Helicopter Pilot Update

Last week, I wrote about an ongoing contract dispute between a union of helicopter pilots and their employer, PHI. The two parties have been negotiating for more than 2 years.

A federally-imposed "cooling off" period expired on Monday, freeing up the union to go on strike. After negotiations failed last week, it looked like a strike was inevitable. A helicopter strike could have serious effects on the oil industry, as these pilots help keep off-shore oil rigs in operation.

PHI filed an injunction on Monday that would halt a possible strike. This could serve as a delay, but at best it's a short-term solution for PHI. Union President Steve Ragin made an excellent point:

"I can tell you that PHI is going to be spending well over that in legal fees trying to fight the union"

It's often the case that a company would rather fight it's employees than bargain in good faith. After two years of negotiations, that seems to be what's going on.