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Understanding the New Disability and Genetic Discrimination Laws of 2008 
Learn how disability will be defined under the new Amendments Act and how to avoid discriminating against those who have a genetic marker for a disease.
The pilots of Spirit Airlines, represented by the Air Line Pilots Association Int'l (ALPA), have announced they would ask the National Mediation Board (NMB) to release them from contract negotiations. This release could lead to a work stoppage. Spirit pilots are entering their third year of negotiations for a new contract.
In a letter to the company, ALPA claimed that Spirit management is violating a number of crucial work rules in the current contract. One of those rules, scheduled time off after a trip, is a provision that the pilots gave much to preserve in the last round of concession bargaining, including taking less pay. In the current round of bargaining, Spirit management proposed to take this benefit away in exchange for industry-standard pay.
"Management's unilateral decision to strip us of this basic quality-of-life provision, one that we hold near and dear and paid to preserve, has antagonized and demoralized the pilots and our families," said Capt. Sean Creed, chairman of the Spirit pilots' union. "Time off, which is guaranteed by our contract after flying for several days in a row, enables us to share parenting duties with working spouses and preserve a reasonable life style."
ALPA's letter goes on to say that management's recent decision to disregard scheduled time off is the culmination of a series of recent inaccurate interpretations of the contract, violating unquestioned past practices and interpretations agreed to by both sides over the past ten years. These include a decision to delay the time at which pilots are considered to have blocked out for purposes of pay, a change in eligibility for per diem and hotel accommodations during training, and a decision to change the administrator of the pilot 401k plan without the approval of the pilots.
ALPA has also said that it will take appropriate legal action to force the Company to adhere to the contract and reverse this abrogation of one of the most crucial provisions of the pilots' agreement.
For more information on this and other topics, consult CCH Employment Practices Guide or CCH Labor Relations.
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