Unionized Employees Picket NetJets Corporate Office

COLUMBUS, Ohio, March 28, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- In a powerful display of solidarity, approximately 200 unionized NetJets employees participated in an informational picket across the street from the Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK) subsidiary's corporate headquarters to focus attention on escalating attacks on their pay, benefits and working conditions amid record profits. The event was hosted by the NetJets Unions Coalition (NUC) whose formation was announced earlier this month.

The Coalition is an alliance of the NetJets Association of Shared Aircraft Pilots (NJASAP), which represents the 3,000-plus NetJets pilots, and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) Local 284 whose members include approximately 500 NetJets dispatchers, flight attendants, maintenance controllers, mechanics and stock clerks.

"Today's picket was a watershed moment," NJASAP President First Officer John Malmborg said. "Coalition members sent the message they are firmly aligned and will not stay silent while our separate collective bargaining agreements are attacked." Added Teamsters Local 284 President Paul Suffoletto, "In each negotiation, NetJets has made it clear they want concessions: They are focused on wringing every cent possible from employee agreements while posting record profits, aggressively paying down debt, and making profit-sharing payouts to non-union employees. The irony is not lost on anyone, and our members will not consider regressive agreements."

All four of NetJets's organized employee groups are currently engaged in collective bargaining, and the progress of each negotiation has been anything but brisk. For instance, the Flight Attendants are scheduled to begin government-supervised mediation on Monday in Dallas after more than three years of talks.

Malmborg and Suffoletto agreed their members, standing shoulder-to-shoulder along Bridgeway Avenue, sent a very powerful message. "A spirit of unity has spread like wildfire throughout our ranks, infusing our members with a sense of resolve unlike any we have ever seen at NetJets," Malmborg said. "As a Coalition, our efforts to focus public attention on how management greed has tarnished the luster of the world's leading fractional ownership program provider is just beginning. Several events have been planned through the spring and beyond."

About NJASAP Founded in 2008 as an independent labor affiliate, the NetJets Association of Shared Aircraft Pilots (NJASAP) represents the professional interests of the 3,000-plus pilots who fly in the service of NetJets Aviation, Inc. Based in Columbus, Ohio, the Association is governed by a nine-member Executive Board, who is supported by seven professional staff members and a network of 150-plus volunteers who manage more than 20 committees. For more information, visit us at www.njasap.com or www.facebook.com/njasap.

About the IBT Founded in 1903, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents 1.4 million hardworking men and women throughout the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico including more than 80,000 workers throughout the airline industry in every craft and class. Visit www.teamster.org for more information. Follow us on Twitter @Teamsters and "like" us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/teamsters.

SOURCE NetJets Association of Shared Aircraft Pilots (NJASAP)