You need to read. My complaint isn't about furloughing in order of seniority, although I do believe that when it's all about survival I do want the best around me.
My complaint about how unions handle industry downturns is that they will sacrifice the bottom third of the seniority and retain the high pay with overtime rather than not take overtime and allow more jobs to be saved by opening the contract.
The saddest part of all is the sacrifice the rest of the company needs to make to pay for an expensive CBA when times get tough. Everybody else has their pay cut first, then the layoffs happen while all the union members drain company resources.
Yes, unions suck.
How would opening up a contract save ANY jobs?
If there are airplanes that need to be moved ... Pilots are needed to move them no matter what they are paid.
If planes do not meed to move ... the pilots are Not needed and WILL BE furloughed .... No jobs will be saved by concessions.
Right now we have not furloughed ... but since flying is down industry-wide by about 30% ... obviously management can furlough ANY TIME they want.
Its only the fact that we have a
Great management team with a
good relationship with the Union ... that we have not had any furlough
yet. I know our management and union are taking Every Step to avoid furlough. But the ONLY thing that will avoid furlough is MORE FLYING.... However the SLOW SEASON is only a couple of months away. I think thats why the companies who have furloughed have just announced them this week.
But taking concessions will NOT increase our flying or Sales ... It would therefore Not save Any Jobs....
The Other carriers in our industry have NO CBA ... yet they have furloughed ... Management has all the discretion they need to change the conditions of employment ... Have jobs been saved? No.
Furloughs have nothing to do with the presence of a union or no union. But when the furlough is over ... Pilots will return to very good jobs and benefits that the union helps to preserve for them.