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WEBVTT CYBER MONDAY FAST APPROACHING, HAVING TO PARK CARGO PLANES FOR A DAY IS ONE THING. BUT, IF IT STRETCHES INTO TWOR THREE, IT'S QUITE ANOTHER. THE STRIKE BY THOSE WHO FLY THE CARGO STARTED WHILMOST FOL SLEPT, 2:30 IN THE MORNING TWELVE HOURS LATER, THE PICKETING PILOTS WERE FORTIFIED BY COFFEE AND CERTAINTY ABOUT THEIR CAUS >> OUR FAMILY LIVES, WE HAVE NONE AND IF THE COMPANY HAD THEIR WAY, WE'D BE HERE EVERY DAY AND THERE'S NO RESPECT FOR TIME OFF JOHN: THE DHL PLANES NORMALLY MOVING WITH IMPRESSIVE PRECISI ALONG AMERICA'S AIR ROUTES AT THIS TIME OF YEAR WERE STACKED IN ROWS ALL DAY. THIS IS A SEASON OF PEAK COMMERCE, DISTRIBUON, DELIVERY. THE PACKAGES MANY ARE SENDING AND/OR EXPECTING VIA AMAZON COULD BE CAUGHT UP IN ALL THIS VERY SOO AS I STARTED TO ASK THIS PILOT ABOUT SUPPORTIVE GESTURES OUT ON THE PICKET LINE THIS AFTERNOON, THE QUESTION WAS DROWNED OUT >> I THINK, THERE'S A GOOD EXAMPLE. THERE'S A GOOD EXAMPLE OF THE FEEDBACK WE'RE GETTING. JOHN: IN A WRITTEN STATEMENT, COMPANY PRESIDENT JOHN STARKOVICH SAID ABX AIR IS NOTIFYING ITS CUSTOS AND OTHER AFFECTED PARTIES ABOUT TEMPORARY INTERRUPTIONS IN ABX'S FLIGHT OPERATIONS, ALLOWING THEM TO ADJUST THEIR NETWORKS UNTIL PILOTS RETURN TO WORK AND NORMAL FLIGHT OPERATIONS RESUME. WE WATCHED LATE IN THE DAY AS A CANADIAN CARGO PLANE ARRIV FOREIGN AIRCRAFT IS ABO THE ONLY MOVING MACHINERY OUT HERE AS OTHER UNIONIZED PILOTSONOR THE PICKET LINES. DAVE ROSS HAS 24 AND HALF YEARS IN. SAYS HE DOESN'T WANT TO BE OUT HERE, BUT THAT THE LACK OF COMPENSATORY DAYS OFF FOR FORCED OVERTIME HAS PUSHED IT THIS POINT. HE SAYS ONE OF THE 225 ABX PILOTS WORKED 35 STRAIGHT DAYS. >> IT'S COME TO A HEAD WITH US. BUT, THIS IS A PROBLEM AT UPS. THIS IS A PROBLEM AT, MOST AIRLINES HAVE BECAUSE OF THE PILOT SHORTAGES, THERE'S MORE AND MORE OF WE'RE OPERATING THINNER AND THINNER AND THINNER. AND, SO WE'RE KIND OF THE LEADING EDGE OF WHAT'S GOING ON IN THE INDUSTRY. JOHN: WHAT'S GONE ON TODAY INVOLVED CANCELLATIONS, SCORES OF THEM AT THE START OF PEAK DELIVERY SEASON. DHL SAYS DELIVERIES ARE DELAYED. IT'S MONITORINTHE SITUATION. GIVEN THE IMPORTANCE OF LOGISTICS TO THIS REGION, TY GRAYSON WITH THE CHAMBER HOPES IT'S RESOLVED QUICKLY. AT THE AIRPORT, JOHN LONDON,

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The planes are parked and the picket lines are formed after ABX pilots walked off the job early Tuesday morning. Scheduled routes had to be scrapped and the company was scrambling to reassure customers and prepare a court filing to try to get the cargo planes airborne once again. With Black Friday and Cyber Monday fast approaching, having to park the planes for a day is one thing. But it's quite another if the delay stretches into two or three days. The strike started at 2:30 a.m. Twelve hours later, the picketing pilots were fortified by multiple cups of coffee and an expressed certainty about their cause. "Our family lives, we have none, and if the company had their way, we'd be here every day," said Dave Ross, who spoke to us on the picket line at Cincinnati Airport. "There's no respect for time off." The DHL planes that normally move with impressive precision along America's air routes at this time of year were stacked in rows all day. The walkout comes at the start of a season of peak commerce, distribution and delivery. The packages many are sending and/or expecting via Amazon could be caught up in the delay very soon. As trucks rolled past the picketers, there were occasional blasts of horns and some thumbs-up gestures. Ross deemed it "a good example of the feedback we're getting." Responding to the strike in a written statement, company President John Starkovich said, "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. 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." Starkovich added, "ABX Air is notifying its customers and other affected parties about temporary interruptions in ABX's flight operations, allowing them to adjust their networks until pilots return to work and normal flight operations resume. We stand ready to assist our customers in any way we can to minimize any impact on their own operations during this critical holiday period." Late in the day, a Canadian cargo plane arrived. Foreign aircraft was about the only moving machinery at DHL today as other unionized pilots honored the picket lines. Ross has 24 and a half years in as a pilot, and says he doesn't want to be out on strike, but that the lack of compensatory days off for forced overtime has pushed it to this point. He told us one of the 225 ABX pilots worked 35 straight days. "It's come to a head with us. But, this is a problem at UPS. This is a problem most airlines have because of the pilot shortages. There's more and more of we're operating thinner and thinner and thinner. And, so we're kind of the leading edge of what's going on in the industry." On Tuesday, the industry was beset by cancellations. DHL's statement acknowledged deliveries are delayed. It indicated it would monitor the situation. It is one that threatens to interrupt the smooth flow of commerce just as the holiday delivery season hits full speed. Trey Grayson, with the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, reacted by saying, "Due to the importance of logistics in the NKY/Greater Cincinnati region and with the holidays approaching, I hope a quick resolution can be reached to end this strike."