Pilots Go on Strike at Cargo Carrier Serving DHL, Amazon.com -- Update
November 22 2016 - 12:00PM
Dow Jones News
By Paul Page and Laura Stevens
A union representing pilots for a cargo carrier that serves
Deutsche Post AG's DHL and Amazon.com Inc. went on strike Tuesday,
just days before the peak holiday shopping season.
The pilots are picketing ABX Air, a subsidiary of Air Transport
Services Group Inc., and aren't flying scheduled routes, the union
said Tuesday. ATSG has 58 freighter aircraft in its fleet,
including 50 widebody Boeing 767 planes.
Pilots aren't crossing the picket lines, which means planes are
unable to leave an Amazon hub in Wilmington, Ohio, and a DHL hub in
Cincinnati, said a person familiar with the matter.
Amazon will see a limited impact, since it has only a few
flights operating at this point and not all of them will be going
through Ohio, the person said. Still, the action will throw off
both DHL and Amazon's networks as they head into the all-important
holiday season.
DHL said some "inbound deliveries to portions of the Americas
will be delayed today" due to the work stoppage. Amazon said it
works with a variety of carriers and is "confident in our ability
to serve customers."
Air Transport Services Group said it is trying to end what it
calls an illegal work stoppage. ABX Air President John Starkovich
said the airline is seeking a court order to force the pilots back
to work.
"We expect the court will uphold our position that the actions
taken by the union to refuse work assignments" aren't legal, Mr.
Starkovich said.
Airlines and railroads fall under the U.S. Railway Labor Act,
which makes it more difficult to strike. Under that law, contracts
don't expire, and federal mediation is mandated if the two sides
can't come to an agreement. The mediators also can call for a
recess in negotiations if the two sides reach a stalemate.
ABX Air pilots say they operate 45 flights a day for DHL and an
unspecified number for Amazon as they ship millions of online
orders during the holiday season.
"We are going to do our best to correct that situation with as
small an impact as possible," said ATSG spokesman Paul
Cunningham.
The company's ABX subsidiary operates 13 of the 767 aircraft
entirely for DHL under long-term leases, he said. The airline is
phasing in contract operations for Amazon that eventually will
include 20 aircraft, but the spokesman didn't have up-to-date
information on how many planes ABX has in service for the
e-commerce retailer.
The pilot union says ABX Air has been "significantly
understaffed" recently, forcing pilots to work "emergency
assignments" on their off time, a violation of the union contract.
They are represented by the Airline Professionals Association,
Teamsters Local 1224
ATSG Chief Executive Joseph Hete said earlier this month that
problems finding pilots had contributed to a steep year-over-year
profit decline in the period.
"Our third quarter results were adversely impacted by premium
pay to ABX Air pilots, despite an aggressive crew member recruiting
program and rigorous training schedule," Mr. Hete said in a Nov. 3
earnings release.
--Paul Ziobro contributed to this article.
Write to Paul Page at paul.page@wsj.com and Laura Stevens at
laura.stevens@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 22, 2016 11:45 ET (16:45 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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