AirTran Recall Results

[MINIME]

This recall is a good thing--it will have ripples at other airline MECs around the country. Do not forget who you serve...

Totally agree with you Albie and I've been kinda preaching the same thing myself. I want to thank the AAI boys and gals for your indulgance and letting me post my opinions on your threads.

Congratulations on the recall. I do believe that's a good sign of what the outcome of your TA will be. Good for you guys!

Lear, don't let the big wigs intimidate you. They know that you're a rising star among your ranks and they probably would love nothing more than to (insert any term) with you. I think you will do wonders for your pilot group in whatever capacity you and your group decide for you to serve in. Like Albie said, " never forget who you serve." Best of Luck....Oh! and get TyWeb involved too...

 

[Lear70]

Sorry to hear about it Lear! Hope you're better, and wish you the best in your company meeting.

Thanks, XJ. I'm a little achy in the mornings still (sleeping without a good pillow in these hotels makes it worse) some ibuprofen and a shower to stretch it out and I'm good to go.

Hey lear,

how long have you been here at airTran?

About a year and a half.

Woodpecker, yeah, they're going to positive-space me down there this morning in a few hours, riding down with Brad and Sal so I should get at least an hour of face time with the reps before we go in.

Hey Albie, haven't seen you on our threads in a while, welcome! :beer:

To everyone else, thanks for the support. I don't know if this is genuine concern for my health or if they have another agenda, but I'll certainly be keeping my options open for both Association and Civil / DOL possibilities during the session.

 

[Dumb Pilot]

Thanks, XJ. I'm a little achy in the mornings still (sleeping without a good pillow in these hotels makes it worse) some ibuprofen and a shower to stretch it out and I'm good to go.

Hope you get better soon Dude:beer:

 

[SkiFishFly]

Sorry, I had a hard time pasting, but that's the email I just got. I can't believe it. I seriously don't think the BOD could get anything right at this point.

I think the board is doing the right thing here. The Pres and VP have been recalled and the remainder of our elected officials are telling us they are going to step up and do their best to continue to run our union. I expect they will take all the necessary steps to ensure a proper nomination and election process for the office of President.
They might also appoint an interim VP -who can not vote as previously pointed out. I suppose they would do this if they feel they need some help making sure things don't get dropped/missed over the next couple of months.
I also anticipate that they will continue road shows and continue to try to provide the pilot group with answers about the current TA. This is exactly what they should do - we are still voting on this TA and they should do their best to provide information and answers to our questions.

 

[UALX727]

In regards to Lear70 and going down to Orlando, all I can say is maybe it's time to see if this pilot group needs ALPA on the property. Not sure where to start to make it happen, though.

I believe there is a silent majority of AirTran pilot's in our ranks that would vote in ALPA if given the chance.

 

[AlbieF15]

Well, if you bring ALPA onboard, a quick turnaround and purge like you had would not have happened. ALPA bylaws make it tough to make such drastic changes. I'm an ALPA member, but I'm a bigger supporter of "do what is right for YOU" than "join MY Union". Just do your homework before you throw the baby out with the bathwater... If you can get rid of Philpot like that you have a democratic process that works--and that's worth keeping IMHO.

And yeah...I'll be here a bit more in the future. Won't always be "politically correct", but then again nobody here gives a $hit if I am or not--which is nice.

 

[SkiFishFly]

Even if we were to bring ALPA onboard, we would still only be as strong as our local leadership.
I say we keep it in house and get some of our strong leaders to step up and run for office.

 

[Lear70]

Meeting is done. A couple things to note:

1. They're using a court reporter and taking your DEPOSITION at the meeting. Refusal to submit is basis for termination, per the employee handbook. No, I'm not kidding.

2. They're using private investigators to check on crewmembers at home. No, I'm not kidding.

3. I still don't know the outcome.

As far as ALPA goes, I'd be willing to listen to what they could do for us as a group, but they're not a quick "fix-all".

 

[XJohXJ]

Boy, there's nothing like treating an injured employee like a criminal, rather than with compassion, to give a guy the warm fuzzies.

Good luck Lear.

 

[na4life]

Good Luck Lear.

Unlike many posters here, 95% of the time you are doing what everyone of us should do.

So what reason did your higher ups give for deposing you, or can you not say?
If you are an AOPA member you should give them a call, have been told they have some excellent aviation attorney specialists they refer people to.

NA

 

[newnan]

Lear

Were you hurt during a preflight/postflight or "helping out" w/ strollers etc?

As far as item 2. you are referring to checking up on you while you are out on workers comp correct? Or, is there more?

 

[AlbieF15]

I"ve had 2 back surgeries in 2 years. There are days I feel like a million bucks and can do about whatever I want. There are days it hurts to go up a flight up stairs. I don't think a PI could ever tell the difference.

I haven't missed much work--but my point is if you are hurting an outside observer cannot really tell. Now--if you are waterskiing on Lake Lanier--I think that's pretty obvious. But even walking down the street, mowing the lawn, or picking up some goodies at Home Depot doesn't indicate "sick" or "not sick", injured or uninjured.

 

[Lear70]

It was during post-flight, DTW overnight and yes, getting a stroller out of the forward cargo bin with no rampers around to grab it. Trying to help out the passengers...

Not really going to speak about the details of the meeting quite yet,,, I will simply say that their "issues" are completely without merit and we proved that today in the meeting.

