2 days Ago By Carrie Pauling
Pittsburgh, Pa. — Allegiant Air Teamsters Pilots held a practice picket at Pittsburgh International Airport, a key Allegiant Air hub, on Monday following an overwhelming 97.4 percent vote by Allegiant Air Teamsters to authorize a strike if the carrier fails to reach a fair agreement, according to Teamsters Local 2118.
The union voted to authorized the strike on Nov. 7. The practice picket comes in the wake of a Teamsters picket outside of Allegiant Air's corporate headquarters in Las Vegas on Nov.
12, as well as ongoing direct actions around the country. The Teamsters are seeking industry-standard compensation and improvements to scheduling and quality-of-life accommodations, including pay and scheduling. "Currently, Allegiant Air pilots are earning below the industry standard for salary," said Shane McCarthy, media coordinator for the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.
They're also negotiating for better schedules and working less overtime. "Thanks to the work of Teamsters pilots, Allegiant provides reliable routes and dependable service to our passengers. When it comes to a fair contract, Allegiant wants concessions," added Captain David Mercado, an Allegiant Teamsters pilot with Local 2118, which represents 1300 Allegiant Air pilots.
"We're fed up and this strike authorization vote shows that." Flying for an airline that serves smaller airports in areas with fewer options for people to fly, Allegiant Air pilots know they are in a "unique position," McCarthy said, to use that leverage. Locally, travelers can fly Allegiant Airlines from Allentown (Lehigh Valley International Airport), Harrisburg International Airport, and Elmira/Corning in New York.
Allegiant offers direct flights to many vacation destinations, including Nashville, Tenn., and Punta Gorda, Orlando Sanford, and St. Pete-Clearwater in Florida.
"The pilots are some of the most overworked and underpaid in the airline industry," Teamsters Local 2118 said in the release. "In negotiations, the carrier has attempted to extract concessions in exchange for long-overdue pay raises." Allegiant brought in a record $2.
5 billion in revenue last year, according to Teamsters. In 2019, Allegiant struck a $25 million-a-year deal for the naming rights to the Las Vegas Raiders' home stadium. How soon the union could strike is uncertain.
The federal National Mediation Board (NMB) is currently conducting mediation efforts. Under the Railway Labor Act, the Teamsters can request a release from the NMB, which could lead to a 30-day cooling-off period, followed by a work stoppage..
