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Teamsters will appeal court ruling Frontier won

By Chris Walsh, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published November 4, 2008 at 12:05 a.m.

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The Teamsters union plans to appeal a bankruptcy court decision that allows Frontier Airlines to break its contract with maintenance employees.

The union, which represents 436 Frontier mechanics, aircraft cleaners and related workers, reiterated its claim that the company has not proven the need for the level of wage and benefit cuts it is targeting.

On Friday, the bankruptcy court judge overseeing Frontier's Chapter 11 case agreed to let the company terminate its current labor agreement with the Teamsters. Frontier's proposal, which still needs final approval from the judge, includes what amounts to a 14 percent cut in wages and benefits, the Teamsters said.

The company initially had been looking to outsource some maintenance operations and about 130 Denver jobs to Central America, saying the move would allow it to save money. Frontier also said there simply won't be enough work for those employees in the future because of its move to sell some planes.

But the carrier eventually relented, agreeing to a plan in which it will maintain current staffing levels but can furlough maintenance workers when necessary during slow times of the year. Frontier can only outsource its maintenance operations if mechanics fail to meet certain requirements and performance benchmarks.

"We feel this is a victory in the sense that we saved jobs, but obviously we don't agree with the judge's decision," said Matthew Fazakas, president of the Denver-based local.

Frontier said the ruling will help it save millions in costs but declined to give an exact estimate.

"After a long period of negotiation and after getting an idea for what would be acceptable to the judge, this is the proposal that we came up with," said Frontier spokesman Steve Snyder.

The carrier is still negotiating with pilots on a concession agreement.

On Monday, the Association of Flight Attendants said it was seeking federal approval to hold an election to unionize flight attendants who work for Frontier's Lynx turboprop subsidiary.