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| Hawaii Island // Photo by Joe Pike |
Aviation Pros is reporting that more than 300 uniformed Hawaiian Airlines pilots, carrying signs that read "Fully Qualified, Partially Paid!" and "Mr. Dunkerley, What does Ohana mean to you?" picketed at Honolulu International Airport's inter-island terminal last week to bring public awareness to the slow pace of labor negotiations with the company.
The pilots, represented by the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), said they are seeking a 45 percent increase in their overall contract value to bring them in line with market rates that pilots at other major carriers receive for flying similar aircraft, according to the report.
But the pilots claim that Hawaiian, despite record profits and a soaring stock price, is seeking additional concessions that the airline could not receive in its 2003-2005 bankruptcy reorganization.
The pilots, walking in tight orderly circles on sidewalks outside the baggage claim area on the bottom level of the inter-island terminal and outside the ticket counter on the second level, didn't disrupt Hawaiian's operations, according to company spokeswoman Ann Botticelli.
ALPA said it was permitted by the state to have 20 pilots walk at any one time on the bottom level and 30 to walk on the upper level. ALPA said 328, or about 95 percent of its available pilots, participated in the informational picketing, which took place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Hawaiian has about 630 pilots overall, according to the Aviation Pros report.
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