Release #09.CJC
September 22, 2009
Colgan Air Pilots and Management Open Contract Negotiations
HERNDON, VA — The pilots of Colgan Air, Inc.,
represented by the Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l (ALPA), will begin
negotiations on their first contract with Colgan management on September 23.
Colgan pilots certified ALPA as their collective bargaining representative in
December of last year.
“The recent scrutiny of our industry and our airline has highlighted a number of
issues, such as pilot compensation, pilot scheduling, and the application of our
sick leave policy, that are major concerns for our pilots. During this entire
period, our management’s response has been to ‘get it at the negotiating
table,’” said Capt. Mark Segaloff, chairman of the Colgan Master Executive
Council (MEC). “So, we are calling on our management to come to the table and
start addressing these issues in a meaningful dialogue with us.”
Because Colgan pilots do not currently have a collective bargaining agreement,
they have no formal process to air their grievances or give input into policy
and practices pertaining to their jobs. Contract negotiations in the airline
industry are governed by the Railway Labor Act (RLA)—the federal statute that
sets the rules for collective bargaining, representation, and grievance
processing in the airline and railroad industries.
“Our goal in this first contract is to find ways to help our airline grow and
maintain its profitability, while ensuring that our pilots are treated like the
professionals we are and compensated as such,” Capt. Segaloff added.
Founded in 1931, ALPA is the world’s largest pilots union, representing nearly
54,000 pilots at 36 airlines in the United States and Canada, including more
than 400 pilots at Colgan Air, Inc. Visit the ALPA website at http://www.alpa.org.
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ALPA CONTACT:
Barbara Gottshalk: (703) 689-4100, barbara.gottshalk@alpa.org