A Modest Proposal

[DashTrash400]

The mgmt black lists mentioned earlier could be a problem new hires would not want to deal with down the road. We all know aviation mgmt moves from airline to airline, and you never know who you will run into down the road who you crossed paths with years earlier. Also, $500 may be a little much for not showing up. $100-150 would be sufficient enough for going out of my way to interview and turn down a job. Many union pilots, like myself, may be annoyed funds are going towards such a program even though the long term rseults will be beneficial. Heck, even pilots that already have a job they don't want to leave, could earn a few extra bucks interviewing with no intentions to accept. Could the union paying pilots not to show be construed as illegal in some way?

Even with my above criticism, this plan is the best I have heard yet. It could use a few tweaks, but has high potential for success. Convincing pilots not to come to X airline, may make mgmt realize they need to settle on contract negotiations. Informational rallies at interview sites would spread the word. It would take only a few pilots at each event to talk with each prospective candidate who did not get the word from online resources prior to interview date.

Downsides could be a situation like at PDT where we have a lack of crews and just start parking airplanes, reducing lines, leaving fewer choices in schedules. They upside is that mgmt would know as soon as a fair contract is agreed upon, pilots would act in the opposite manner and help recruit pilots to make QOL as great as possible. This would be a high incentive to mgmt. I applaud you for thinking this out so far. How long have you been thinking about this?

You're right, at a place like PDT that mgmt has been pretty content to shrink into oblivion, this wouldn't have maximum impact. It certainly wouldn't work at my own airline (QX) as we're hiring a very small handful and Mgmt has no qualms parking Q200s earlier than planned. However, industry leading contracts at other places would do a whole lot to help Horizon and Piedmont.

I just thought of something. The non-signing bonus (which perhaps should be a lot less than I first mentioned) would be better presented as a stipend to reimburse pilots for the expenses incurred while applying and interviewing, in recognition of the fact that their support for XYZ's pilots means they won't recoup their expenses through employment at XYZ Airlines. I think existing pilots would buy off on that more easily, and I'd think it'd be more defensible in court.

I've been thinking about alternatives to striking ever since the companies were released from RLA constraints in bankruptcy court while unions were held to their obligations. The developing pilot shortage has been the best ray of hope since then, and this exploits it. I guess I've been bouncing it off of friends and CAs I fly with for a few months until I considered it ready for FlightInfo .

 

[EUT]

Hmmmm

What if...just playing devils' advocate here....If I'm in St. George and we can't get anyone to interview at ASA, we'll just move the planes over to the Skywest certificate, and hire there. Seems like it would be a lot harder to convince guys not to go to that interview, as it is unrelated enough to ASA that you would have a tough time enforcing the "negative peer pressure" there.


EUT

 

[wacoflyr]

Over on the fractional board, the Flops guys are, in a very informal way, already doing this. I don't know the results, though. Flop's mins are extremely low for a frac, so the pilots might be making some headway. They seem to be unorganized about it, but it only takes a few determined individuals working diligently away at their keyboards to make a difference. I wouldn't apply there, not with the current environment.

Wacoflyr

 

[Tarzan]

The other problem with this idea is there is too much apathy out there about the whole idea. Look at Go Jet, they manage to remain staffed even though many of us view as scum.

As for transferring planes, it is a hugely expensive venture. I would wager that the Mormons in St George have another plan up their sleeves.

 

[DashTrash400]

GoJet has been able to stay somewhat staffed but certainly not enough to fuel any expansion. And again, having TSA guys miffed at you is a far different proposition than the pilots you work with every day. The pilots at many carriers are too apathetic to make it clear that other pilots shouldn't apply there - but would they be when contract negotiations reach the point that this tactic is necessary? If the ASA guys are fired up enough to risk what they're doing, I certainly think they and others in their situation would be motivated to do something like this that carries much less risk IMO.

 

[DashTrash400]

PCL, I'm not involved in ALPA yet (at a Teamsters represented airline now) - would you be willing for forward this to ALPA legal for discussion? Might also be something worthwhile for the small jet working group to discuss if they're still together.

 

[PCL_128]

PCL, I'm not involved in ALPA yet (at a Teamsters represented airline now) - would you be willing for forward this to ALPA legal for discussion? Might also be something worthwhile for the small jet working group to discuss if they're still together.

I'm also at a non-ALPA carrier now (AAI), so I don't get to talk to the guys in Herndon as much as I used to. I try to keep in touch and speak with them once a month or so, so I'll try to remember to bring it up next time I talk to somebody up there.

 

[Sticky]

I love the idea.

Blows my mind how little the unions can actually do legally. However, managment can do just about anything legally (steal pensions, not pay hotel bills after exiting chapter 11, etc)

 

[DashTrash400]

Another Component

Reading about ASA's job fair, I realized that such a career assistance program would go very well with a hiring moratorium. Increase attrition at the same time you're decreasing number of replacements...double whammy.

Curious whether anybody is questioning whether ASA ALPA holding a job fair is an illegal work action. After all, the purpose is to increase attrition, right? If they can get away with that, you'd think declaring a hiring moratorium would be legit too.

 

[PCL_128]

Curious whether anybody is questioning whether ASA ALPA holding a job fair is an illegal work action. After all, the purpose is to increase attrition, right? If they can get away with that, you'd think declaring a hiring moratorium would be legit too.

ALPA Legal looked at the issue, and there were split opinions. They feel that it all depends on the specific circumstances. At Mesaba, the airline was threatening to liquidate, so ALPA could say that they were only protecting their pilots by trying to keep them employed with a job fair. I haven't talked with Legal about the ASA fair, but I'd imagine that they could use the excuse that the company is transferring airplanes to Skywest, so they are worried about their job security.