Allegiant Pilots,

Hearing for TRO on GOM changes

On Tuesday and Wednesday, we appeared in federal court for a hearing, with Allegiant seeking a temporary restraining order to prevent us from striking. They argued that its GOM changes did not constitute a major dispute and were therefore subject to the minor dispute process under the RLA.

There were no opening statements allowed by Judge Gordon, and as the moving party, Allegiant put on its initial witness, Bill Fishburn. Mr. Fishburn was asked questions over the course of several hours concerning Allegiant’s Business model, how sensitive the company would be to a strike, etc. Among many other things, Mr. Fishburn claimed: Allegiant was an essential air service carrier; how immovable the negotiators are over one section; and provided commentary on how the union was just attempting to gain leverage at the bargaining table. Some time into questioning Fishburn, Judge Gordon made it clear that he was not concerned with the status of our negotiations, how each party felt about the other, or any of the Allegiant’s grievances.

Allegiant argued two main points during the hearing: 1) the new policy was “accepted” by the FAA POI and 2) the Management rights clause in Section 1 gives the company, in their attorney’s words, “without limitation, all of the inherent rights, powers and authority to manage the business and direct its workforce” and that since the FAA POI had accepted the policies, the last sentence in Section 1. J. 1. (prohibiting the company from instituting policies that were violating FAA regulations) did not apply.

Leaning heavily on Mesa V AFA, 9th Circuit 2009, and the POI’s decision, Judge Gordon issued an oral bench ruling and stated he would issue a written ruling shortly. In his ruling, the judge granted the company’s motion for an injunction, based on his finding that it was a minor dispute, and ordered the company to provide a bond payment pending final disposition of the dispute. The next step is to file for expedited dispute resolution under Section 1. I. As we have already communicated, the FAA interpretations and the provisions in your CBA are clear. A pilot’s life is divided into Duty and Rest, with rest also encompassing all days off. Neither the FAA nor your CBA segregates rest into different categories. We continue to disagree with the POI’s interpretation of the company’s Temporary Bulletin and are seeking FAA clarification.

Lastly, I have heard that several pilots are confused about Judge Gordon’s comment about “burner phones.” The judge’s comment was based on the fact that, according to company management, pilots are not required to be contactable during their rest period. A pilot is only required to return contact with Flight Operations management if the pilot “happens to notice that management tried to reach them.” The judge stated that pilots could get a “burner phone” and only have it on during work hours, thus preserving their days off and rest. I will be hosting a webinar on Saturday to answer questions about the process to this point and the next steps.

Zoom Webinar to discuss the Injunction

Saturday, May 24th, 3 PM Pacific Time

WEBINAR

Fraternally,

Greg Unterseher
Trustee, APA Teamsters Local 2118

Allegiant Pilots,

Today, after two days of testimony, Judge Gordon issued a Preliminary Injunction against the union, preventing us from striking or performing any work action. The judge, familiar with Allegiant, deferred to the FAA POI’s “Acceptance” of the Temporary Bulletin change issued by the company.

The Union disagrees with the POI and continues to believe that the revised bulletin is non-compliant with the FARs and FAA interpretations of Pilot Rest. However, the judge seemed to understand the dispute and issues created regarding the pilots’ new obligations to the company. In the company’s testimony today, the company stated multiple times that pilots are not required to be contactable on days off or during their rest period. As a mitigation to the new GOM provisions, the judge suggested that Allegiant pilots could get “burner phones” and provide those numbers to Allegiant. This would allow us to take advantage of our negotiated days off and regulatory rest.

For now, regarding the two items in dispute in the GOM Revision 66, we are prohibited from any strike or other work action. Additionally, union officials are barred from either encouraging, promoting, or calling for any type of strike or work stoppage. It’s imperative that the pilots follow this court order.

We will schedule a call for Saturday to answer questions.

Fraternally,

Greg Unterseher
Trustee, APA Teamsters Local 2118

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