Observations on SKYW

[Rez O. Lewshun]

All u SKYW bashers, shut your pieholes...It's over...move on with your lives...The collective voice has spoken...Many former ALPA members from ASA and MESA ,who now fly for SKYW, didn't want it to pass...This vote was a significant turning point which leaves a speed bump in the road of ALPA's future..I mean USAir guys don't want ALPA, And the Houston CAL guys don't want it...The industry is changing and not everyone wants a ride with da ALPA train....

What train do you want to ride?

 

[7dustfan]

What train do you want to ride?

Not the ALPA one. Things speak for themselves...SKYW's 35 years of success and growth, not a single furloughed pilot, ever. Continued growth and success, viewed by most other regional pilots as the best overall regional to work for in almost every aspect(Many regional pilots make lateral moves to SKYW). Etc........
Why try to fix it if it ain't broke??? I don't know if things will always good in the future, but 66% of the pilot group are willing to bet on it. There can always be another Union Drive in the future if sh!t hits da fan.

 

[Rez O. Lewshun]

Not the ALPA one. Things speak for themselves...SKYW's 35 years of success and growth, not a single furloughed pilot, ever. Continued growth and success, viewed by most other regional pilots as the best overall regional to work for in almost every aspect(Many regional pilots make lateral moves to SKYW). Etc........
Why try to fix it if it ain't broke??? I don't know if things will always good in the future, but 66% of the pilot group are willing to bet on it. There can always be another Union Drive in the future if sh!t hits da fan.

What about the criminalization of pilots?

The flawed FMLA law?

Open Skies?

MPL?

FFDO?

the list goes on...

What about these issues that effect SKYW pilots?

 

[jbDC9]

I mean USAir guys don't want ALPA, and the Houston CAL guys don't want it...

Huh? Says who?? That's the first I've heard of that, and I'm a Houston CAL guy. One that likes having ALPA on the property at that.

 

[DTWFO]

Continued growth and success, viewed by most other regional pilots as the best overall regional to work for in almost every aspect(Many regional pilots make lateral moves to SKYW). Etc........

I hope that was a joke....I haven't talked to ANY other regional piltos that would agree with this, including myself. It was good for a laugh though!

 

[siucavflight]

Lateral move to SKW? And start at 19 an hour? The lowest first year pay out there?

 

[Goose Egg]

Lateral move to SKW? And start at 19 an hour? The lowest first year pay out there?

Yeah, it's not the greatest... but then again, CA pay in year two helps take the sting off.

-Goose

 

[jea]

Just wanted to make some observations and see what others have to say about them as well as add their own.

-Not even half the pilot group voted. Over 60% of you said you simply didn't care about your future at Skywest. Meanwhile, your company spokesman says it is because you are confident in the company. If you don't use your right to vote, you don't deserve it!

-Being a non-union group, Skywest does "ride the coattails" of other organized groups. That is the reality of market forces. Incidently, this can also go the other way where organized groups are chasing non-organized groups. So it seems to me that the two cancel each other out making this a moot point.

-ASA was not "saved" by Skywest. If you don't believe me, look at Comair. Last time I checked, Comair was still in business.

-A no vote to the Skywest ALPA drive was NOT a no vote to becoming unionized. I do not like ALPA National myself....but I sure as hell wouldn't vote for Teamsters instead!

-Threatening Skywest pilots with names like scab is childish at worst and completely inappropriate at best.

-Hoping Skywest pilots don't move on to other carriers is one thing, but making it a personal goal is another. No pilot should go out of his or her way to ensure Skywest pilots don't get jobs at other airlines.

Any other thoughts?

A vote for representation- but not alpa is a vote for alpa... so yeah i didnt call.. that was my vote...

union airlines (asa) are coming up to our level of compensation as i see it- but yes moot point.

asa was not saved by skywest but they arent owned by mesa.... reminds me of a story about a frenchman who hates Americans.... do you speak German?........ youre welcome.

