Every day, long before passengers board their flights, SkyHop Global drivers are the first link in the airline chain—hauling flight crews through crowded cities, heavy traffic, and sleepless hours. They are the unseen backbone of an industry that depends on precision and care.

But under Kristine Scotto’s leadership, that backbone cracked.

When drivers at New York’s JFK, LGA, and EWR airports voted to join Teamsters Local 210, Scotto’s response wasn’t dialogue—it was retaliation. Hours were cut. Union supporters were fired. Paychecks shrank. In November 2024, the workers had enough. They walked out on an Unfair Labor Practice strike that still continues today.

For more than a year, Scotto has refused to bargain, even after the National Labor Relations Board issued a federal complaint charging SkyHop with illegally firing union supporters, threatening shutdowns, and negotiating in bad faith.

The story is the same across the country. In Las Vegas, when drivers organized for safer vehicles and fair pay, Scotto fired seven of them on the spot. Federal investigators forced SkyHop to reinstate six with back pay—a rare public admission that the company crossed the line. Regulators are now considering injunctive relief in federal court because, as one investigator put it, Scotto’s actions have “undermined the possibility of a fair election.”

Inside the company, concern replaced pride. Drivers describe shuttles with worn brakes, broken seatbelts, and repair requests that go unanswered for weeks. Some say they’re pressured to drive vehicles they know aren’t safe. Others talk about wage theft in the form of “stolen starts”—being ordered to report for duty but told not to clock in, losing hours of pay each week. Ninety-six percent of surveyed New York drivers said it happened to them.

The result is more than a labor dispute. Scotto’s leadership has a human toll: workers juggling two jobs, families scraping by, and exhaustion etched into every mile. The people who move America’s flight crews are fighting simply to be seen, to be safe, and to be paid for the time they give.

Through it all, Kristine Scotto has stayed silent—no apology, no meeting, no attempt to fix what she broke. For the men and women behind the wheel, her silence speaks louder than any words.