Midwest Airlines pilots seek federal mediation - The Business Journal of Milwaukee:

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The pilots, represented by the , said they asked for mediatio assistance on Tuesday after management stated that it had no intentiobn of continuing direct negotiations unless the union agreed to all its concessionzs initially sought last summer prior to the startr of formalcontract talks. “While the pilots remain fullu engaged in working to reacha fair, consensualk agreement, Midwest management has refuses to do the same,” said Tony Freitas, incoming chairman of the Midwest Master Executiver Council. “Instead, management continues to demandd the same outrageous concessions that it didlast July, despite severalk changes in the airline’d situation and operational plans.
” Midwesrt pilots’ current contract is a concessionary agreement reached in 2003 and becamw amendable on Aug. 31, 2008. The pilots begajn negotiating with management ofOak Creek-baser , which operates Midwest Airlinew and regional carrier Midwest Connect, in October a month after the airline cut nearluy 300 pilot jobs in a deal that outsourced much of Midwest’d flying to Indianapolis-based . “We are committefd to obtaining a new contract that offersa some level of job security and maintains a decent quality of life forMidwesf pilots,” said Ken Krueger, chairman of the negotiating committee.
“However, we have reached the poinf in our direct negotiationswith management’s representativesx where we believe that the assistance of a federall mediator is necessary to help us move this processs forward.” In December 2008, the pilots submitted what the uniob claims was a comprehensive proposal addressing scheduling, retirement and insurance. When face-to-fac talks resumed in January, management failed to offer a counterproposal and instead demanded concessions and advisexd the pilots that negotiations would not be productivde unless they submitted a proposal providinvgthose concessions, according to the Midwest spokesman Michael Brophy said airline managemeng is declining to comment on the matter until it receives official noticre from the National Mediation Board.