AirTran MEC Chair message.

[4day]

Got the devil skunk eye walking in BWI the other day from a SW FO. Funny how Airtran pilots are now the cause this mess. Guess I didn't read that part in one of my 150 Harmonization bulletins that we got last month. Don't really care about individuals who have anger problems and do hope it all works out. Just very disappointed about how it was handled. Sad to see two good pilot groups fighting over a very poorly executed agreement crafted by MGT.

 

[redflyer65]

Got the devil skunk eye walking in BWI the other day from a SW FO. Funny how Airtran is now the cause. Guess I didn't read that part in one of my 150 Harmonization bulletins that we got last month. Don't really care about individuals and do hope it all works out. Just very disappointed about how it was handled. Sad to see two good pilot groups fighting over a very poorly executed agreement crafted by MGT.

You didn't flash him the 'Medalion'? That's the secret code. Keep it close. I'm making mine into a belt buckle so everyone knows we are on the same team.

 

[Lear70]

Curious, what was the gun hanging over their head (threat)? What if SLI method #2 was voted down by the AAI group?

Do a search, there's pages and pages of the stuff, but long story short, about 48 hours after the MEC voted down SIA 1, Gary Kelly wrote a letter to the pilot group expressing his extreme displeasure that they didn't allow the pilots to have a say and said that, given those events, Southwest would begin to investigate "alternatives to integration", even though Paragraph 6.a of the Process Agreement very specifically said "...utilizing the foregoing procedures, Southwest will implement the combined seniority list and integrate the two companies".

This lead to a lot of heated back-and-forth where it basically came out that Southwest asserted that since they hadn't brought any unionized employees over and that since no planes had come over, that McCaskill-Bond had not been triggered and they were not forced to integrate operations if they chose not to do so. The attorneys said it was doubtful that would hold up, but would take years to fight if they really went that way.

It further came out that with our 717 leases expiring starting in 2017 (just six years from that point) through 2024, and with many of our 737's leased as well, the majority of our pilots might end up on the street while the whole thing worked itself out over many years (it took TWA 10 years to get their court battle heard and we know how many thousands of them have yet to be recalled to AA).

Our pilots were not willing to accept that kind of risk and several of the same pilots of ours who were writing Gary Kelly personally during talks for SIA 1 just begging for a staple, etc, started a drive to remove key union officers who lead the "No" vote push, replace them with their own people, and push for whatever we could get, up to and including a staple. Those people combined with the sudden influx of emails and phone calls saying, basically, "We won't accept this kind of a risk, do something" vastly overwhelmed the several hundred people who had emailed pushing for arbitration before we knew there was this "non-integration" risk.

The MEC, realizing we were about to implode as a union... again... directed the MC to go back out to Dallas and "get whatever they could get", which included a promise to put whatever we came up with out for pilot vote. The NC was then instructed to go out and get everything WE could get. The only thing we were allowed to say No to was a complete staple or probationary periods (and they actually did try to put us all on probation, it was the only thing we got up and walked out of the room for in that 2nd round).

Southwest management then put us under a time constraint, saying they had "400 people working on Plan B - non-integration, and had to report to the Southwest Board at the end of the week, so we have to have a deal on Thursday or we will recommend the non-integration path to the Board and start proceeding".

The Agreement we have now is the outcome of those talks. During the voting period, the Merger Committee on an all-pilot conference call said "If you want to work for Southwest, vote Yes. If you don't, vote No." and that pretty much sealed the deal. Too many people afraid of losing their jobs to fight.

There are a LOT of other details, but that's the long and short of it, and is why some people (gotta love Dicko's avatar) say we had a "gun pointed to our head" in this deal. Take the threat of non-integration out of it, and we'd have gone to arbitration. Maybe we'd have done better, maybe we'd have done worse, but it's over now and it's simply going to take a while for the angst to pass.

In the meantime we'll just keep on doing our jobs, achieving our 94% on-time and top baggage handling spot, and making money for everyone's profit sharing checks. Life goes on...

 

[Lear70]

You didn't flash him the 'Medalion'? That's the secret code. Keep it close. I'm making mine into a belt buckle so everyone knows we are on the same team.

LOL... nice.

Most people I run into are fine. Some are more talkative than others, and that's OK. Just have to remember to be good to each other, there are no individual pilots who are the "cause" of anything, and in the long run it will all work out. Better for some than others, but that's life... :beer:

 

[jball2]

I agree with the last statement. I get the royal stink eye on the ATL parking bus almost every time I am on it. However, there is usually someone on there who is the complete opposite. They have a great attitude despite the circumstances and they renew my faith that we will be OK.

 

[PCL_128]

and they actually did try to put us all on probation

Wow. That's the first time I've heard that. Unbelievable. Golden rule, my ass.

 

[madjack]

Disappointed sure, surprised?

 

[madjack]

If the company wanted to, they could have said staple or nonintegrate vs SL10... F the golden rule in negotiations, you wanted seats and pay as did we, we were here first and our company bought your company...the fact that sl10 is not a staple and you still have jobs is because SWA needs you to come to work....

 

[Cometman]

This speaks volumes. He is already getting a wonderful reputation at SWA and he isnt even here yet. Must be proud.

Remember, you can take the animal out of the jungle but you cannot take the jungle out of the animal. Both PCL and Lear70 are what they are. Just because they are now with SWA doesn't mean they will be any different. Their reputation will follow them through out their careers. If they were truly professional they would stop stirring the pot on FI and the other forums. However, it makes them feel smart with all their talk. They are bitter and will never forget it. They will be a thorn in SWA side for years to come.

 

[scoreboardII]

GK's 15% ROI myth.

While some have posted SWA came close to making 15% ROI, and claim it will take just a few quarters to hit it, SWA may hit it one quarter off and on, but not repeatably.

The reason is SWA does not opperate in a vacuum. For every opportunity to go after 15% ROI comes with it a challenge to charge less to get or keep market share because we do not operate in a vacuum: our fuel charge is their fuel charge, our labor cost is their labor cost. It means defering replacement aircraft solely to get 15% ROI. So when SWA starts popping more tops and buying replacement jets, that ROI slips further out to the horizon. What we can charge for a ticket is what they can charge for a ticket. More seats on a plane doesn't mean more money unless you can make money filling those seats.

The 15% ROI dream is GK's way to keep everyone on their toes and keep them guessing: will he defer purchases, start new destinations, close old ones, go international? Who knows, he is going after 15%, even though he can't repeatably get 15% because it gives him flexability.

I say 10% is achievable, 15, not so much.

I saw a SWA published chart showing our prime equal cost competitor were Allegient, Virgin America and Jetblue. Lets see, we are being compared against a scheduled charter operation, a privately held non unionized airline backed by Branson known to fund a cause for decades before he see's a return and Jetblue, another non unionized workforce who will soon be clamoring for a union as their young see their futures sink.