Trustee Update – April 9, 2025

LAX Base Closure

I know how troubling the announcement of the LAX base closure was for the affected pilots and the entire membership. More troubling is how managers have decided to weaponize an MOU intended to help alleviate the uncertainty and hardship caused by management’s decision to close The Los Angeles base.

During the negotiation of the Austin MOU, there were multiple passes, meetings with affected pilots, and the assurance that pilots would not be denied any base. While VBD had a limitation, a census was taken, and the company agreed to a mutual agreement clause that would allow us to revisit if a pilot bid for and did not get awarded the VBD.

The company LAX MOU did not ensure those things. Further, the union’s intention was to improve as many areas as we could, including extra moving costs, parking for commuters, and lease termination expenses. The Union had no hard line; we wanted the get most help for the affected pilots we could negotiate.

Now, the company is creating more uncertainty surrounding its decision to close LAX by not discussing its plans with your representatives or the members who reach out directly to management. RCP Schmidt wrote the LAX pilots today, in part:

“We recognize that Monday evening’s email regarding the LAX Base Closure MOU and subsequent vacancy bid has raised several questions and concerns. While we don’t have all the details at this moment, we will be providing further information in the coming days.“

There is little reality that the real reason for withdrawing the MOU is as CP Hardesty wrote:

“Unfortunately, due to the current environment the company is facing and the rapid change in economics, the leadership has made the determination that the terms previously offered in the MOU are no longer viable.”

There is a small dollar cost associated with treating your pilots fairly. However, it seems that senior managers saw an opportunity to use LAX pilots as cannon fodder in an attempt to weaken your union, creating false narratives.

• 24 February – I received a phone call from VP of Labor Relations Bill Fishburn, informing me that the LAX base had been bleeding money and that the decision had been made to close it in September. We discussed negotiating an MOU fashioned after the Austin Base closure and getting it in front of the pilots ASAP. As I have discussed with managers in the past, base closures at Allegiant are unusually painful compared to other airlines due to the nature of the schedules, the inability to commute, and the costs associated with selling your home or vacating a lease.
• 03 March – Base closure announced.
• 04 March – Base meeting with management. I spoke with many LAX pilots and reached out to the company to discuss their plans.
• 07 March – The VM that was left with CP Hardesty was returned, and for an hour, we discussed the base closure, the meetings he had, and the concerns that both of us had regarding the closure. He seemed surprised by the closure announcement. He agreed to get a draft MOU going via Fishburn.
• 12 March – I left a VM for Fishburn inquiring about the status of the promised draft MOU.
• 18 March – Fishburn sends text that states, “Hey Greg. Got your voicemail. I am out of the office this week but will get something over to Rod no later than tomorrow to review and send over to you.”
• 20 March – Sent Email to the company regarding their delay in sending their draft. (see email chain below)
• 21 March – Almost a month later, the company sends a signed MOU in PDF. No negotiation, no collaboration. I asked for and received a Word version of the document and started to work on the union’s revisions.
• 07 April (Two weeks later), the Company pulled the MOU and strongly suggested that it was the union’s fault for not agreeing to the company’s terms quickly enough.

Management, by their own volition, made the decision to close your LAX base, displace you, destroy the cohesiveness of your families, and place doubt in your future career. It was a financial decision, not a human one. Management wants the Union to take responsibility for their ineptitude. We will not.

What “factors” could so drastically change over the last two weeks that absolve themselves of the human responsibility to care for our pilots and family members whose lives they disrupted? If management truly cared about you and your families, why would they not respond to our multiple inquiries to make an agreement? Management is using the LAX pilots and their families as bargaining capital, using this premeditated misfortune to incite anger and undermine our union. It will not work.

We remain committed to fighting for the best possible outcome for the LAX pilots.

Fraternally,

Greg Unterseher
Trustee, APA Teamsters Local 2118

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