Pilots at ABX Air who fly planes for logistics giants Amazon and DHL announced today that they have cast a near unanimous Vote of No Confidence in their airline’s management. The results indicate that over 99.5% of voting pilots have no faith “in management’s willingness to negotiate or reach an agreement for the benefit of all stakeholders to include the shareholders, the customers, and the employees.”
Voting was open to 230 member pilots from November 18 through November 26 and shows 205 pilots voting for a Resolution of No Confidence, with only one pilot voting against. The news comes at the peak of the 2019 holiday shipping season and as Amazon ramps up investment in its internal logistics network.
Pilots at ABX Air are represented by their union, the Airline Professionals Association, Teamsters Local 1224, and have been working with company representatives for more than five years to negotiate and complete an amended contract. The pilots say management continues to delay and obstruct negotiations, and that management’s only show of progress in the last two and a half years has been to agree to a single definition.
The airline’s current negotiating strategy and its refusal to invest in its pilot employees results in poor retention, difficulty in recruiting, and low morale. Pilots say that without a change in management’s course it will be difficult to attract skilled and experienced pilots, given the dwindling pool of qualified candidates.
“As we head into the busiest time of the year, ABX pilots should be focusing on delivering results for our customers,” said Capt. Rick Ziebarth, an ABX Air pilot and Executive Council Chairman of Airline Professionals Association Teamsters Local 1224. “However, management’s current delay strategy serves to undermine what should be our common goal.”
