Morningstar Air Express

Morningstar Air Express Pilots Chart a Path Forward

Last year was a productive one for the pilots of Morningstar Air Express, as their Master Executive Council (MEC) leaders took major steps toward building their volunteer structure, while charting a path forward with the creation of the pilot group's first strategic plan.

After an aggressive recruitment drive by the MEC, several pilots stepped up to volunteer their time, energy, and expertise on various committees, including Grievance, Central Air Safety, and Pilot Peer Support.

When building their strategic plan, pilot leaders created a mission statement for the MEC, which declares that they will work hard "advocating with a unified voice for our pilots' safety, quality of life, and career success at Morningstar." In its strategic plan, the MEC outlined a timeline with both short- and long-term goals aimed at establishing a more robust committee structure, increasing pilot group education through communication, and building pilot unity in advance of the next round of collective bargaining, slated to begin next year.

MEC and Management in Active Discussions

The MEC continues to encourage management to explore necessary interim enhancements that will benefit both parties. Besides improvements to the compensation structure, the MEC and management have been in active discussions about scheduling rules and are working to implement a preferential bidding system.

The pilot group is hopeful that necessary and meaningful improvements can be achieved in the interim but is focused on upcoming negotiations. Unlike the last bargaining cycle, which was partly conducted under Unifor, the pilots are optimistic that their improved relationship with management will set the tone for more collaborative negotiations.