Allegiant flight dispatchers strike tentative labor deal
Flight dispatchers working for Allegiant Air reached a tentative labor agreement with the Las Vegas-based budget carrier, airline officials said Tuesday.
Details of the five-year contract were not immediately available, but it marks the first deal struck between Allegiant and the bargaining unit of 34 flight dispatchers, who are represented by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.
A contract ratification vote is anticipated before the end of July by the flight dispatchers, who help plan routes and advise pilots when weather conditions or problems arise.
“A first agreement is an important milestone, and having a contract in place that supports our team members and keeps us competitive across the industry is a win for all involved,” Maury Gallagher, Allegiant’s chairman and chief executive officer, said in a prepared statement.
Officials with the Teamsters could not be reached for comment late Tuesday.
Allegiant’s flight dispatchers were members of the Teamsters until 2015, when a decertification vote ended in a tie, union officials said at the time. A federal judge ultimately found that the National Mediation Board had properly ended their representation.
The flight dispatchers agreed in October 2016 to be represented by Teamsters Local 986 in South El Monte, California. Labor negotiations with Allegiant began in 2017.
Contact Art Marroquin at amarroquin@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0336. Find @AMarroquin_LV on Twitter.