Release #02.034
May 1, 2002 

MEDIA ADVISORY

CHICAGO – The pilots of American Trans Air (ATA), represented by the Air Line Pilots Association, International (ALPA), will conduct informational picketing at San Francisco International Airport on Thursday, May 2, between 6 a.m. and 8 a.m., to show their increasing frustration with the slow pace of contract negotiations. The informational picketing will coincide with the inauguration of new Boeing 757-300 service between San Francisco and Hawaii for Pleasant Hawaiian Holidays, a charter company which has had a successful partnership with ATA for many years.

"ATA pilots and flight engineers have exercised great patience over the last two years of negotiations, but it’s wearing thin," says ALPA spokesman Capt. Matt Ellis, an ATA Boeing 737-800 pilot. "The 98 percent approval rate in our recent strike authorization vote is strong evidence of that."

"In contrast to the airline industry as a whole, ATA is a well-positioned major airline, with new aircraft and new routes. Yet, our management insists on compensating its crewmembers at the absolute bottom of the industry," Ellis said. "We are not asking for outrageous sums, just a fair contract — negotiated in a reasonable amount of time — that is commensurate with ATA’s position in the industry."

Below are details of the informational picketing:

Where: San Francisco International Airport: Outside in front of the ATA ticket counters.

When: Thursday, May 2, 6 a.m. to 8 a.m. 

Formed in 1931 and affiliated with the AFL-CIO, ALPA is the world’s oldest and largest pilots union, representing more than 62,000 pilots at 42 airlines in the United States and Canada. ALPA’s Web site is http://www.alpa.org.

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ALPA Contacts: Matt Ellis, (310) 213-9324

Chris Kern, (630) 697-1708