Crewmember Strike at Polar Air Cargo, Inc. Not Expected to Affect Most AAWW Operations.PURCHASE, N.Y. -- Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings, Inc. (AAWW AAWW Asian American Writers' Workshop AAWW Alpaca Association of Western Washington AAWW Anti-Air Warfare Warship ) (OTC OTC See: Over-the-counter. OTC See over-the-counter market (OTC). : AAWW.PK) announced today that its negotiations with the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA ALPA abbr. Air Line Pilots Association ) for a new collective bargaining agreement The contractual agreement between an employer and a Labor Union that governs wages, hours, and working conditions for employees and which can be enforced against both the employer and the union for failure to comply with its terms. covering the Crewmembers employed by its subsidiary Polar Air Cargo Polar Air Cargo is an American cargo airline based in Purchase, New York, USA. It operates scheduled all-cargo services to Asia, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and the Americas. Its main base is John F. , Inc. (Polar) have been unsuccessful, and that ALPA has elected to call a strike at Polar. "While we regret the Polar Crewmembers' decision to strike," said Jeffrey H. Erickson, President and Chief Executive Officer of AAWW, "we have prepared for this contingency. Consistent with our strategic initiatives to place our aircraft where they are most profitable, we have returned three aircraft on dry lease to Polar back to Atlas Air, Inc. We have also placed two Polar aircraft for sale or lease, and are in the process of placing the remaining seven aircraft in other uses, including dry leases. As a result, only seven of the Company's 42 aircraft are affected by the strike." The final offer from Polar to ALPA called for no changes to the current work rules, pay rules and benefits, and provided for an immediate 10.5% across-the-board pay raise. ALPA was demanding significantly higher wage increases, which precluded reaching an agreement. "Our goal was to put our Polar Crewmembers at parity with our Atlas Crewmembers pending merger of the two carriers," Mr. Erickson continued. "ALPA's demands were simply not justified in any respect, particularly given the current competitive and fuel environment in which Polar competes." AAWW and the Airline Pilots Association (ALPA), the collective bargaining collective bargaining, in labor relations, procedure whereby an employer or employers agree to discuss the conditions of work by bargaining with representatives of the employees, usually a labor union. representative for Polar's Crewmembers, had been in negotiations for an amended Collective Bargaining Agreement since 2003. The parties were released from negotiations last month by the National Mediation Board The National Mediation Board is a three-person board created in 1934 by an act amending the Railway Labor Act (45 U.S.C.A. §§ 151–158, 160–162, 1181–1188) to resolve disputes in the railroad and airline industries that could disrupt travel or imperil the (NMB NMB new methylene blue. ) into a mandated 30-day cooling off period. That period ended last night at midnight, after which the strike action was taken by the Polar Crewmembers. About Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings, Inc.: AAWW is the parent company of Atlas Air, Inc. (Atlas) and Polar Air Cargo, Inc. (Polar), which together operate the world's largest fleet of Boeing 747 freighter aircraft. AAWW, through its subsidiary operating units, Atlas Air, Inc. and Polar Air Cargo, Inc., offers scheduled air cargo service, cargo charters, military charters, and ACMI aircraft leasing in which customers receive a dedicated aircraft, crew, maintenance and insurance on a long-term lease basis. Through both of its principal subsidiaries, AAWW also provides commercial and military charter services. AAWW's press releases, SEC filings and other information may be accessed through the Company's home page, www.atlasair.com. |
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