• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

Jensen Huang made his $172 billion fortune on AI chips. His family's $75 million gift to Vanderbilt argues art decides what technology is for

2

'The demographic dividend of the last 40 years is ending': J.P. Morgan says the world is running out of the two things that kept interest rates down

3

The $39 trillion U.S. national debt isn’t as high as Japan’s and Singapore’s relative to economy size—and yet it's still worse somehow

1

Jensen Huang made his $172 billion fortune on AI chips. His family's $75 million gift to Vanderbilt argues art decides what technology is for

2

'The demographic dividend of the last 40 years is ending': J.P. Morgan says the world is running out of the two things that kept interest rates down

3

The $39 trillion U.S. national debt isn’t as high as Japan’s and Singapore’s relative to economy size—and yet it's still worse somehow
TechGlobal 500

Pilot Strike Could Delay Amazon’s Holiday Shipments

By
Don Reisinger
Don Reisinger
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Don Reisinger
Don Reisinger
Down Arrow Button Icon
November 22, 2016, 12:23 PM ET
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Amazon’s holiday season has become far more complicated.

Approximately 250 pilots who fly cargo carriers for ABX Air went on strike Tuesday morning and have declined to fly any of their scheduled routes until they can come to an agreement with their employer. ABX, which is owned by the Air Transport Services Group (ATSG), has several cargo customers, but its two biggest are Amazon and DHL. And now the pilots and the Airline Professionals Association, Teamsters Local 1224 union supporting them are saying Amazon’s shipments could be impacted, leading to delivery delays for the e-retail giant’s customers.

According to the pilots, the cargo carrier is flying 14 aircraft and 35 flights per day for Amazon (AMZN), carrying the company’s goods from one spot to another to facilitate shipments to customers. In a statement, the pilots say “Amazon customers will also see delays and disruptions.” DHL relies on Air Transport Services Group for 45 flights per day.

The row between the pilots and ABX is due in part to what the pilots say is a company that is “significantly understaffed.” They claim ABX Air and ATSG are violating their employment contract by forcing them to work “emergency assignments” when they’re not scheduled to fly, and not allowing them to take extra time off for their additional work.

Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s technology newsletter

“I take my job as a pilot seriously, and I’m committed to serving ABX Air and our customers, but I’m also a father of a little girl and help care for my aging mother,” Randy Riesbeck, an ABX pilot, said in a statement. “On numerous occasions I have had to miss my daughter’s school events and previously scheduled medical appointments for my mother, all because ABX Air emergency assigned me to work on a day I had scheduled off. How am I supposed to explain to my daughter why I wasn’t there to see her grow up? How do I explain to my mother that I can’t take her to the doctor?”

The pilots add that their work schedule is “causing stress and strain” and say their employers might be violating a U.S. law governing work and compensation.

“To date in 2016, pilots have been scheduled to cover over 8000 emergency assignment days on days they should have had off,” a statement reads. “As the airline moves into peak holiday flying season, ABX Air and ATSG are refusing to honor contractual provisions regarding compensatory time and vacation time in order to cover the pilot deficit. This change violates the terms of the company’s agreement with the pilots, which is a violation of the status quo under the Railway Labor Act.”

ABX Air said in a statement on Tuesday that it believes the strike is “illegal” and says it will use the court system to put an end to the stoppage.

For more about Amazon, watch:

“We will seek a court order later today to restore the status quo operating environment, even as we continue discussions with union representatives about specific issues of concern,” ABX Air President John Starkovich said in a statement. “We expect the court will uphold our position that the actions taken by the union to refuse work assignments is not legal, and the issues involved constitute a minor dispute to be resolved via arbitration under terms of our current labor agreements.”

The chief executive added that its customers might face “temporary interruptions” to their service, but didn’t say how far-reaching the delays might be.

An Amazon spokesperson didn’t say how the work stoppage might affect the company’s shipments and customer service.

“We work with a variety of carriers and are confident in our ability to serve customers,” the spokesperson said in a statement. It’s unclear how much of Amazon’s logistics network relies upon the 35 affected flights.

In a statement to Fortune, an ABX Air spokesperson did not elaborate beyond Starkovich’s public comments.

The strike comes just a day after workers at Chicago O’Hare International Airport, one of the busiest airports in the world, announced a strike ahead of the busy holiday travel season.

About the Author
By Don Reisinger
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • TikTok icon
  • YouTube icon

Latest in Tech

jh
AINvidia
Jensen Huang just used his first ever X post to warn the AI industry not to make the mistake that software narrowly avoided in the 1980s
By Nick LichtenbergJuly 24, 2026
24 minutes ago
pjm
EnergyData centers
The AI boom’s hidden electricity bill — and why you’re paying it
By Nick LichtenbergJuly 24, 2026
50 minutes ago
j
AINvidia
Nvidia, Microsoft lead call for open-weight AI models after Kimi
By Michael Shepard and BloombergJuly 24, 2026
59 minutes ago
Anthropic debuts Claude Opus 5 with feature that lets users toggle between cost and capability
AIAnthropic
Anthropic debuts Claude Opus 5 with feature that lets users toggle between cost and capability
By Emily ForliniJuly 24, 2026
1 hour ago
grandparents grandkid on a tablet
AIGoogle
Kids don’t ‘Google it’ anymore. AI chatbots taught them to ‘search it up’ instead
By Catherina GioinoJuly 24, 2026
1 hour ago
EU says TikTok failed to shield minors’ accounts from adults, exposing kids to predators
CybersecurityTikTok
EU says TikTok failed to shield minors’ accounts from adults, exposing kids to predators
By Sam McNeil and The Associated PressJuly 24, 2026
4 hours ago

Most Popular

Jensen Huang made his $172 billion fortune on AI chips. His family's $75 million gift to Vanderbilt argues art decides what technology is for
Big Tech
Jensen Huang made his $172 billion fortune on AI chips. His family's $75 million gift to Vanderbilt argues art decides what technology is for
By Sydney LakeJuly 23, 2026
1 day ago
'The demographic dividend of the last 40 years is ending': J.P. Morgan says the world is running out of the two things that kept interest rates down
Economy
'The demographic dividend of the last 40 years is ending': J.P. Morgan says the world is running out of the two things that kept interest rates down
By Eleanor PringleJuly 24, 2026
11 hours ago
The $39 trillion U.S. national debt isn’t as high as Japan’s and Singapore’s relative to economy size—and yet it's still worse somehow
Economy
The $39 trillion U.S. national debt isn’t as high as Japan’s and Singapore’s relative to economy size—and yet it's still worse somehow
By Sasha RogelbergJuly 23, 2026
1 day ago
The millennial generation has split, new Fed research shows: Those over 35 are edging toward boomer-style wealth, while everyone else falls behind
Real Estate
The millennial generation has split, new Fed research shows: Those over 35 are edging toward boomer-style wealth, while everyone else falls behind
By Nick LichtenbergJuly 22, 2026
2 days ago
Spain lifted the World Cup, but the IRS still gets a cut of its $50 million pay day as players, coaches and refs all face complex U.S. “jock taxes”
Personal Finance
Spain lifted the World Cup, but the IRS still gets a cut of its $50 million pay day as players, coaches and refs all face complex U.S. “jock taxes”
By Joshua HongJuly 23, 2026
1 day ago
Current price of oil as of July 23, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of oil as of July 23, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJuly 23, 2026
1 day ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.