RLA Mediation · Weekly Snapshot
A relatively quiet week for new NMB airline filings, but Allegiant’s stalled talks and broader labor unrest underline how quickly mediated disputes can become system-wide risk factors.
As of November 28, 2025, the National Mediation Board’s publicly posted weekly activity runs through the week ending November 21, with no new high-profile airline carrier mediation dockets emerging in the days since. Much of the NMB’s visible work remains in freight rail and regional carriers, with airline labor disputes continuing mostly in ongoing mediation or bargaining phases rather than fresh filings.
Practically, that means the airline mediation landscape this week is defined more by the status of existing cases than by new docket openings. Carriers and unions remain in the familiar cycle of mediated talks, side-table work, and public messaging rather than structural changes in case posture.
Allegiant pilots, represented by the Teamsters, conducted informational picketing at 22 airports on November 18, highlighting stalled contract negotiations and long-running scheduling and pay concerns. Pilots are still operating under a contract that became amendable in 2021, and while Allegiant has signaled significant wage increases and retention bonuses, the union describes the current proposals as inadequate on quality-of-life terms.
From an RLA mediation perspective, Allegiant is an example of how long-running talks can sit in a “high-tension, low-movement” phase: the pilots have already voted to authorize a strike and requested a release from mediation, but the NMB has not yet taken the decisive step of releasing the parties into a 30-day cooling-off period. Until that happens, the dispute remains constrained by the RLA’s requirement that both sides maintain the status quo.
For merger and integration watchers, this week’s mediation backdrop matters less for new docket headlines and more for context. Integration programs — such as the newly closed Republic–Mesa transaction and the still-developing Alaska–Hawaiian combination — will be shaped by the same NMB timelines and RLA guardrails that are constraining Allegiant’s pilots today.
Where labor groups are already signaling frustration over pay, scheduling, or representation, the risk is not just a single contract dispute but a scenario where integration milestones collide with strike authorization votes, representation elections, or seniority integration fights. This week’s Allegiant developments are therefore best read as a reminder that RLA-governed mediation is a slow-moving but powerful variable in any merger playbook.