FBO workers at Aspen airport are on a union drive

Workers who service private aircraft at the Aspen airport are pursuing collective bargaining, citing concerns over compensation, safety, and scheduling.

Thirty-four employees of Atlantic Aviation, the Fixed Base Operator (FBO) at the Aspen/Pitkin County Airport, will participate in a secret ballot election on March 6 to determine their representative in union bargaining proceedings. 

The International Association Of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW), AFL-CIO is the union on the ballot. The IAMAW is the largest airline union in North America, representing over 600,000 transportation workers in the U.S. and Canada.

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Atlantic Aviation is a Texas-based company that runs 100+ FBOs throughout North America. FBOs work with general aviation and provide other services like fueling for all aircraft. Atlantic has run the FBO at the Aspen airport since 2006 after an acquisition. 

Atlantic is currently in contract negotiations with the airport sponsor, Pitkin County, for another 30-year contract. County Manager Jon Peacock said unionization would not affect those contract negotiations. Frank Giannola, the Director of Membership Services for IAMAW District 141, said some workers are concerned about Atlantic negotiating a new contract and employees not benefitting from the new terms.

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Atlantic workers first contacted IAMAW around November, according to him. Giannola has been in Aspen working with the petitioning workers.

“They cited insufficient staffing issues, equipment issues, (and) some safety concerns,” he said. There were also concerns over hours being cut.

Atlantic was first made aware of the union drive around Jan. 30, according to the National Labor Relations Board. Giannola said Atlantic has posted a “FAQ: Collective Bargaining” one-sheets around the office, which answer questions about the process with anti-union language. 

Washington D.C. firm Morgan, Lewis & Bockius is representing Atlantic in the case, according to the NLRB. Legal representatives did not return requests for comment.

In an email statement, Atlantic Aviation Chief Human Resources Officer Paula Sacks said:

Atlantic Aviation has positive working relationships at both its represented and non-represented operations throughout the United States and we have a long-standing commitment to and track record of providing a great place to work with good pay and benefits. We understand that the International Association of Machinists has filed a petition for a union election at our operation in Aspen, CO. We believe there is great value in the direct working relationship that our employees currently enjoy with our local management team and do not believe third party representation is required. We will respect the rights of our employees to vote for union representation and will honor the result of a properly managed National Labor Relations Board election.

The secret ballot election on March 6 will pose one question: Do the eligible workers of Atlantic Aviation at the Aspen airport wish to be represented by IAMAW in collective bargaining proceedings? Voters will choose yes or no without signing their names. A simple majority of 18 votes or more will decide the outcome.

If the vote succeeds, then the effort will be certified by the National Labor Relations Board, and the 34 Atlantic employees will choose their internal representatives. Then bargaining would begin between Atlantic and the employee representatives, plus attorneys and negotiators from IAMAW.

“It’s the workers who devise what their proposals are at the table. They would look at their terms of employment and look at the things that they want to keep. They would lock that into a contract and then negotiate other things that they don’t have right now,” said James Carlson, the Air Transport Territory Coordinator for IAMAW. “Those negotiations would happen immediately.”

Negotiating a contract between the parties could take weeks, months, or even longer. He said it’s impossible to speculate how long it would take but hopes for a negotiation period no longer than a few months. Starting contract negotiations does not guarantee success. 

Giannola said that there will be no interruption in service at the FBO on the part of the workers throughout this process.

The eligible workers include all full-time and regular part-time line service technicians, lead line servicemen, customer service representatives, customer service supervisors, and line service shift supervisors employed at the Aspen airport location of Atlantic Aviation. All other employees, guards, and supervisors, as defined by the National Labor Relations Act, are excluded from eligibility.

The IAMAW does have other Atlantic workers under contract in other parts of North America, Carlson said, but none in Colorado. Atlantic operates FBOs at the Aspen, Rifle, Telluride/Montrose, and Steamboat/Hayden airports in Colorado.

Only the acceptance of a successfully negotiated contract would introduce the costs and dues associated with union membership, he said. 

“No initiation fees, no fee of any kind, until the workers negotiate and vote in a contract,” Carlson said. “The IAMAW has a set structure (for dues), and they would be assigned to a local lodge … Many times we negotiate, for a first contract we give a special dispensation, which would be a lower dues rate.”

Both parties are allowed to name authorized observers for the March 6 election. He said those observers have yet to be named.

If a majority of eligible workers vote no, then the election fails and the FBO would remain non-union, though they could petition again.