Anchorage, Alaska—The 71 workers who deliver 90% of the jet fuel to Anchorage’s international airport
voted overwhelmingly Sept. 5 to ratify a contract agreement with Menzies Aviation. The vote came after a federal court last month rejected the Scotland-based company’s request for an order that would have denied the workers the right to strike. The court held that the airport workers were governed by the National Labor Relations Act, not the more restrictive Railway Labor Act. “We won straight through,” said International Association of Machinists representative Glenn Farmer. “We won in court, we got a very good contract, and our union has the right to represent the members under the National Labor Relations Act, which was by far the biggest issue, because it gave us the right to bargain under the law and the right to strike.” The three-year agreement, which expires in 2020, will raise pay, improve bereavement leave, and accelerate the rate at which new hires reach the maximum salary level. Read more
