Negotiating Update (8/5/2024)

Allegiant Pilots:

Focus: Your Negotiating Committee at Work

Your Negotiating Committee continues to work on your behalf, as you have asked us to do, to deliver an industry parity agreement for your consideration and vote. Beyond that, we have placed emphasis on the following areas:

Preparation: Preparation is crucial for the success of any negotiating team. Without proper prep, you cannot properly articulate your position during bargaining, avoid costly mistakes, nor avoid being blindsided or taken advantage of by the company—who likely spends millions each year on consultants and legal counsel for that very purpose.

Continuity: Continuity is important for this team moving forward. We have no personal “agendas” on this team. We have no desire to harbor or weaponize our work for future personal or political gain. We are following processes to ensure a seamless transition from contract negotiation to contract enforcement without a costly loss of momentum or knowledge for the benefit of members.

Expediency Through Data-Driven Decision Making: We have one goal: to get our pilots the contract you deserve as quickly as the process will allow. To do that, we focus on making rational negotiating decisions using both survey and operational data as our guide. There is no leadership nor Negotiating Committee agenda to spend one minute more in bargaining than is required to get you the contract you deserve. Period.

Company Messaging: Misled through Omission

Questionable Commitments: In a recent communication from the outgoing CEO, he reiterated the company’s commitment to the current business model which centers around day trips and pilots being home every night—which is the primary messaging in the company’s recruiting efforts. This stands in direct contradiction to the company’s rejection of any union proposal that would guarantee a percentage of single day trips. This rejection is telling and implies that a shift in the “unique model” that made the company successful may be on the horizon. Further, company representatives directly told your NC team that overnights—and the resulting change in quality of life—is a desired part of the business model “moving forward,” which highlights the need for industry-standard contract provisions in this regard.

As a reminder, the company previously instructed its costing analysts not to collaborate with union counterparts and only recently reversed that order. This is despite the continued claims of respect, trust, and collaboration from Flight Operations. Costing should be a bi-partisan, collaborative effort that aims to produce predictable and valid outcomes – not a coercive tool for creating bargaining leverage. Your Negotiating Committee truly wants to have a collaborative, trusting negotiating environment. It is simply the only way to get a deal done.

Direct-to-Pilot Bargaining Attempts: As you know, the company made a failed attempt to bypass your NC and deal directly with pilots. Their cherry-picked details of the comprehensive proposal showed wage and retirement increases from the current book, while still remaining substantially below industry standard in those areas and all others. This failed “Mailer 2.0” attempt did little to undermine the negotiation process (we expected it), but it did fail to provide a complete and accurate picture of their “offer” (and concessions), such as:

• Pay Rates well below industry standard. As a comparison, JetBlue’s current rates are up to 30% higher than the Allegiant comprehensive offer rates—and Allegiant is actually profitable.
• Removal of 130% premium pay—a significant change considering the efficiencies of PBS which will decrease Open Time significantly and make VFNs almost non-existent.
• 100% unstacking and widened reassignment rules. This would give the company complete authority to disregard your bid preferences and/or alter your awarded schedule, at will and in perpetuity, regardless of seniority.
• The ability to disregard seniority for VBD pilots and force them all onto reserve, at will and in perpetuity.
• The ability to take an awarded line from a bona fide line holder, place said line holder in reserve status, then award their line to another pilot, at will and in perpetuity.
• No proposal for any trip rigs, an industry standard provision for any airline – especially one with the stated intent to operate multi-day trips.
• A minimum day pay credit nearly 25% less than the industry average.
• …and more items too numerous to list in this update.

Management’s Apparent Stance on Accelerated Bargaining: Since the last round of mediation, the company has shown no interest in meeting outside of scheduled mediation sessions to accelerate the path to an agreement. Your Negotiating Committee remains willing to meet as frequently as possible to get this across the finish line.

Previous Mediation Session: Your Negotiating Committee met the company for a virtual mediated session to discuss the Union’s most recent passes on Sections 14 and 16. We inquired about the status of the company’s pass on Section 15 and the PBS LOA, as well as their willingness and availability to meet outside of scheduled mediated sessions. The company stated that they should have a pass ready on Section 15 by the next mediated session in August. They also stated that it is “unlikely” that they will meet outside of mediation any time before the next session. We look forward to the company’s upcoming passes and making significant progress on these three key sections.

Upcoming In-Person Bargaining Sessions: Our next mediated sessions are scheduled for August 13-15 in Columbus, Ohio. Additional sessions are scheduled for September 3-5, and October 29-31. Location details for future sessions will be provided when they are available.

Moving Forward: Our goal is unchanged: we want to deliver, as soon as possible, an industry-standard agreement for your consideration and vote. Your Negotiating Committee is prepared to get this done. Your NC is committed to Allegiant’s continued success and ensures that our pilots’ contributions are recognized and appropriately valued.

In Unity,

Captain Joshua Allen
Negotiating Committee Chairman

Captain Jay Killen
Pilot Negotiator

Captain J.R. Lynch
Chief of Staff

Captain Jim Cole
Recording Analyst