Pilots at Astar Air Cargo, one of DHL’s two current US airlift providers, have launched legal movesto try to stop the planned switch of DHL’s North America air volumes to UPS as part of the DHL US
express restructuring programme.Astar Air Cargo crewmembers, represented by the Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l (ALPA),have filed an expedited grievance with the ALPA/ASTAR System Board requesting a full investigationof and hearings on the numerous contract violations that would result from the proposed agreementbetween DHL and UPS.
That agreement, announced in late May, would shift the airlift required for all DHL NorthAmerican domestic air overnight delivery service to UPS — one of DHL’s chief competitors in theNorth American market. Currently, Astar carries 50% of the weight of DHL’s US air freight, theassociation said in a statement. DHL owns a 49% stake in Astar.
ALPA said that it is seeking a “cease and desist order” against any transfer of flying nowperformed by ALPA-represented pilots to UPS. It also asks for a ruling that DHL is bound by therepresentations it made during the collective bargaining session and by the terms of Section 1 ofthe agreement.
“Our first priority is to make sure every aspect of our contract is respected by DHL,” saidCapt. John Prater, president of ALPA. “While the contract requires that we file this grievance withAstar, we have also informed DHL of our actions. Not only will we allow DHL to fully participate inthe investigation and subsequent hearings — we encourage it.”
The announcement between DHL and UPS came less than three months after ALPA and Astar agreedto a new contract with job security commitments from Astar. These commitments were endorsed by DHL,which at no time mentioned any ongoing negotiations with UPS and, in fact, misrepresented itsfuture intentions to Astar and its crewmembers, according to ALPA.
ALPA describes itself as the world’s largest pilots union representing 55,000 pilots at 40airlines in the US and Canada, including over 500 pilots at Astar Air Cargo.
