Sep 7, 2009 7:25 pm US/Eastern
Amerijet Pilots Strike Over Lack Of Bathrooms
MIAMI (CBS) ―
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Strikers at Amerijet join a support rally Monday, claiming they have been fighting 5 years for a contract.
CBS
Striking pilots of South Florida's Amerijet cargo airline waved protest placards and put hotdogs on the barbecue Monday during a demonstration over lack of bathrooms on board Amerijet's planes, CBS station WFOR-TV reported.
The 62 pilots, co-pilots and flight engineers, who unionized five years ago, have never had a contract. They went on strike at the end of August after five years of negotiations and mediation failed to produce an agreement.
The pilots claim the company has failed to engage in good faith talks, and even imposed a unilateral ten percent pay cut on its employees earlier this year in the middle of a mediation session.
Among the issues the union wants addressed is the lack of bathrooms on the company's five Boeing 727 cargo jets. None of the jets have bathroom facilities.
Having to relieve themselves in a plastic bag is a "dehumanizing" experience for the pilots, pilot Dawn Leschinski said, particularly for the female pilots. "There is no privacy on the jets," she said.
"We're given an eight inch bag to - uh - use the bathroom," Leschinski said.
Pilots also complain that they are made to work 16-18 hour work days, with no scheduled meal breaks and no meals and water on-board.
"It makes for a very stressful situation," said pilot Derrick Fallon. "Any kind of stress, in a system dependent on safety, can cause an accident or an incident that endangers the lives of people on the ground," Fallon said. "It's very important that we be rested, be stress free, have food and water. These are things we are not being provided."
Amerijet's pilots say they are sometimes fined for calling in sick, a company policy that they say encourages pilots to fly when they are ill or exhausted. Captain Kamal Patel pointed to the February crash of a commuter jet in New York as an example of sick leave policies that endanger safety.
Colgan Airlines flight 3407 crashed on approach to Buffalo's airport February 12th. Fifty people were killed. Pilot fatigue is believed to have contributed to the crash.
"That was the exact same issue (as ours)," said Amerijet's Patel, "a crew member that wasn't feeling well and didn't want to call in sick because they were worried about losing pay. We have that same situation here."
The National Transportation Safety Board has not issued an official finding in the Buffalo crash, and Colgan Airlines insists that its pilots had a rest period longer than federal safety rules require.
Amerijet officials did not respond to multiple requests for comment from WFOR-TV. In a brief written statement, issued when the pilots began their strike, the company said its employees have "unrealistic" expectations, given the current economic and competitive environment.
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