Kolski makes NPA tuck tale and run!

[BR715]

National Pilots Association members planning to attend the Stock Holders meeting in Charleston were told by Steve Kolski not to attend. The NPA was going to picket the meeting and dress in uniform to do so. Kolski e-mailed the the NPA and said wearing of the uniform outside of work is against the FOM. The NPA cancelled the trip after the e-mail was received. Now I don't have all of the details but if what I'm getting from the street and the NPA website this is all very dissapointing. Understand that oil is killing us all but atleast keep a backbone damn it!

Discuss

 

[Max Powers]

Yes that was an embarrassing tactical error. Oh well live goes on.

 

[labatt]

Not to mention the fact we planned no picketing. Our strategy was to sit on our hands and hand out an award to Joe Leonard. I think the average guy on the line is a little tired of getting kicked around and losing every battle. Better communications and a sense of where we are heading is sorely needed. We are terrible at defense, how about a little offense for a change?

Spent $3,600 in dues last year. That really stings when you think of what we are getting for our money. It's time we start acting like a real union. Wouldn't mind losing a few, but at least let's show a little unity.

 

[27 driver]

I to was pissed to hear about the NPA backing down. I don't know all the reasons why they backed out, but it sure made us look weak. If you are going to thump your chest, be ready to back it up.

 

[labatt]

Lear,

I've been hearing on the line a lot (80%) of "we probably should have passed TA2". I've been trying to make my case that we are still better off with what we currently have. Scope to me seems like the big issue, but I'd like hear your thoughts.

If you have the time, how about a few quick points of what life could be like if we voted in TA2 in these trying times. I've heard several guys are saying to their co-pilots "you cost me several thousand dollars". Weak. Times like these we really need to stay on the same page and united.

Thanks in advance and looking forward to seeing you and Don L. back on the line soon.

 

[carl p]

That certainly was a bummer. How do other groups do it?

 

[tubelcane]

I saw Pete on Sat. He said they were told by the mediator not to do "anything" to make the company look bad. He said we had firm dates in July they would be sitting down with the company and thought they would back out of the negotiations if we went.

 

[BR715]

Keep your eye on the ball. Remember when your coach told you that? Let's not all keep talking about TA2. I'm sick of hearing us live in the past.

 

[Lear70]

Lear,

I've been hearing on the line a lot (80%) of "we probably should have passed TA2". I've been trying to make my case that we are still better off with what we currently have. Scope to me seems like the big issue, but I'd like hear your thoughts.

If you have the time, how about a few quick points of what life could be like if we voted in TA2 in these trying times. I've heard several guys are saying to their co-pilots "you cost me several thousand dollars". Weak. Times like these we really need to stay on the same page and united.

Thanks in advance and looking forward to seeing you and Don L. back on the line soon.

Thanks, I appreciate it.

T.A. 2 pay was an increase of 3% to 7%, depending on the seat you were in. You got that by selling the junior pilots down the river and giving up Quality-Of-Life items for everyone, but mostly the junior pilots and the retirees got thrown under the bus.

Reserve would be hell and the pay that reserves enjoy now would be a thing of the past. More ready reserve at the airport and even out-of-domicile reserve sitting in one of our "deluxe" hotels in some city somewhere with no car, no food options except Waffle House in many locations, with only the regular reserve daily rate being paid. Not to mention the "carrot" of "home reserve" never had to be actually assigned to any pilots.

Retirees would have received a FRACTION of their health benefits and at COBRA rates for most of them, not to mention health premiums AND copays would have been subject to LARGE increases above current book.

New-hires would have received a 20% pay CUT. I keep waiting for someone to post on here responding to one of those Captains who is b*tching about "costing them money", saying something similar to, "So you LIKE screwing your former coworkers who have retired, your current junior Captains on reserve, AND you LIKE the fact that you were going to STEAL that money you aren't getting from the new-hire F/O's? Wow, I want to be just like you someday."

I'm not even going to START talking about the possibilities of job losses due to Scope give-backs. Ornstein would LOVE to get a piece of airTran flying with as much money as he's losing...

I could go on, but those greedy bastards who are saying that have a convenient way of forgetting at whose expense those pay raises would have come from.

'Nuff said.

p.s. I don't particularly like that we are backing down in front of the mediator already. If the company pulls out, then that's their own fault, and we should immediately file for release into self-help. The pilots WERE ready to take things to the mat, but I believe that momentum has been completely lost at this point and will take a LOT to be rebuilt.

 

[TV9Driver]

If TA2 had passed, we would be stuck with work rules far worse than we have now and the company would have asked for our pay raise back. So anyone that thinks we would have been better off is an idiot...

 

[BigMeat]

Scope. The most important factor in your contract. Let that out of the bag and you will never get it back. I would rather take alot less pay than relieve scope!

 

[PanPan]

Sooooooooooo, why are we having this discussion here and not on the NPA board?

 

[spitfire1500]

I bought a tiny bit of AT stock this year and have been watching it closely. I don't think now is a time to give the company any bad headlines. The stock is down to $2.86. Each time oil has dropped a bit it has bounced back but not to the amount it did the previous oil spike and dip, so some of the elasticity of the stock is gone. Unfortunately some Wall street columnists have been preaching the doom and gloom there at AAI (like the Motley Fool on Fri...I did have to laugh though seeing AMR crying in the news today because LCC's are taking their business..maybe intead of crying they should improve their product) and even though we as pilots know that there is a lot more to the story than their little spout the general public and stock drivers don't know this. Fuel costs + labor problems in the headlines right now would be bad. From what I have seen and heard from friends there should be a much better contract but right now is a good time to wait things out. I realise all the other airlines are getting hit as well but the market cap(value) of Air Tran is down the the cost of about 5 737's (http://www.boeing.com/commercial/prices/) . I know after guys read this post like TY and PCL it will be stated how much cash is on hand I realise this but the stock numbers the last 12 months stink, the stock has dropped 77% (12.50-2.86). Wait and fight another day when it's prudent. Now on the other hand if driving the stock way down and having lots of cash on hand attracts Southwest into a merger...picket away!!!

 

[717capt]

Now on the other hand if driving the stock way down and having lots of cash on hand attracts Southwest into a merger...picket away!!!

Sorry Spit, won't work that way. The time for a merger with anybody has passed. Why would you want to merge and get headaches, when you can just wait around for someone to close shop and go get the pieces. I read a few weeks ago in Reuters or one of those business web sites and General Lee made reference to it in one of his posts, that if oil continues to climb, Delta might call off the merger with NW, wait for them to die off and go get the routes. Sh!tty deal for everyone, but like they say business is business.

 

[PCL_128]

Ready for a real union yet?