CHEYENNE, Wyo., Oct. 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Great Lakes Aviation, Ltd. (OTC:GLUX) (BULLETIN BOARD: GLUX) today announced that the airline has been forced to take legal action against the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM), Air Transport District 143. The lawsuit was brought to confirm Great Lakes' right to provide raises to its aircraft maintenance employees. The IAM is the designated bargaining representative for company's mechanic and related employees and maintenance clerks, but District 143 has admitted that less than 10% of those workers are union members. The employees have even attempted to decertify the IAM as their representative. Despite the lack of rank-and-file support the IAM has sporadically purported to collectively bargain for those employees. The "problem" the IAM seeks to solve in negotiations is the current open shop arrangement. The union bosses want a closed shop, so all mechanics and clerks would be compelled to pay union dues. Until recently, however, District 143 did virtually nothing to improve the terms and conditions of aircraft maintenance worker employment. In fact, bargaining conferences terminated in April of 2006, and since that time the company increased wages and changed working conditions while the union did nothing -- including never objecting. Unfortunately, District 143 recently insisted that further pay adjustments would be dictated by the union. The IAM has gone so far as to attempt to veto any wage increase that District 143 does not approve. And in response to decertification activities the union belatedly requested National Mediation Board (NMB) intervention. Because the statutory bargaining process had been abandoned and the petition for NMB services was tardy, Great Lakes is now free from restrictions against unilateral action. The company is therefore poised to raise mechanic compensation. Instead of welcoming such improvements, the union has attempted to bog the company down in protracted jawboning under the auspices of the NMB. The apparent primary objective of this process would be to force all maintenance employees to pay dues by closing the shop. Great Lakes is not opposed to negotiations regarding mechanic and clerk pay and working conditions; in fact, the company welcomes such discussions. Management does, however, object to NMB supervision. That governmental entity's participation was not timely requested and would not advance the process. The lawsuit will confirm the lack of NMB jurisdiction and Great Lakes' ability to raise pay and improve working conditions without IAM permission. Great Lakes provides scheduled passenger service at 42 airports in eleven states with a fleet of EMB-120 Brasilia and Raytheon/Beechcraft 1900D regional airliners. The company services communities in the Midwest and Rocky Mountain Regions connecting to hubs in Albuquerque, Denver, Kansas City, Phoenix and St. Louis. Additional information is available on the company web site that may be accessed at http://www.flygreatlakes.com/. Contact: Michael Matthews, VP Finance/CFO (307) 432-7000 DATASOURCE: Great Lakes Aviation, Ltd. CONTACT: Michael Matthews, VP Finance-CFO of Great Lakes Aviation, Ltd., +1-307-432-7000 Web site: http://www.flygreatlakes.com/

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