pilots of America West
Airlines will conduct informational picketing and leafleting at Phoenix Sky
Harbor Airport Sept. 25 to show their increasing frustration with company
management delays in their contract negotiations.
Pilots will be outside level 2 at the southeast
and northwest ends of Terminal 4 from 7 to 9 a.m., at which time there will
be an additional contingent of pilots providing informational leaflets inside
the terminal near the concourse A and B security checkpoints.
“Management has told us that concluding
these negotiations is a top priority for them,” said Captain Herb Holland,
chairman of the America West unit of the Air Line Pilots Association, International
(ALPA). “But their lack of preparation and inability to agree to even
the smallest contract detail makes us question just how seriously America
West management takes these discussions.”
Negotiations with management, which began in
February 2000, are currently being conducted under the direction of a federal
mediator. The two parties have not yet begun discussing key economic issues
including pay and retirement.
“We have consistently shown our commitment
to reaching a fair and equitable agreement as quickly as possible,” said
Captain Holland. “But we cannot and will not achieve that agreement by
negotiating with ourselves. It’s time that management understood that.”
Founded in 1931, ALPA is the world’s oldest
and largest pilot union representing more than 66,000 pilots at 43 airlines
in the U.S. and Canada. Visit the ALPA website at http://cf.alpa.org.
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NOTE: An association spokesperson will be available
for media inquiries outside level 2 at the southeast end of Terminal 4.
ALPA Contact: Scott Sherrin, (602) 306-4100
or (602) 418-2979