Allegiant Air Pilots Await Judge’s Decision on Strike

allegiant air 1Pilots are now awaiting a decision from U.S. District Judge Andrew Gordon about their right to strike after a three-day federal court hearing concluded last night. On April 1, pilots announced their intention to strike but later that day, the strike was put on hold following the judge issuing a temporary restraining order.

The hearing was set to determine whether that restraint will continue in some form or disappear altogether. Members of the Airline Professionals Association Teamsters Local 1224 have stated they will not strike before a ruling is issued.

Allegiant Air flies out of Orlando Sanford International Airport, as well as major hubs across the country including Tampa, Phoenix and Las Vegas. A strike could lead to significant flight delays and cancellations as well as major revenue loss for the airline. Allegiant Air is the most profitable commercial airline in the U.S. with 48 consecutive profitable quarters. Its executives are among the highest compensated in the industry, with the company CEO – and largest shareholder – taking home tens of millions in shareholder returns in recent years, according to the union.

The judge has promised to rule ‘expeditiously’ in the dispute. In the meantime, First Officer Cameron Graff and Executive Council Chairman issued the following statement:

“Our voices were heard in court this week. We are confident the judge will recognize that Allegiant still has not obeyed his order to return to the status quo and thereby maintain our legal right to strike as the last resort to restore the status quo. Instead of resorting to legal maneuvers, Allegiant executives should simply restore the basic work benefits and protections that it illegally took from us.”

In a recent legal opinion piece in Law 360, attorney John O’B. Clarke Jr – from Highsaw & Mahoney, a firm specializing in rail and airline law – detailed the legal rights of pilots to strike. Detailing provisions in the Norris-LaGuardia Act (NLGA) and Railway Labor Act (RLA), he wrote:

“In issuing the temporary restraining order, the court seems to have overlooked some key directives of the NLGA and RLA. Under those Acts, the pilots’ reasons for striking are protected. While no one wants to strike, after more than two years in an entrenched legal battle to restore the status quo and when faced with threatened additional unilateral changes, a strike is the pilots’ last resort for regaining the working conditions which have been taken from them illegally and for preventing further losses. Allegiant Air not only failed to comply with the RLA’s status quo obligation, but it also failed to comply with district court’s earlier injunction.”

This story will be updated as more information becomes available.

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