Four-Count Lawsuit Filed in US District Court for the Central
District of California
EL MONTE, Calif., Feb. 3 – LAWFUEL – The Law News Network — The Executive Council of the World Airways pilot union announced today that the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and Teamsters Local 986 have filed a four-count federal lawsuit in the US District Court for the Central District of California on their
behalf against World Airways, Inc for unlawful retaliatory measures taken
against the pilots of World Airways since the two parties entered into
self-help on January 28, 2006.
The four-count lawsuit highlights the company’s abandonment of crewmembers
overseas, locking out of crewmembers without regard to seniority, suspending
both their pay and benefits and numerous violations of the Collective
Bargaining Agreement (CBA) and job protection assurances under the Railway
Labor Act (RLA).
“We are stunned at the behavior of World Airways management including
flight operations as it pertains to the illegal retaliatory actions which they
conducted against their employees,” said Captain Luis Carmona, Executive
Council Chairman of the World Airways Pilots’ union. “We find their actions
showed a total lack of consideration for the personal safety of our
crewmembers and we find them to be immoral and unethical acts. We will not
allow it to continue.”
The pilots of World Airways began the job action with an initial spot
strike on January 28, 2006, after talks broke down between the pilot’s
Negotiating Committee and World Airways’ management under the auspices of the
National Mediation Board (NMB).
“Because the management of World Airways has chosen to lock the pilots
out, in direct violation of our CBA and the RLA, the Executive Council has
been forced to engage in a general strike of World Airways,” said Captain
Carmona. “Publicly, management insists that our pilot group is divided and
would accept managements’ last offer, we find that to be complete contrary to
our belief. An overwhelming percentage of crewmembers have told us how
important job security is to them and that they would reject the latest offer
based on the fact it did not meet that minimum requirement.”
The unresolved issues for the more than 400 pilots, members of Teamsters
Local 986 in El Monte, California are job security, adequate medical and life
insurance and equitable compensation increases (COLA) that would not be wiped
out by increased benefit costs.
A subsidiary of World Air Holdings, Inc., World Airways is the largest
commercial carrier of US military personnel. The airline also provides cargo
services for several international carriers.
The pilots, who became Teamsters in 1967, are among approximately 40,000
members of the Teamsters Airline Division. For further updates, please see
http://www.worldpilotlabortalks.com .
Web Site: http://www.teamster.org
