ST. CROIX — Seaborne Airlines employees shut down operations early today and left work shortly after noon in a job action protesting what one employee described as unfair treatment and a lack of support from management.
An employee, speaking anonymously due to the sensitivity of the issue, said workers have been treated “unfairly” since the company emerged from bankruptcy under new ownership.
“We’ve tried multiple times to stand up for ourselves only to get knocked down, only to get pushed around, only for you to try to bring other people in to do our shifts because you don’t want to give us time allotted to us, monies allotted to us,” the employee said, adding that the employees have no union and no one to talk with to express their concerns.
The protest followed a three-week shutdown caused by mechanical issues with the company’s seaplane.
READ MORE: Seaborne cancellations enter third week over mechanical issues; flights expected to resume ‘soon’
Although those issues were eventually resolved and operations resumed Friday, ground staff — including counter and ramp agents — reported not being paid during the closure. Meanwhile, other employees such as mechanics continued receiving pay along with management, the employee said, adding that a lack of communication from corporate kept staff in the dark.
“We haven’t had any emails to say, ‘well, we’re sorry, this is what’s going on, we’re trying to help you guys here and there,’” the employee said. “We don’t receive any compensation for anything that goes on. We just don’t get paid.”
While the staff have been preparing to take a job action, the employee said the walkout was triggered today in part by an incident involving a colleague who worked Saturday but was denied compensation for the time worked due to arriving late.
“And now you’re not answering the phone or you’re not giving us any messages, or giving any callbacks,” the employee said. “So, until we’re spoken to like the people who work here and not treated like animals, we’re going to stand together for one another.”
Although flights were scheduled throughout the afternoon, the staff allowed all passengers who had arrived at the seaplane terminals on St. Croix and St. Thomas to board what ended up being the only flights of the day. The flight from St. Croix to the Charles F. Blair Jr. Seaplane Terminal on St. Thomas left shortly before 11 a.m. The flight from St. Thomas landed at the Svend Aage Ovesen Jr. Seaplane Terminal on St. Croix just before noon. Soon after, the employees closed the terminal and went home. It remains unclear whether they will return to work on Monday.
“We’re not sure of that yet,” the employee said when asked about plans for Monday. “We have to stand together for each other, so we’re gonna see how that goes. We’re gonna sit and we’re gonna all talk to each other and see what we want to do with this and how is it gonna go.”
The staff who engaged in the job action included counter agents, ramp agents, mechanics, pilots, and a facilities employee. Before returning to work, they are calling for a meeting with management.
“Until we can sit down and come to an understanding of where we stand in this company, we are just going to stand our ground,” the employee said.
On July 4, Delaware-based Leonite Fund I LP, a private investment fund, acquired Seaborne at a bankruptcy auction for a total of $1.425 million. Darrell Richardson subsequently became the company’s new president and CEO. Seaborne is no longer affiliated with its previous parent company — Silver Airways, which ceased operations on June 11 following Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
An attempt to reach Phil Lambrechts, Seaborne executive director of Operations, for comment was unsuccessful, and a message was not returned as of publication time.
