The National Mediation Board cleared the way for the Teamsters to stage a representation election at GoJet, a unit of Trans States Holdings.

Both the Teamsters and the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) want to represent the pilots at GoJet and each filed paperwork in September with the mediation board. ALPA, which already represents the Trans States Airlines (TSA) pilots, contended that it was entitled to represent the GoJet pilots because the two carriers are not really separate entities. It was the position of both the Teamsters and Trans States Holdings that the two carriers maintain separate operations, including labor and human resources.

In a late December ruling, the board determined that GoJet and Trans States Airlines are indeed separate. While ALPA cited the multiple carriers held by Mesa Air Group [MESA] as the model for Trans States Holdings, the board found that their organizations are not similar. "GoJet and TSA have their own Web site with no information about each other or links to each other. Applicants for positions at either carrier must apply through Web addresses or mail address and each carrier lists only its openings. Additionally, labor relations are handled separately at GoJet and TSA: with separate management teams, separate wages, benefits and terms and conditions of employments, separate seniority lists and employee rosters."

The decision precludes ALPA from representing the GoJet pilots and clears the away for the board to sponsor a representation election with the Teamsters on the ballot.