SOOOOOO glad this is over! now people can hate people for other reasons!

 

[Goose Egg]

SOOOOOO glad this is over! now people can hate people for other reasons!

Amen. If there's one thing I've learned, a pilot is like a fish out of water if he or she doesn't have something to b!tch about.


-Goose

 

[DrunkIrishman]

Maybe I don't understand the phone-in vote. I understood that you could vote yes or no...what you seem to be saying is that if you called in to vote it was automatically cast as a yes. Is that how the vote went down?

 

[jea]

Maybe I don't understand the phone-in vote. I understood that you could vote yes or no...what you seem to be saying is that if you called in to vote it was automatically cast as a yes. Is that how the vote went down?

Many of us do want to have representation just not alpa. If you were to call in and say yes to representation but no to alpa- there is no alternative... the only representing body would be alpa.. say 20% voted alpa 40% voted for representation but no to alpa. The only body being up for representing us is alpa. They win by default by 60%.

 

[Rez O. Lewshun]

A vote for representation- but not alpa is a vote for alpa... so yeah i didnt call.. that was my vote...

Fits right in with the do nothing, keep your head low, I just wanna fly my trip and go home.... crowd... I mean... would it kill you to make the profession better than you found it... I mean how about doing something for something that is bigger than you? Or are you better than the Air Line Pilot Profession?

union airlines (asa) are coming up to our level of compensation as i see it- but yes moot point.

Your level is BASED on union levels of compesnation! But do you have the work rules? In addition your compensation is slowly being trip away indirectly...

asa was not saved by skywest but they arent owned by mesa.... reminds me of a story about a frenchman who hates Americans.... do you speak German?........ youre welcome.

You got cajones to say this.... ALPA defends the profession... you are the frenchman...

SOOOOOO glad this is over! now people can hate people for other reasons..

Not sure about hate but the 66%Klub at SKYW just lost professional respect....

Many of us do want to have representation just not alpa. If you were to call in and say yes to representation but no to alpa- there is no alternative... the only representing body would be alpa.. say 20% voted alpa 40% voted for representation but no to alpa. The only body being up for representing us is alpa. They win by default by 60%.

Problem is.... no other union seems interested... or are they?

 

[SuperPilot]

Here's how the vote worked:

To cast a vote you called the number provided. Entered your PIN and VIN. Then you got to choose... option 1: ALPA option 2: write in vote for representation other than ALPA (could be Teamsters, SAPA, your uncle Joe, Mickey Mouse, whoever). There was no option to vote against representation.

When the vote was finished, ALL votes were tallied. If the majority of the eligible voters called in and voted (meaning 50% + 1 of the 2611) then the vote would have passed and we would have had representation. Then, to decide who represented us, the would have tallied all the votes for ALPA, all the votes for Teamsters, all the votes for SAPA, yada yada yada, and the majority of those votes would have been who the representative party was that won the vote.

So, yes, in a way, a vote for SAPA was a vote for ALPA. Most likely, the majority of yes votes was going to be for ALPA, but that vote for SAPA helped to reach the 50% + 1 magic number. In the final breakdown there were a few votes for SAPA and the Teamsters but the vast majority were for ALPA.

Unfortunately, about 65% voted AGAINST representation either by purposely not calling (as a "NO" vote), or just being apathetic. There is no way to tell the difference.

Hope this helped.

--SP

 

[joe_pilot]

There is a time and place for choosing not to choose... and this wasn't it.... The SKYW pilots ARE conformist..

Rez, I'm willing to bet that the percentage of conformists in both the 35% and the 65% were the same. I don't mind the conformists nearly as much as the "I don't care" guys (and gals). They, unfortunately, defaulted to a "no" vote. Of course we'll never know because of the way the NMB conducts the vote.

THAT has to change.

 

[DrunkIrishman]

Fair enough. Although, I would have called and voted for the Skywest Pilot Association or whaever it is that they call it. That would have been the same as a no vote to me.