Republic Airways Holdings Inc.’s future was in doubt after the local pilots’ union recommended against allowing members to vote on the carrier’s contract offer, Bloomberg News reported today. The leadership of the Teamsters’ local is objecting to language in the contract preventing it from encouraging members from taking positions at other regional airlines, Local 357 President Jim Clark said. The national union could override the local’s decision and present it to members, he said. The lack of an agreement is one reason behind a pilot shortage that Republic has warned threatens the company’s future. The alternative to an accord is court-supervised restructuring, said Matt Koscal, vice president of human resources for the carrier, which makes regional flights for larger airlines.
