The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio on Wednesday ordered about 250 striking pilots at ABX Air — a cargo carrier servicing DHL Express and Amazon — to return to work, reported The New York Times.
The strike grounded about 75 flights last Tuesday, threatening several shipments for Amazon and DHL Express.
On Wednesday night, Federal District Court Judge Timothy S. Black granted ABX Air a temporary retraining order to block the strike and force the pilots to immediately return to work.
According to a news release from the Airline Professionals Association, Teamsters Local 1224 — the union representing the pilots — ABX Air has been "significantly understaffed" for the past two years, forcing pilots to work "emergency assignments" on their off time, which violates the union contract.
"ABX Air's failure to address the staffing crisis hurts our families and compromises our ability to do our jobs and meet the needs of Amazon, DHL and other customers," Rick Ziebarth, ABX pilot and executive chairman of the union, said in a statement. "We do not agree with the Judge's decision to keep us from striking, as we believe the company's actions represent a clear violation of the status quo as outlined by Railway Labor Act."
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