Dear Pilots,
As we reported to you last Monday, our Joint Negotiating Committee (JNC) met all last week in Washington, D.C., to work with a private mediator and management’s negotiators in reaching an agreement on the remaining open issues. We had every expectation that we would be reporting either an agreement in hand or an abbreviated timeline for accomplishing that goal. Unfortunately, we have neither.
We did make good progress closing out the Scheduling Section and other related issues. However, late last week when we opened talks on the remaining economic items (e.g., compensation, per diem, insurance, and retirement), management’s negotiators requested significant financial concessions. These concessions, they contend, are necessary because our pilot operating costs are too high to win new flying. Without real cost reductions, management does not believe that ExpressJet can compete with airlines like Compass, GoJet, Eagle, and Pinnacle with lower pilot costs, not to mention our own sister Company— SkyWest Airlines.
We then spent the weekend trying to better comprehend the amount of concessions management sought and their analysis justifying such concessions. While we gained some clarity, management’s negotiators required more time to assess the situation themselves before they could provide us with concrete information. Therefore, the parties agreed to recess private mediation early Sunday afternoon.
Additionally, we asked Brad and Charlie to meet with the MEC on July 29-30 to discuss the request for concessions, and then begin talking to the line pilots about this situation.
We recognize that this is not the news anyone expected to hear from us, and we are confident that you have many questions that you want answered. Your MEC and negotiators feel the same way and will be working to garner that information and share with you what we can.
Fraternally,
Capt. David Nieuwenhuis Capt. Chris Grable
ASA Chairman XJT Chairman
