Late Saturday night, Reuters revealed that Teamsters Local 2118 has refused to sign off on Labor-Department wage certifications that Allegiant Air needs to sponsor permanent residency for roughly 60 foreign pilots from Chile, Australia and Singapore.
Without the union’s prevailing-wage attestation, the pilots’ Form ETA-9089 applications—and any subsequent green-card filings—cannot proceed, leaving the aviators in immigration limbo and threatening Allegiant’s expansion plans for 2026.
![Pilots’ Union Halts Allegiant Air’s Green-Card Bid for Foreign Pilots Over Wage Dispute]()
The union argues there is no genuine pilot shortage and says Allegiant should instead raise starting pay (about $50,000 for first-year first officers—half the industry norm) and fix scheduling issues to retain U.S. pilots. Allegiant counters that pandemic-era attrition forced it to recruit abroad and that union obstruction jeopardizes route growth and service to underserved airports.
The standoff underscores how U.S. labor-certification rules give collective-bargaining agents leverage over employment-based immigration, a dynamic rarely seen outside the airline and longshore industries. It also highlights why wage-level scrutiny under the PERM process matters: if a union withholds its endorsement, employers may need to restart recruitment or file at higher wage tiers.
Corporate mobility teams sponsoring green cards through PERM should ensure early engagement with any relevant unions and be prepared for higher salary benchmarks as organized labor flexes its influence on immigration workflows.
Without the union’s prevailing-wage attestation, the pilots’ Form ETA-9089 applications—and any subsequent green-card filings—cannot proceed, leaving the aviators in immigration limbo and threatening Allegiant’s expansion plans for 2026.
The union argues there is no genuine pilot shortage and says Allegiant should instead raise starting pay (about $50,000 for first-year first officers—half the industry norm) and fix scheduling issues to retain U.S. pilots. Allegiant counters that pandemic-era attrition forced it to recruit abroad and that union obstruction jeopardizes route growth and service to underserved airports.
The standoff underscores how U.S. labor-certification rules give collective-bargaining agents leverage over employment-based immigration, a dynamic rarely seen outside the airline and longshore industries. It also highlights why wage-level scrutiny under the PERM process matters: if a union withholds its endorsement, employers may need to restart recruitment or file at higher wage tiers.
Corporate mobility teams sponsoring green cards through PERM should ensure early engagement with any relevant unions and be prepared for higher salary benchmarks as organized labor flexes its influence on immigration workflows.
