June 19, 2008
ASTAR Air Cargo Crewmembers File Grievance Against Proposed DHL/UPS Agreement
Wilmington, OH— ASTAR Air Cargo crewmembers, represented by the Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l (ALPA), today filed an expedited grievance with the ALPA/ASTAR System Board requesting a full investigation of and hearings on the numerous contract violations that would result from the proposed agreement between DHL and UPS. That agreement, announced in late May, would shift the airlift required for all DHL North American domestic air overnight delivery service to UPS—one of DHL’s chief competitors in the North American market. Currently, ASTAR carries 50% of the weight of DHL’s U.S. air freight.
ALPA seeks a cease and desist order against any transfer of flying now performed by ALPA-represented pilots to UPS. It also asks for a ruling that DHL is bound by the representations it made during the collective bargaining session and by the terms of Section 1 of the agreement.
“Our first priority is to make sure every aspect of our contract is respected by DHL,” said Capt. John Prater, president of ALPA. “While the contract requires that we file this grievance with ASTAR, we have also informed DHL of our actions. Not only will we allow DHL to fully participate in the investigation and subsequent hearings—we encourage it.”
The announcement between DHL and UPS came less than three months after ALPA and ASTAR agreed to a new contract with job security commitments from ASTAR. These commitments were endorsed by DHL, which at no time mentioned any ongoing negotiations with UPS and, in fact, misrepresented its future intentions to ASTAR and its crewmembers. DHL is a 49 percent owner of ASTAR and is represented on ASTAR’s Board of Directors..
Earlier this week, ALPA attempted to bring the actions of DHL and its parent company, Deutsche Post, to the attention of the German public by way of a newspaper ad in Bonn, the headquarters of Deutsche Post. The newspaper refused the ad, saying that it was too critical of the locally powerful Deutsche Post. A copy of the e-mail rejecting the ad is attached.
“This is just another example of how Deutsche Post and DHL insulate themselves from any criticism of their business practices,” said Capt. Prater. “Clearly, these companies make decisions in a vacuum without any thought toward how the decisions will affect the hard-working American men and women who have dedicated themselves to DHL’s success.”
)This deal is so.....I don't know if there is a word for it really. It favors UPS so much it has people such as myself saying there is more to this deal than we know. But no, you can't blame anyone but DHL and DHL alone.
