In 1972, Rio pilots initiated
collective bargaining efforts with proposed representation by the
Teamsters, but vigorous opposition by Rio management and strong appeals by popular pilot Mike Mills, swayed the
pilots to reject the union. Two years later, the Rio pilot group having grown dissatisfied with Rio management's failure to carry through with promises made to discourage the former unionization efforts, solicited the
National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to conduct another union vote. This time the initial solicitation was actually initiated by Mike Mills who personally handed out the solicitation cards to be signed by pilots, and the pilots unanimously voted
ALPA subsidiary "UPA" as their collective bargaining agent. After a year of failed negotiations the NLRB mediator declared a thirty-day "cooling-off" period and then made his recommendation known to the pilot group that "only a strike will likely force the company to abandon coercive and probably unsafe practices against the pilots." The pilots had an almost 100%
walk-out beginning August 1976, with the exception of management pilot Herb Cunningham, and line pilots Mike Mills, Calvin Humphrey, Will Kilgore, and Hugh Longmoor remaining with the company. The company hired replacement pilots from across the country, many of whom arrived to discover the
airline under a labor dispute. The strike continued for two years, with no UPA pilot returning to the company, until August 1978, when pilots Calvin Humphrey and Mike Mills organized a "sweetheart" union which de-certified UPA and established the "Rio Pilots Association". Rio acquired competitor Davis Airlines of
College Station, Texas in 1979 and began service to that city. The Connell's who owned Rio, sold it in early 1986 to a group of
investors from Houston, Texas headed by Hugh Seaborn a former owner of
Metro Airlines Rio operated various aircraft types through its history and initially flew single piston engine
Piper Cherokee Six and twin piston engine
Beech 18 aircraft. Turboprop aircraft were then operated, including the
Beechcraft 99 until 1977 followed by
de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otters,
Fairchild Swearingen Metroliners (Metro II models),
de Havilland Canada DHC-7 Dash 7s and
Beechcraft 1900Cs. ==Incidents==