Thanks to everyone for their concern and support, we have to support each other... united we bargain... divided we beg. Great slogan, and says it all.

 

[Uppercrust]

Meeting is done. A couple things to note:

1. They're using a court reporter and taking your DEPOSITION at the meeting. Refusal to submit is basis for termination, per the employee handbook. No, I'm not kidding.

2. They're using private investigators to check on crewmembers at home. No, I'm not kidding.

3. I still don't know the outcome.

As far as ALPA goes, I'd be willing to listen to what they could do for us as a group, but they're not a quick "fix-all".

http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-883568.html

Be careful dude!

 

[tubelcane]

count me in the F*%$ NO camp for ALPA! They aren't getting another penny from me, if I have anything to say about it!

 

[jneely]

count me in the F*%$ NO camp for ALPA! They aren't getting another penny from me, if I have anything to say about it!

I agree ALPA is the last thing we need. They will put out of business so that Delta can grow and in the end make more money for themselves. Remember Eastern. We don't need the something to happen here. Strong leadership is what we need not ALPA.

 

[Pimpin']

I agree ALPA is the last thing we need. They will put out of business so that Delta can grow and in the end make more money for themselves. Remember Eastern. We don't need the something to happen here. Strong leadership is what we need not ALPA.

Roger dat! ALPA has no place here!

 

[whymeworry?]

Now we need to make sure we vote this turd down.

I worked with a couple Captains that thought this new TA was a great improvement. As I read the bullet points and pointed out the huge give backs I got the standard "that won't affect me" and my favorite "the company wouldn't do that"

What a mentality. I think pilots who think like this need to have their names broadcast.

Were these guys former Eastern?

 

[FlyFastLiveSlow]

What a mentality. I think pilots who think like this need to have their names broadcast.

Were these guys former Eastern?

Not all of them. Some are just selfish and greedy.

 

[PCL_128]

Roger dat! ALPA has no place here!

Many other pilot groups once said the same thing, and finally came to the conclusion that it was impossible to accomplish the same thing alone that they could accomplish with ALPA. FedEx is the greatest example of this. They were ALPA, then they got angry and left ALPA, then they realized they screwed up and begged ALPA to take them back. Now they're one of the strongest groups within ALPA.

We need to get rid of this isolationist mentality and realize that reinventing the wheel is only getting us into trouble. Personally, I won't be voting for any candidate that won't at least consider the idea of ALPA representation in the near future.

 

[BigMeat]

ALPA does not hang pilots. Pilots hang pilots. You see something you dont like, vote no. Someone not representing you correctly, boot them. ALPA wont say no. Im not saying that it would make a real diffrence for you guys right now though. This should not be the major topic right now. It should be how much of a percentage your going to vote this POS down with. Anything with scope relief should be wiped with. Good luck guys we are all watching and hoping the best for you guys.

 

[328dude]

Brad Simms, is a stand up guy.

 

[twepilot]

If you want alpa representation go to an airline with such. You knew we had an in-house union when you interviewed. Quit yer bitchin'.

RV

 

[B73av8r]

If you want alpa representation go to an airline with such. You knew we had an in-house union when you interviewed. Quit yer bitchin'.

RV

Are you going to say the same for pay, work rules, employee treatment by the company, the list goes on and on.

Great attitude, my hat is off to you --- in shame.

 

[twepilot]

re read my post. It contained NOTHING about contract issues. I'm sick and tired of perople thinking alpa is the end all to fix all. How quickly people forget that alpa was trying to figure out some way to do away with the LCC's.

RV

 

[B73av8r]

It is an attitude, an attitude that carries into other areas of ones life.

Being open to other unions, other ideas.

I am not a huge fan of ALPA as well, and they are by no means the "fix" to our problems, but that being said, I will not rule them out.

I have flown under ALPA, Teamsters, and in house unions before setting foot here at AirTran - in all cases, the union is only as good as those who are in office.

But ruling out any option for a new direction takes away leverage - the company is happy to have the union we have - they play them like a fiddle. Our union has NO backbone. They would loath ANY ALPA talk around here for fear that we might actually have some legal backing on many issues that our current legal team wont touch.

Don't forget ALPA is a self feeding interest and they are all too happy to take money from anyone they can get it from, LCC or legacy.

 

[TV9Driver]

ask the 2400 TWA pilots how well ALPA represented them..... my a** is still sore from their "representation"

 

[RIDETHELIGHTING]

ask the 2400 TWA pilots how well ALPA represented them..... my a** is still sore from their "representation"

Well the way NPA is going looks like you might have a sore A$$ again.:beer:

 

[Kharma Police]

ask the 2400 TWA pilots how well ALPA represented them..... my a** is still sore from their "representation"

I thought it was all the work of the APA and AA.

 

[CitationLover]

I thought it was all the work of the APA and AA.

they (ex TWA pilots) are suing ALPA. you might want to wait until the results of that lawsuit come out as some TWA folks thinks dues will be increased to cover the judgment. there is some dissension and division even within the lawsuit as the original 13 named plaintiffs have been changed, charges of funneling funds to lawyers who were "friends" of some of those involved in the lawsuit, etc.

the AA side will say ALPA was offered a better solution than the 8:1 and staple they got, but the TWA MEC turned it down.