Evergreen International Airlines’ pilots have voted in favour of strike action if their employer refuses to increase their pay. This would be the first time Evergreen employees have staged a strike.
Evergreen pilots fly 10 Boeing 747 cargo planes around the world, carrying US military supplies from New York to the Middle East and continuing to China, where they pick up goods for export to the United States. Pilots say the freighters sometimes land in Afghanistan – at Kabul, Kandahar and Bagram Air Base, which they are awarded no extra pay for.
Negotiations are scheduled to resume February 22 through the National Mediation Board, which would have to clear the pilots to strike after a 30-day cooling-off period.