Pilots unfazed by Sun Country owner’s downsizing threat

May 8, 2015 by
Sun County pilots staged informational picketing last month at MSP's Terminal 2.

Sun County pilots staged informational picketing last month at MSP’s Terminal 2.

Sun Country pilots aren’t budging from the stance that they deserve better pay, not even after threats from their boss that the airline could be downsizing.

Pilots, represented by the Air Line Pilots Association, have been in negotiations with Sun Country since their contract became amendable in April 2010. The two sides have been in federal mediation since 2012, and they  recently exchanged initial proposals for wages and benefits.

But Sun Country owner Marty Davis stepped outside those sessions this week with an email to union leaders suggesting “he has begun the process of downsizing the airline,” Capt. Brian Roseen, Chairman of ALPA‘s Sun Country Master Executive Council, said in a media release.

Pilots have seen no evidence of the Minnesota-based airline’s operations winding down. “We are disappointed Mr. Davis has chosen to respond to us with the threat of a shutdown even as the Association is prepared to present its counter-proposal,” Roseen said.

According to ALPA, Davis’ email also made clear the airline’s initial economic offer, submitted last month, was its last, best and final offer. That proposal would keep Sun Country pilots’ wages, currently the lowest among 737 scheduled-service pilots in the U.S., near the bottom of the industry.

Pilots called the proposal unacceptable during informational picketing last month outside Terminal 2 at Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport, and they reiterated their commitment to achieving industry-average pay.

Here’s Capt. Roseen’s statement in full, released yesterday:

The Sun Country Master Executive Council (SCA MEC) of the Air Line Pilots Association, International, the collective bargaining representative of SCA pilots, has received media inquiries related to reports about a communication from SCA management threatening a wind down of Sun Country Airlines.

Yesterday, the SCA MEC received an e-mail from Mr. Marty Davis, Chairman and owner of Sun Country.  Mr. Davis’ e-mail asserts that after five years of negotiations, the first comprehensive economic proposal presented by the company is also its ‘last, best and final’ proposal.  In essence, it’s a take-it or leave-it offer. He claims that he has begun the process of downsizing the airline, although we have seen no evidence of this. In the interest of full disclosure to our members, we forwarded Mr. Davis’ communication to the pilot group last night.

Mediation required under the provisions of the Railway Labor Act is now being conducted by the National Mediation Board in Washington, DC. The Association has made clear its willingness to meet anytime and anywhere to continue mediation.  The NMB has tentatively set May 27-29 in Washington, DC as the scheduled next date for meetings.  ALPA believes the Company was unwilling to meet sooner.  At that meeting, ALPA will provide a counter-proposal to the Company’s offer that seeks to narrow the remaining gaps between the parties’ positions.

We are disappointed Mr. Davis has chosen to respond to us with the threat of a shutdown even as the Association is prepared to present its counter-proposal. We appreciate the NMB’s tireless efforts to conduct mediation, and reiterate that our pilots are determined to rise above their current status as the lowest-paid B-737 scheduled service pilots in the country.

Sun Country pilots intend to show up for work tomorrow and continue to do our jobs the way we always have — safely, professionally and courteously.  The Association looks forward to opportunities later this month to continue our good-faith efforts to reach a comprehensive agreement that reflects established pay and benefit patterns, and trusts that Company executives will participate with the same intention.

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Pilots picket at MSP, protest Sun Country’s ‘unacceptable’ offer

April 24, 2015 by

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In shifts of about 50, Sun Country pilots and their colleagues from other airlines marched silently in single file outside Terminal 2 at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport this afternoon.

The informational picket, attended by virtually all of Sun Country’s 247 active pilots who were not flying or in training, put the Minnesota-based airline on notice that its pilots remain committed to changing their status as the lowest-paid 737 pilots in the nation.

That is, Sun Country pilots are 100 percent committed.

That’s the level of support they showed in a vote two months ago authorizing their union, the Air Line Pilots Association, to call a strike if necessary.

ALPA members stage informational picketing outside Terminal 2 at MSP.

ALPA members stage informational picketing outside Terminal 2 at MSP.

Pilots have been in negotiations with Sun Country since their contract became amendable in April 2010, and the two sides began sessions with the National Mediation Board two years later.

With their negotiations stuck in a holding pattern, Sun Country pilots have only fallen further behind their peers in the industry. Capt. Jake Yockers, spokesperson for the Sun Country ALPA unit, said Sun Country pilots now earn 30 percent below the average pay for 737 pilots.

In negotiations, ALPA has proposed raising pilots’ pay up to the industry average gradually over the course of a new five-year contract. But Sun Country answered with a proposal that would keep pilots’ wages near the bottom of the industry, Yockers said.

“It is unacceptable,” he said. “We’re not asking for Delta wages. We’re not asking for Southwest wages. We’re just asking for the average wage.”

The airline’s ownership group, Yockers noted, has turned a profit every year since purchasing Sun Country in July 2011. The airline has doubled in size, added more routes and strengthened its position in the market. But its pilots, so far, have been left out of the gains.

“The employees have been there for the company in the bad times,” Yockers said. “We think that loyalty needs to be rewarded in the good times.”

In a press release, Capt. Brian Roseen, chairman of Sun Country’s ALPA Master Executive Council, said pilots are hopeful of reaching an agreement with the airline, but prepared “to do everything the law allows to lift ourselves up from the bottom of the industry.”

