Posted on: Wednesday, May 11, 2005
Pilots union says it had a 'gun held to our head'
| • | Pilots on board as new era at Hawaiian Air nears |
By Dan Nakaso
Advertiser Staff Writer
Hawaiian Airlines pilots rejected a tentative agreement in March but voted overwhelmingly for the latest contract offer, in part, because of a "gun held to our head," the head of the pilots union said yesterday.
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Faris told pilots last month he would impose a new contract on them if they were unable to reach an agreement with the management this time.
Out of 258 pilots who cast votes, 189 voted for the new three-year contract, said Capt. Kirk McBride, chairman of Hawaiian's pilots master executive council.
"Those aren't emphatic yes votes," McBride said. "They voted yes because we did a much better job of communicating to pilots and because we had the ... gun held to our head. It was the most logical of the choices we had."
Under the new contract, pilot salaries would increase 1 percent for each of the three years. Salaries for Hawaiian pilots currently range between $38,800 and $176,000 per year depending on experience and the planes they fly.
Pilots younger than 50 would have their defined benefit retirement plan frozen in 2008 and replaced with a target benefit defined contribution plan.
The company would pay the equivalent of 17 percent of pilots' pay into the plan, according to the union. Under the previous tentative agreement, which was rejected by the pilots, the defined benefit plan would be frozen in 2012 but the company would pay only 15 percent of pilots' pay into the plan.
Pilots and management will begin negotiating a new retirement plan probably in September, McBride said, after the busy summer travel season.
Reach Dan Nakaso at dnakaso@honoluluadvertiser.com or at 525-8085.
