SWA; legacy airline

[HowardBorden]

So who started the downward spiral on the profession? This is not a finger pointing exercise, but when you guys get on here and toss stones like you are the keepers of the torch, you really have to remember the 80's and 90's and how XYZ was undercutting our QOL and pay.

I will postulate that the downward spiral was not caused by airline XYZ which I can only assume is supposed to be SWA, but is based more on a complete and total failure of the vast majority of airlines to develop and initiate an effective business plan to remain profitable in a post deregulation marketplace. That floundering and ineffective business model lead to a myriad of problems culminating in record losses and finally, much through external forces beyond their control, the use of the "accounting tool" (your words) of bankruptcy. The resultant BK proceedings produced unprecedented downward pressure on every aspect of the profession. Wages were slashed, work rules were decimated and outsourcing skyrocketed.

Outsourcing began well before the BK conga line but it really showed explosive growth after scope clauses were voided through the BK process. Legacies began massive furloughs and record high paying job losses were replaced with the perennial B-scale which is the regional airline industry as a whole. That pay shift alone has forever skewed the average pay of this profession in what is so far the largest downward spiral of pay and work rules in industry history.

In the 80's and 90's I was not employed at SWA. I had no voice in union negotiating and no vote on union contracts. Since my employment began at Southwest in the 2000's, I have been compensated at a rate well above industry average and have enjoyed spectacular rigs and work rules. I personally would have not written off SWA as a prospective employer during the 80's or 90's because that is the time frame when I was riding on SWA jumpseats and comparing that work environment to that of other 121 carriers and became firmly convinced that Southwest was the place that would be the best fit for me personally.

 

[waveflyer]

Don't forget that bc of "seniority" and how we have no transferability when our companies become something other than when we were hired.

No other profession do people have to attempt to make decades long business decisions and when wrong face such catastrophic results

Not saying I know the answer, but that problem is real

 

[SWA Bubba]

Don't forget that bc of "seniority" and how we have no transferability when our companies become something other than when we were hired.

No other profession do people have to attempt to make decades long business decisions and when wrong face such catastrophic results

Not saying I know the answer, but that problem is real

Actually, it seems that it's not just the airline industry, but unionized industries in general. When you have large numbers of interchangeable worker bees (pilots, drivers, auto workers, etc), that tend to unionize for collective bargaining, it's all about seniority. Start over at a new company, and start over at the bottom.

Bubba

 

[Phlintstone]

Actually, it seems that it's not just the airline industry, but unionized industries in general. When you have large numbers of interchangeable worker bees (pilots, drivers, auto workers, etc), that tend to unionize for collective bargaining, it's all about seniority. Start over at a new company, and start over at the bottom.

Bubba

Yup. It is not just the airline industry. Unions make it all about seniority. Not bashing unions, it is just a byproduct of their existence.

Phred

 

[canyonblue]

you really have to remember the 80's and 90's and how XYZ was undercutting our QOL and pay.

I always love when guys start out longing for the good old days, when they weren't even flying at their current airline yet. Boys them was the days! :crying: