A union representing pilots at PHI Inc., which provides helicopter flights for the offshore petroleum industry and medical emergencies, went on strike Wednesday. Negotiations lasted 2 1/2 years but failed to produce a new labor agreement. The National Mediation Board in July had released the union and the company from trying to settle. It was unclear how many pilots would observe the strike. Stephen Ragin, local president of the Professional Helicopter Pilots Association, said 330 of PHI's 570 pilots belong to the union.
See "Helicopter Pilots' Union Declares Strike", Associated Press, The New York Times, September 19, 2006