In order to go on strike, the NMB would have to declare that additional mediation efforts would not be productive and extend an offer to arbitrate the dispute. If either side declines arbitration, the parties enter a 30-day “cooling off” period, after which they are free to exercise “self-help” – in the pilots’ case, a strike.

A strike is not in either side’s best interest, pilots say.

“We don’t want a strike; we want a deal,” Yockers said. “We want to negotiate, and we’ll be ready with a response to the company’s proposal.”

Pilots from United, Delta, FedEx Express, Compass, Endeavor Air and other ALPA pilot groups joined the informational picket in solidarity with Sun Country pilots.

Said Capt. Paul Jackson, president of the Southwest Air Line Pilots Association: “Low fares do not have to equal low wages in our industry, and we fully support our friends at Sun Country in seeking a fair agreement.”

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Sun Country pilots unanimously back strike if mediation fails

February 26, 2015 by

imagesWith their contract negotiations stuck in a holding pattern, Sun Country Airlines pilots have voted unanimously in favor of authorizing union representatives to call a strike.

The Air Line Pilots Association announced the voting results yesterday, noting that 209 of the 216 eligible Sun Country pilots participated in balloting.

Pilots have been in negotiations with the Mendota Heights-based airline since April 2010, and the two sides began working with a mediator from the National Mediation Board two years later. The pilots’ vote authorizes their leadership to call a strike if a mutually agreeable contract cannot be reached by the completion of the federal mediation process.

In order to go on strike, the NMB would have to declare that additional mediation efforts would not be productive and extend an offer to arbitrate the dispute. If either side declines arbitration, the parties enter a 30-day “cooling off” period, after which they are free to exercise “self-help” – in the pilots’ case, a strike.

In a press release announcing the vote, Sun Country pilots said a strike was the last outcome they want to see.

“We do not want a strike – we want a contract,” Capt. Dennis Vanatta said. “But Sun Country’s new owners have profited and doubled the size of the airline since negotiations began. The airline industry is enjoying its most prolonged period of success in years, and the time has long passed for management to get this done.”

Vanatta, who is chair of the airline’s ALPA Master Executive Council, said Sun Country pilots are the lowest-paid Boeing 737 pilots in the U.S. The longer contract negotiations drag on, the further behind they fall.

“This vote demonstrates with unmistakable clarity the unity and resolve of this pilot group,” Vanatta said. “We hope that Sun Country management does not underestimate the pilots’ determination to achieve a new labor agreement that recognizes this pilot group deserves to be treated on a par with other airline pilots.”

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Labor 2012 Endorsed: Eagan deserves better than Doug Wardlow

October 31, 2012 by

Laurie Halverson is the labor-endorsed candidate in House District 51B.

Laurie Halverson is seeking to unseat Republican Rep. Doug Wardlow in House District 51B (map). For union members in the district, the two candidates should need no further introduction.

In his first term at the Capitol, Wardlow took up anti-worker Right to Work legislation as his personal pet cause, pushing a constitutional amendment on the measure last year even after leaders in his own party had moved on to other business.

It helped earn Wardlow a reputation as his party’s ideological warrior – one Halverson believes is out of step with the community of Eagan that he represents.

“He has taken extreme party-line positions, even extreme for his own party,” Halverson said. “That kind of extremism doesn’t fit our community. Eagan isn’t being represented as we deserve to be.”

A stay-at-home mother, Halverson, whose husband is a member of the Air Line Pilots Association, has taken up various civic causes in Eagan, including service on the Parks and Recreation Commission and the Eagan Foundation, which supports educational opportunities for area students.

She believes her neighbors are less interested in ideology and more concerned about their schools, which she lists as her top priority.

“Borrowing from our schools has had a real impact on students in our community and their families, who pay more and more out of pocket. The school district has had to borrow money for the first time in its history, so instead of paying money into schools, taxpayers are paying interest.

“The people of Eagan are so civically engaged. They’re really involved in this community, and they’re tired of people taking these hard-line positions. They want to see people get the job done.”

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Sun Country pilots protest low wages, pace of negotiations

September 19, 2012 by

Sun Country pilots march in line during informational picketing outside Terminal 2 at MSP Airport.

Sun Country pilots recognize the importance of staying on schedule. They want management to bring that same sense of urgency to negotiations on a new contract with their union, the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA).

Pilots picketed today outside Terminal 2 at Minneapolis St. Paul International Airport, raising awareness about the slow pace of negotiations with Sun Country – and signaling their frustration to the company about being among the nation’s lowest-paid pilots of Boeing 737 aircraft.

“Compensation is a major issue for us,” said Jake Yockers, a spokesperson for Sun Country’s ALPA bargaining unit.

The pilots have not seen their wage rates increase since 2005, when they agreed to a five-year contract that provided Sun Country, which entered bankruptcy in 2008, with the stability the company said it needed.

The 2005 contract remains in place today, as negotiations on a new contract, which began before the last one became amendable in March 2010, have been slow going.

Pilots say the airline is making money now, and they are looking to bring their compensation back in line with industry standards. Their wages, Yockers said, are roughly half of those earned by pilots at Southwest Airlines, the highest-paid 737 pilots in the country.

“We’ve always helped the company out,” said Yockers, a 22-year veteran pilot at Sun Country. “We love what we do. We love our company. We’re members of the community.

“We’ve had our tough times here, and pilots have always been there for the company. We’re not looking for top-tier pay. We just want a fair wage for what we do.”

ALPA represents more than 160 Sun Country pilots.

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