Teamsters consider appeal of ruling in Allegiant Air dispute

Associated Press

LAS VEGAS

The Teamsters are considering whether to appeal a ruling by a federal court that would allow Allegiant Air to change work rules for pilots, a union spokeswoman said Tuesday.

Three judges on the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Monday that the Las Vegas-based airline could change scheduling rules and some benefits because they were negotiated with an informal group of pilots, not a collective-bargaining agent such as a union.

The pilots are now represented by the Teamsters.

Allegiant is the sole commercial airline at the Vienna-based Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport that offers flights to Orlando, Tampa and Fort Myers, Fla.; and Myrtle Beach, S.C.

Giovanna Frank-Vitale, a spokeswoman for the pilots, said an appeal is possible but no decision has been made.

Last year, a district court judge ordered Allegiant to restore the old rules, but the appeals panel overturned that decision. Pilots threatened to walk off the job earlier this year in protest over the dispute, but another judge blocked a strike.

The airline is part of Allegiant Travel Co. and has about 500 pilots.

Allegiant pilots are angry over changes the company made in crew-scheduling rules and benefits that had been negotiated by some of the pilots before they joined a union.

Shortly after the Teamsters’ victory, Allegiant changed policies for pilots who lost medical clearance because of illness or wanted to take parental leave, and created a new scheduling system.