ALPA requests NMB services to help mediate Mesa pilot negotiations

After six years of contract negotiations with Mesa Airlines, the carrier’s pilots, represented by the Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l (ALPA) have sought mediation services from the National Mediation Board (NMB) to assist with negotiations for a collective bargaining agreement.
According to Capt. Andy Hughes, ALPA Mesa Air Group Chairman, “We are dissatisfied with the pace of our negotiations and we are asking the National Mediation Board to help us reach an agreement that recognizes the contributions our pilots have made to our Company’s success.”
ALPA filed an application for mediation services with the NMB on Monday this week. As a consequence, a federal mediator will take control of the bargaining schedule and oversee all future negotiations. Since negotiations began in 2010, Mesa Airlines’ pilots have not been awarded any pay increase, yet the airline has increased its fleet by some 70 aircraft, and new pilots engaged by the airline have been offered bonuses, ensuring that existing pilots’ pay falls even further behind that of new recruits.
Hughes added that: “It’s time for the Company to resolve the outstanding bargaining issues with its pilot group. I am hopeful and optimistic that with the help of a federal mediator we will reach a consensual agreement with management that recognizes our contributions to Mesa’s successful growth.”
Mesa Airlines flies under the name American Eagle out of Phoenix and Dallas/Fort Worth, and under the name United Express out of Washington Dulles and Houston. Mesa pilots operate 133 aircraft, with more than 600 daily system departures to 124 cities, 38 states, the District of Columbia, Canada, Mexico, and the Bahamas.
ALPA is the world’s biggest pilot union, acting for in excess of 55,000 pilots from 32 airlines in the United States and Canada.