October 2, 2020
Working Toward Your New Contract: Negotiations Update
To: Atlas Air and Southern Air Pilots
From: Jeff Carlson, Senior Vice President, Flight Operations
Thank you for your ongoing service and focus on safety as we deliver for our customers.
I want to share an important update regarding progress we are making to reach agreement with the Union for a new joint collective bargaining agreement (JCBA).
This week, the Company and the Union completed another bargaining session. Both parties each made supposals on Scheduling and we engaged in productive discussions.
At this stage, we have had numerous discussions detailing the economic analysis of the various proposed changes and cost implications. After thorough review, it is clear that the Union’s proposal is not aligned with the competitive environment in which this Company operates. Put simply, the Company’s calculation of the impact of the IBT’s current proposed changes would be in excess of current operating costs by over two-fold and would cost over $1 billion incremental annually. In an effort to set realistic expectations, the Company’s financial advisors discussed detailed analysis and calculations with the IBT negotiating committee.
We will continue to discuss next steps with the respective committees.
Separately, we continue to await formal notification from the Union that they have reached agreement on an Integrated Seniority List (ISL). We have heard the completion of the ISL is being discussed in various communication forums among the Union, however, we have not been informed directly by the Union that this indeed is true. This notification is essential to completing your new JCBA.
We are committed to pressing forward to complete this new contract.
Thank you for keeping your eye on safety, this company, and our customers.