Mesaba Airlines and its pilots were able to avert a strike over the weekend, reaching a tentative agreement after lengthy contract talks that went beyond the original strike deadline.
“We held our ground on contract goals and believe that this new agreement will satisfy the pilots’ requirements for strong job security, improved work rules, appropriate pay, and a solid retirement plan,” said Capt. Tom Wychor, chairman of the Mesaba pilots’ unit of the Air Line Pilots Association.
“This tentative agreement allows Mesaba pilots to move forward in their careers, but it also gives management the latitude to grow the company,” he added.
Details of the tentative agreement won’t be released until it has been ratified by the pilots.
The ALPA said the pilots’ Master Executive Council already has approved the proposed terms and now awaits a ratification vote by the membership.
They will be given the opportunity to vote as soon as the final language is drafted, the ALPA said in a press release Sunday.
Negotiations still were underway Friday when the 11:01 p.m. deadline elapsed. At the request of the airline, Mesaba pilots agreed to negotiate beyond the deadline without declaring a strike.
However, Mesaba Airlines did pre-cancel a small number of flights Friday night and Saturday.
Eight flights at the Falls International Airport were cancelled Friday and Saturday, but service resumed there Sunday morning.
“We’re so happy. We’re very thankful that everyone’s back on track,” said airport manager Thor Einarson. “We were very apprehensive about how long it [a strike] would last.”
International Falls is one of some 20 communities across the U.S. that are served exclusively by Mesaba Airlines. Others in Minnesota include Brainerd, Hibbing, and Grand Rapids.
Some 20,000 people use the Falls airport every year, about 25 percent of whom are Canadian.
The main dispute between the pilots and the airline was salaries. The ALPA says Mesaba pilots are paid as much as 30 percent less than those at comparable regional airlines.
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
