Exclusive-Pilots’ union blocks Allegiant Air bid to get US residency for foreign hires
NEW YORK, Dec 6 (Reuters) – Allegiant Air’s pilots union is blocking the airline’s attempt to provide permanent residence for dozens of foreign pilots from Chile, Australia and Singapore, leaving their immigration status and the company’s staffing situation unclear.
The union has refused to certify to the U.S. Department of Labor that its pilot positions, which start at about $50,000 a year, about half what pilots at other regional airlines earn, meet “prevailing wage” standards. This certification is a very important bureaucratic step and is a requirement for pilots’ green card applications.
Instead of hiring foreign pilots, Teamsters Local 2118 asked Allegiant to offer industry-standard compensation and improvements in scheduling to retain pilots leaving for competitors.
Allegiant said it, like most U.S. carriers, faced significant workforce challenges when travel increased after the pandemic. The carrier has also struggled to retain pilots, in part due to low pay levels. To stabilize staffing, the carrier expanded hiring to include pilots under employment-based visa programs.
The union claims the airline misrepresented its intention to hire these pilots on a permanent basis and that there is no longer a shortage in the US, making the move to obtain permanent residency for the pilots unnecessary.
“They had such a hard time finding pilots in 2023 that they started hiring visa pilots from Chile with H-1B1 because they verbally promised them citizenship, a green card to fly to America for $50,000 a year,” Gregory Unterseher, director of the Airline Division of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, told Reuters.
“Because they have a very hard time hiring and maintaining pilots at such low wages.”
Allegiant said it currently employs about 62 pilots from Chile, Australia and Singapore through the H-1B1 and E-3 visa programs, or about 4% of its total number of pilots of 1,345.
A spokesman for Allegiant said hiring pilots through visa programs is a small addition to its broader workforce strategy, not a replacement for those hired in the United States.
The union refused to provide the letter required to apply for a permanent labor certification offered by the airline. A permanent employment certificate issued by the Department of Labor allows employers to hire foreign workers to work permanently in the United States
“We understand that as a result of the union’s inability to provide this information, the time to receive your green card may be delayed,” Allegiant wrote in a letter to pilots seen by Reuters.
“The company condemns the union’s decision to harm you by refusing to provide the updated letter requested by the Department of Labor,” the letter said.
In a statement to Reuters, Allegiant said “all of our hiring practices are in full compliance with federal labor laws, FAA regulations, and collective bargaining agreements in effect with our pilot union.”
The union said the status of most foreign pilots is in limbo due to President Donald Trump’s crackdown on foreign workers, and some have been instructed not to leave the country.
“My heart goes out to them. I think they’ve been told recently that they shouldn’t leave the country, right? Because they might never come back,” Unterseher said.
Wear and tear on the rise
Attrition is increasing at Allegiant, pilots say, as some leave the job due to low wages in the industry, frustrations with scheduling and nearly 10-year employment contracts.
“First officers at Allegiant in many cases earn less than flight attendants at other major airlines or TSA agencies,” a pilot who recently left Allegiant told Reuters on condition of anonymity.
The carrier has expressed interest in expanding its operations, discussing as many as 1,400 destinations it could add at some point. But pilots told Reuters that staff shortages were still a pain point.
“There was nowhere to go for the last 18 months. Now people have options, you see people leaving. In my little little group of people, I have five or six friends that I know are leaving,” Pilot added.
(Reporting by Doyinsola Oladipo in New York; Editing by David Gregorio)
