GLA is headquartered in Cheyenne, Wyo., with pilots operating out of hubs in Denver; Kansas City, Mo.; Phoenix and St. Louis. All flight attendants operate out of the Denver hub.

Great Lakes operates 30-seat Embraer Brasilias and 19-seat Raytheon Beach 1900D regional airliners. It serves 65 airports in 17 states.

The airline started operations in 1977. It began scheduled services in 1981 with flights between Spencer, Iowa, and Des Moines, Iowa. In 1988, Great Lakes acquired Alliance Airlines, adding six cities around Lake Michigan to the route network.

Great Lakes has code-sharing agreements with United Airlines and Frontier Airlines.

The state of Wyoming heavily subsidizes Great Lakes, because it is the only airline serving six of the 10 commercial airports in Wyoming. Great Lakes Airlines has recently been given DOT approval to take over airline service to Billings, Mont., from seven other Montana cities formerly served by Big Sky Airlines.

In 1998, pilots employed Big Sky Airlines voted to join the UTU. The following year dispatchers at Big Sky also voted to join the UTU. That air carrier ceased operations in 2008 due to financial difficulties.

"Plans are being made to establish a new local for these new members quickly and to hold elections so they can get up and running," International President Mike Futhey said, "and begin negotiations on a new collective bargaining agreement."

Futhey thanked UTU Assistant President Arty Martin, UTU Director of Strategic Planning John Nadalin, and former Big Sky Airlines General Chairperson Bruce Tall, as well as the entire pilot and flight attendant committees at GLA for their hard work in making this campaign a success.

Pilots employed by Great Lakes Aviation sign union authorization cards seeking UTU as their collective bargaining representative.