Freight Transport

Teamster pilots and flight engineers of Fort Lauderdale-based Amerijet Air Cargo remain on strike in protest against poor wages and "toxic" working conditions Sharon Gill reports

The 62 pilots and flight engineers at Amerijet International went on strike on August 27th, after trying for five years to secure a contract that would provide for fair wages and benefits and safe and sanitary working conditions

Amerijet's sick-leave policy, low $30,000 co-pilot salaries and 18-hour work days are conducive to pilot-fatigue conditions, poor morale and dangerous crew resource management problems

The Business Travel Coalition claims that sources at Amerijet have disclosed that, three or four times a month, the company's aircraft are forced to return to Miami International Airport for recurring maintenance problems

Typical of these returns was one on August 27th, when an Amerijet aircraft lost cabin pressurisation and was required to dump 23,000 pounds of fuel in South Florida waters prior to landing

Furthermore, there are no toilets or washing facilities aboard the air cargo operator's Boeing 727s, and no food or water onboard

BTC chairman Kevin Mitchell points out that Amerijet's Boeing 727s operate in some of the most complex and congested airspace on the planet, on busy taxi and cross-runways of Miami International Airport and other airports, often whilst ferrying hazardous material, and has called for Congress to immediately investigate Amerijet's pilot training, maintenance procedures, operational policies and working conditions

Other unions have lent their support to the Amerijet pilots and flight engineers: US Airline Pilots - American (APA) - UPS (IPA) - Southwest (SWAPA) - US Airways & America West (USAPA) - IBT Local 1224 (ABX, Atlas, Polar & Kalitta) - IBT Local 747 (Gulfstream International, Arrow, ATI, Horizon) - IBT Local 769 (Centurion Air Cargo, Continental Express, Vista, UPS Ground, Waste Management) - Freight Drivers from UPS, Yellow & ABF - Transport Workers Union Miami - PATCO- Broward County AFLCIO

Major passenger and cargo airline pilot groups across the US have lent their support to the Amerijet flight deck crewmembers, including pilots from UPS, Atlas Air, and Kalitta - all of which are Amerijet competitors

The pilot unions at American, US Airways, Southwest and others have also joined the Amerijet pilots and flight engineers on the picket lines, and organised labour in the Caribbean and South America are also supporting the strike In addition to the pilot groups that have promised not carry Amerijet freight on their aircraft, several major national trucking firms have also joined in support, including UPS, YRC and ABF

At Miami International Airport, Teamster-represented maintenance workers and cleaners are also refusing to cross the picket lines at the cargo facility on the west side of the airport

After walking out of negotiations on Thursday, Amerijet's management is now attempting to outsource some operations to foreign airlines to cope with the backlog of undelivered freight, starting with Canada-based Cargojet