Allegiant Pilots,
On May 15, our counsel wrote to Allegiant informing it of a major dispute regarding the implementation of GOM revisions related to duty and rest that altered its status quo obligations under the RLA. We gave the company until 10 AM PT Friday, May 16th, to respond. Through a series of conversations between our counsel and the company’s counsel, Allegiant withdrew implementation until 5 PM tonight. The company then issued a new proposed revision to the GOM and stated it would implement at 5 PM tonight. The company filed a temporary restraining order last night to enjoin us from striking over the status quo violations at 5 PM tonight.
This morning, Allegiant and union counsel met with US District Judge Andrew Gordon via Zoom, and an in-person hearing was initially set for 2 PM this afternoon because Allegiant initially refused to withdraw its GOM language change. An hour and a half before the hearing, Allegiant agreed to withdraw implementation of its GOM revision and to preserve the status quo until the later of 5:00 PM PT on May 20, 2025, or the close of the evidentiary hearing on Allegiant’s TRO, but in any event, no longer than 5:00 PM PT on Wednesday, May 21, 2025. With this stipulation to maintain the status quo, a hearing on Allegiant’s TRO has been rescheduled for 2 PM PT tomorrow.
By its GOM changes, Allegiant management has made it clear that they intend to unilaterally implement new rules and working conditions that require you to a) monitor communications for company contact on your days off, b) respond to the company’s communications on days off, and c) check your schedule to determine when such a response would not be in violation of “required rest”.
As we have seen from the company recently, they attempt to dictate work rules and terms of employment that they can’t obtain in negotiations. Their arrogant and self-serving conduct brings us to the brink of a status quo strike. We have included a memo linked below that outlines the two different kinds of disputes under the RLA, major and minor.
Per the FAA’s guidance on duty and rest requirements, Allegiant’s requirement that you constantly monitor your communications for any contact is a duty. Allegiant’s requirement that you respond to telephone calls off-duty is a duty. What’s more, Allegiant attempts to shift the burden onto the pilot, making it mandatory to check their schedule and determine when a callback would not interfere with “required rest.” This is a duty, regardless of how permissible the callback period is.
Further, the FAA makes clear that if a pilot is not “free from all restraint to the carrier”, then the period of obligation is not considered rest. Per our CBA, a Rest Period is “[t]he time between Duty Off and the subsequent Duty On time.” Per the FAA, a Rest Period is “a continuous period determined prospectively during which the flight crewmember is free from all restraint by the certificate holder, including freedom from present responsibility for work should the occasion arise.” The CBA and FAA provisions are not mutually exclusive, they work in concert with each other. During your rest period, the CBA requires that you are free of duty and the FAA demands that you are free from duty. Otherwise, it’s not rest.
Multiple FAA Interpretations make this clear and unimpeachable, especially this one from June 16th, 2009:
“…if the pilot is obligated to answer the telephone, or respond to a page, then the entire period that the pilot is under such an obligation is not considered part of the continuous rest period, even if the carrier does not call the pilot once during that period.”
The FAA confirmed this position in a July 8th, 2014 interpretation letter which states:
“We noted further that “a requirement to check a schedule or acknowledge a trip assignment is duty and not rest even when the requirement is imposed by a collective bargaining agreement.”
The FAA stated the same regarding “rest period obligations” in a July 5th, 2008 interpretation, stating:
“…by threatening adverse action if the pilot did not respond, [the company] indicated that it expected its pilot to answer the telephone and/or respond… thus the period during which the pilot was under this obligation would not be considered part of the rest period.”
The FAA could not be clearer regarding the definitions of Duty and of Rest. The company’s unilateral changes constitute a status quo violation, a contract violation, and a clear conflict and/or violation of the FARs.
Should Allegiant exercise self-help and make changes to the status quo, the Union will also exercise its right to legal self-help and strike the carrier. There is a stipulation in place to maintain the status quo until the later of 5:00 PM PT on May 20, 2025, or the close of the evidentiary hearing on Allegiant’s TRO, but in any event, no longer than 5:00 PM PT on Wednesday, May 21, 202, The Union and pilots will honor this status quo agreement.
Our CBA protects pilots from discipline, termination, and replacement for participating in lawful strikes such as a status quo strike. Section 1.K.3 states: it shall not be cause for discharge, permanent replacement or any other disciplinary action if any Pilot covered by this Agreement:
“…refuses to enter upon the property of the Company, any Company Affiliate or any other Entity where its employees are engaged in a lawful strike…”
The Union will take all legal action necessary to protect pilots from retaliation from exercising their contractual and statutory rights. The company’s proposed changes to the GOM are unlawful. If Allegiant management implements the GOM changes, it will have resorted to self-help before the RLA processes have been exhausted, which constitutes a status quo violation under the RLA. The Union will take all legal steps to defend our CBA and maintain the status quo, including exercising our legal-right to self help and strike the carrier should it be required. For now, please maintain the status quo.
Memo Status Quo 05.19.2025
We will update you on this matter following tomorrow’s hearing in Federal Court.
Fraternally,
Greg Unterseher
Trustee, APA Teamsters Local 2118
