Published 18 Sep, 2013
Contact: Amy Shenker, askpr2011@gmail.com, 301.412.2616 Roger Kerson, roger.kerson@gmail.com, 734.645.0535
News Advisory for Thurs. Sept. 19, St. Petersburg, Fla.
Transport Workers Union to Conduct Informational Picketing in Allegiant Terminal at St. Pete/Clearwater Airport
As airline connects to new cities, workers ask: “Will Allegiant Be There?”
Discount carrier has history of cancelling routes and abandoning entire communities
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. –Members of the Transport Workers Union, representing more than 600 flight attendants at Allegiant Air, will conduct informational picketing at the St. Petersburg/Clearwater International Airport on Thursday, Sept. 19 from 11 am to 4 pm. The event will call attention to company actions which workers believe have a negative impact on employees, passengers and communities.
Who: Members of TWU Local 577 and Local 556
What: Informational picketing, asking “Will Allegiant Be There?” because of Allegiant’s history of abandoning routes and cancelling service
Where: St. Petersburg/Clearwater International Airport 14700 Terminal Blvd, Clearwater, FL 33762
When: Thursday, Sept. 19, 11 am to 4 pm (Eastern Time)
Allegiant, a discount carrier which claims low fares but has been reported to add fees which can double the price of a ticket, recently added six new destinations from St. Petersburg/Clearwater, including cities in New York, Ohio, North Dakota and South Dakota.
“We are excited to connect St. Petersburg travelers to more destinations,” said Debra Petersen- Barber, an Allegiant flight attendant who is lead negotiator for TWU Local 577. “We know that the success of our company depends on mutually beneficial long-term relationships with employees, passengers and communities.”
Informational picket signs at tomorrow’s event will ask, “Will Allegiant Be There?” because of Allegiant’s track record of cancelling routes and abandoning entire communities.
“Allegiant claims it’s a ‘badge of honor’ when it suddenly cancels a route or completely abandons service to a community, as it has done many times,” said TWU International Vice President Thom McDaniel, referring to comments made by a senior company official during a June 5, 2013 interview on Fox Business News. “There is nothing honorable about stranding passengers who invested their taxpayer dollars in airport facilities to bring Allegiant to town.”
An ‘UnRoute Map’ on a TWU website, WillAllegiantBeThere.org, shows a dozen communities where Allegiant has completely abandoned service, even when flights were full.
Allegiant has been reported to add fees for items like using a credit card when buying a ticket. Passengers have endured reported mechanical failures and other events that have caused inconvenience, emergency landings and delays of up to 52 hours.
The informational picketing at the St. Petersburg/Clearwater airport is not a work stoppage, or a request for any individual or group to take action. A majority of flight attendants at Allegiant voted in favor of TWU representation in December 2010. Union representatives began negotiations with company officials in June of 2011. More than two years later, Allegiant has yet to reach a first contract agreement with flight attendants.