Arbitrators instruct Atlas Air pilots' union to finalise bargaining agreement

Pilots for Atlas Air, who have been engaged in a long dispute with the company over working conditions, have been instructed by arbitrators to finalise their collective bargaining agreement (CBA).

The System Board of Adjustment—an arbitration tribunal set up between air carriers and unions, whose determinations are binding for both parties—has told the Airline Professionals Association (APA) to attend to the CBA “promptly”.

“We can conclude with some certainty [that] there’s been a delay inspired by the union’s misapprehension of contractual requirements and that they must now respond vigorously to the company’s request to proceed,” the board said.

Atlas Air, which supplies half of the freight capacity used by Amazon in the US, had said that the union’s claim of dangerous working conditions is false and being used as a negotiating tool, which the APA denied.

However, Amazon is putting pressure on Atlas to resolve the issue, telling Business Insider: “The continued ability of Atlas and their pilot union to resolve these negotiations could result in a change to the allocation of our current and future aircraft. We have an obligation to deliver to our customers, and so do they.”

Amazon’s reliance on carriers such as Atlas Air and ATSG has been emphasised following FedEx’s decision not to renew its domestic Express contract with the company in the US.

Source: The Loadstar

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