The labour dispute between ABX Air and pilot employees represented by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) is to go to arbitration, a court has ruled.
Judge Timothy S. Black of the US District Court for the Southern District of Ohio ruled that the dispute between Air Transport Services Group’s cargo airline and pilot employees represented by the IBT is a minor dispute under the Railway Labor Act and should be resolved through the grievance and arbitration process contained in the parties current labour agreement.
ABX Air president, John Starkovich says: “We welcome the opportunity to work with the pilots’ union in ensuring that our pilots maintain scheduling flexibility while at the same time ensuring that ABX Air has sufficient flight crews available to meet the needs of its customers.”
“I look forward to a prompt and fair resolution of these issues under our current labour agreement.”
Starkovich says the airline will continue discussing with the IBT about resolving differences over pilots’ ability to determine compensatory time for extra flying at premium pay levels versus ABX’s need to adequately crew its freighter aircraft with pilots during the peak holiday period.