Apathy
Definition: Apathy. Noun. 1. Lack of interest in anything, or the absence of any wish to do anything. 2. Inability to feel normal or passionate human feelings or to respond emotionally.
The reason for the apathy is justified. SAPA is a freaking joke. No wait, not even a joke. Its nothing. It means nothing, it does nothing, it provides us nothing, and it does not benefit us in any way.
And no, before you jump all over me I am not venting after the No vote. Just an intelligent, informed employee that looked at both sides of the argument. ALPA may not be the savior of Skywest, but jeez people - SAPA certainly is not what we need.
As for flying the 90/70 at 50 rates, it disgusts me that we do it. However, SAPA agreed to this on THE CONDITION THAT THE RATES changed after the aircraft were on property. They have been trying to do a lot of good things here at Skywest. The problem that very few people seem to get is that it doesn't matter. SAPA can do nothing. It can hold all of the meetings it wants, it can come up with as many proposals as it wants, it can elect as many "good" guys/gals as it wants and IT DOESNT MATTER.
It is a shame that so many of our pilot group missed the point. So many got hung up by the fact they might have to contribute towards their career. So many lost sight of their fellow pilots in the industry. Don't rock the boat - right? As stated on these boards - even the pilots at Southwest - the supposed "Eden" of flying jobs - "Go company, rah, rah" - has a union, not just a group of yes men.
To all of those professional pilots out there - not all of us endorse SAPA or are SKYW yes men. So...before you judge, before you deny JS, or anything else - know whom you are dealing with. If it is a sniveling yes man, then by all means give them what they deserve - but don't lump us all together.
To our ASA brothers, know that you are not alone. There are those of us that get it.
It is a shame that the responsibity that most of us show to ourselves, our families, and our communities somehow doesn't translate over to our careers. How many of you have health insurance, vision insurance, dental insurance, car insurance, life insurance, and disability insurance? Do we think twice about the premiums paid on those, or the deductibles? Ever purchased anything at retail store and tried to return it? Ever purchased an airline ticket or stayed in a hotel? How many of you have rented an apartment or condo? How many of you have bought a house? How many of you have bought a car? Has anyone attended college? Applied for student loans? Do you have any credit cards? Are you married?
What am I getting at??? Most, if not all of life’s transactions require us to sign contracts of some kind. They are legal binding documents that both parties agree to comply with. If you don’t pay your mortgage, the bank has the right to foreclose on your house and take it. However, they can’t do that without cause. What protects you? If you stay at a hotel and trash the room, the hotel has the right to sue you for damages.
Now, think of major things in your life that are “at will”. Not even marriage is “at will”, those that have been divorced know all about that. However, somehow it is just dandy that are careers are “at will”.
Would you want your house “at will”, or go to the hospital for care and be denied coverage even though you had paid your premiums and be told that the insurance company had decided not to cover you today. Sorry, “at will”….But wait, you have such a great, happy, fuzzy, relationship with your insurance agent, how could that be???
Having said that, those contracts in life don’t guarantee us that the other party is going to abide by the rules, but they give each party some recourse if they are not satisfied.
Would you never buy a car, even though you didn’t get a great deal on the one you have now? Would you never have health insurance because you weren’t happy with the coverage or company that you are with now? Would you never date again, even though you had a messy divorce?
Would you never work at another ALPA or “Union” carrier because the last one didn’t treat you “right”?
To all of those who voted no or chose not to vote -
I DON"T WANT TO HEAR ANY WHINING ABOUT...... pay issues, fleet issues, integration issues, quality of life issues, schedule problems, commuting issues, vacation issues, reserve issues, cancellation pay, Appendix D issues, any issue that makes this job what it is. ANY issue that ANYONE raises on either the SKYW or SAPA forums - DON"T WANT TO HEAR ABOUT IT - in fact lets just take down those boards so you all can't complain.
Many of you missed the real issue here - representation.
If you are going to spend time and energy complaining about things to other pilots either while you are flying or on the message boards then answer this..
HOW ARE WE GOING TO CHANGE ANYTHING HERE? How are we going to IMPROVE "pay issues, quality of life issues, schedule problems, commuting issues, vacation issues, reserve issues, cancellation pay etc, etc...?"
HOW??????????????
All of us had reasons why we voted yes or no. Most of the arguments for either side are moot. Because what is important for me is not important for the next guy. The real question was representation. We just chose not to have real representation.
So go to your SAPA rep and talk to them. I am sure they will do their best to address your needs.
And SGU will laugh all the way to the bank...HA, HA, HA.....
Apathy - that is the normal state of things here at SKYW. Anything else and we wouldn't know what to do.