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Comair mechanics reject contract
By Alexander Coolidge
Post staff reporter
Rank-and-file Comair mechanics have rejected a five-year contract proposal that would have awarded them a 2 percent pay raise.
The development might kill the airline's plan to add 35 new jets, a plan that was contingent on labor deals with all three of its unions.
Joe Tiberi, a spokesman for the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, said union officials will talk with its 400 members at Comair to determine what the sticking points were. They'll then head back to the bargaining table with management, he said.
Union members had been voting since last week on the tentative deal that was hammered out between union and company negotiators. Comair mechanics will be continue to be covered under the terms of the expired contract.
Tiberi declined to discuss the possibility of a strike, but noted that federal laws governing aviation labor negotiations would require several additional steps -- such as calling in a mediator -- before a strike was possible. He also declined to speculate on the rejection's implications on Comair's growth proposal. He said the union's first priority was getting a new contract for its members.
The union did not release details of the vote, such as the margin of the defeat and the number of mechanics participating in balloting. The union said earlier today it would release results on Friday, but officials changed their minds.
The rejected proposal would have given mechanics a 2 percent raise starting June 1, with the understanding the wages portion of the contract would be subject to renewed negotiation June 1, 2006. Mechanics pay currently ranges from $12.01 per hour to $21.97.
Comair spokesman Nick Miller declined to say whether the rejection would complicate Comair's plan to get new aircraft contingent on three labor deals.
Comair, with a fleet of 164 jets but no new aircraft deliveries on the horizon, has told its three unions it can jump start its expansion if pilots and flight attendants agree to a pay freeze and mechanics agree to a modest 2 percent raise.
The 1,700-member pilots union expects to reveal full details of its proposed contract changes on Saturday. As of Wednesday night, no ratification vote had been scheduled. But the union will put on a series of informational presentations for pilots Saturday through Wednesday.
Negotiators for both Comair and the 1,000 flight attendants, whose current contract doesn't expire until 2007, are due back at the bargaining table today.
By Alexander Coolidge
Post staff reporter
Rank-and-file Comair mechanics have rejected a five-year contract proposal that would have awarded them a 2 percent pay raise.
The development might kill the airline's plan to add 35 new jets, a plan that was contingent on labor deals with all three of its unions.
Joe Tiberi, a spokesman for the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, said union officials will talk with its 400 members at Comair to determine what the sticking points were. They'll then head back to the bargaining table with management, he said.
Union members had been voting since last week on the tentative deal that was hammered out between union and company negotiators. Comair mechanics will be continue to be covered under the terms of the expired contract.
Tiberi declined to discuss the possibility of a strike, but noted that federal laws governing aviation labor negotiations would require several additional steps -- such as calling in a mediator -- before a strike was possible. He also declined to speculate on the rejection's implications on Comair's growth proposal. He said the union's first priority was getting a new contract for its members.
The union did not release details of the vote, such as the margin of the defeat and the number of mechanics participating in balloting. The union said earlier today it would release results on Friday, but officials changed their minds.
The rejected proposal would have given mechanics a 2 percent raise starting June 1, with the understanding the wages portion of the contract would be subject to renewed negotiation June 1, 2006. Mechanics pay currently ranges from $12.01 per hour to $21.97.
Comair spokesman Nick Miller declined to say whether the rejection would complicate Comair's plan to get new aircraft contingent on three labor deals.
Comair, with a fleet of 164 jets but no new aircraft deliveries on the horizon, has told its three unions it can jump start its expansion if pilots and flight attendants agree to a pay freeze and mechanics agree to a modest 2 percent raise.
The 1,700-member pilots union expects to reveal full details of its proposed contract changes on Saturday. As of Wednesday night, no ratification vote had been scheduled. But the union will put on a series of informational presentations for pilots Saturday through Wednesday.
Negotiators for both Comair and the 1,000 flight attendants, whose current contract doesn't expire until 2007, are due back at the bargaining table today.
