Local 1224 has filed a federal lawsuit against ABX Air over the termination of a veteran Captain who was exercising his federally mandated responsibilities to ensure the safe operation of a Boeing 767 aircraft.
The lawsuit alleges that the pilot; who has an exemplary 28 year record of employment and 25 years as a Captain safely operating company aircraft, was fired when he questioned the use of an airport after identifying numerous factors that made the operation unsafe. When he brought the concerns to light, company management then tried to force him to operate the aircraft in a manner that was against the FAA mandated and approved aircraft operating manual.
“We’re not talking about a marginal pilot or one who has any record of discipline,” said Daniel Wells, President of Local 1224 who is also a Boeing 747 Captain, Check Airman and Instructor. “We have a situation here where an experienced Captain clearly identified safety issues that required resolution for the flight to be operated safely. The Captain promptly reported the problems to ABX and tried to provide solutions so the flight could depart. Instead, he was met with a member of Flight Operations management who directed him to operate the flight as instructed, which was determined to be not allowed by their FAA approved aircraft operating manual. The Captain did exactly as he was trained to do; identify risks and mitigate them. Because of his professionalism the flight went off safely, as well as on time.”
As the FAA designated Pilot in Command, a Captain has the sole responsibility, authority, and right, given to them by the FAA, to make the final decision about the safety of their flight, an authority enshrined in the law as part of the Federal Aviation Regulations (FARs).
The Captain was terminated after he refused to sign a coerced statement admitting that he was incorrect in bringing the safety concerns to light; and should he ever do it in the future, he would be subject to further disciplinary action ‘up to, and including, termination. Clearly this was an attempt to place a chilling effect on the ability of Captains to make an unfettered safety decision without fear of retribution,” Wells continued.
Even more troublesome said Wells, was the manner in which the company handled the personnel matter. “We worked actively with the company to resolve its concerns over this issue, yet instead of doing so in a professional manner, the Company chose to send an email to all crewmembers on a Friday at close of business, telling them the Captain had been fired. This was done without telling the Captain of its decision to terminate him and was clearly sent as a message to other pilots to, ‘shut up and do what we tell you, regardless of the FAA or Company procedures, or else.’ That was wholly unacceptable,” Wells stated.
“Again, the Federal regulations are clear and unambiguous; the Captain is the final responsibility as to the safe operation of an aircraft,” said Wells. He also bears the responsibility for his actions if they result in a violation of regulations, an incident or accident.
Instead of addressing the problems, ABX chose to fire the Captain and use the firing as an intimidation tool. Later, when the Company discovered after the fact that indeed the Captain’s decision was correct under Federal law and company’s FAA approved manuals, they sought to cover up their actions by changing the company manuals to match their actions. This too is wholly unacceptable,” said Wells.
“Not only are Federal whistleblower laws clear in situations like this; I want to be completely clear on this; in addition to the ABX pilots being unmoved by the threats from their management, neither they or any pilot who operates a commercial aircraft are going to be intimidated into operating a flight that is unsafe or in violation of FAA regulations,” said Wells. “While we hope the company will choose to remedy this quickly, we are pursuing all options in concert with the IBT Airline Division which has promised its full support,” he concluded.
An interview with Local 1224 President Wells discussing the firing can be listened to by clicking on the following link:
http://www.teamster.org/sites/
UAL Tech’s Get an Early Opportunity on the Dreamliner
While everyone at United is eagerly awaiting the first chance to see, fly or work on the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, the Airline Division techs will have a head start. UAL’s Tech Ops crews in SEA (Seattle) will be providing support on the Dreamliner, doing line maintenance for the 787s operated by Star Alliance and joint venture partner All Nippon Airways, who will begin flying into Seattle this fall. Tech Ops has trained hundreds of technicians on the Dreamliner and has supply chain and service agreements in place to support 787 flying.
All Nippon has been using the Dreamliner mostly on domestic and inter-Asian routes and operates one regular long-haul international flight, HND (Tokyo-Haneda)-FRA (Frankfurt, Germany).
With 45 Line Maintenance customers at 19 hubs and airports around the globe, UAL also provides line maintenance service to NH at their IAD, LAX, ORD and SFO hubs, as well as at HNL (Honolulu). They also service the Singapore Airlines (SQ) Airbus A380s at NRT.
As the North American launch customer, UAL plans to take delivery of their first 787 in late September. They have firm orders for a total of 50 Dreamliners.
Important Information for Comair Flight Attendants
The unfortunate decision by Delta management to shutdown Comair one of the legendary airlines in the regional industry, has resulted in the pending los of hundreds of jobs throughout their system. While nothing will replace their lost jobs, the Airline Division and Local 513 have worked diligently to negotiate a severance agreement for the membership.
The Separation Agreement and General Release has been mailed to members address of record that is on file with Comair and their Comair email as required by law.
It is imperative that the agreement is executed and returned as soon as possible. It must be received at Comair between September 28th and October 8th.
These are critical dates. Do NOT return it to Comair prior to that or after that. It must be received between September 28 and October 8th. It is recommended that crew members return the documents in a way to have a delivery receipt such as UPS, FedEx, US Post office with delivery confirmation or emailed. Faxing is not recommended because many faxes due to the lack of a guarantee of delivery. For those who wish to scan and email the documents, a special email address has been set-up, generalrelease@comair.com for you to send the scanned document.
It is critical that the documents and writing be legible, so members are encouraged to ensure that regardless of how the documents are returned, they are clear and easy to understand.
For members who have not receive the Separation Agreement in the mail yet or within the next few days (mailed from CVG - please allow delivery time to your part of the country), you will be able to find a copy on Epic and the Local 513 website. Members are encouraged to take the time and effort to check their address in ESS, as it will be important for additional information that may be mailed to you.
If you need assistance with ESS, email humanresources@comair.com for a password reset to ESS. Follow the instructions in the email. The password process for ESS is complicated but must be followed exactly to avoid problems. Once you have the password process is complete, you will need to enter the address change. After you entered an address correction, you are encouraged to check in a couple of days to be sure it was accepted and changed.
If members have problems with the process, they are encouraged to email the Local 513 office, facontract@teamsterslocal513.
Airline Industry News
Industry and Labor
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