Airtran Union Board endorses TA w/ qulifications

[newnan]

http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/news_press_release,110596.shtml

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]AirTran Pilot Board Endorses Tentative Agreement; Next Step Ratification Vote [/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Posted : Wed, 23 May 2007 14:16:00 GMT[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Author : National Pilots Association [/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Category : PressRelease [/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]News Alerts by Email click here )[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Press Release News | Home [/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]ATLANTA, May 23 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- After more than a day of deliberations, the National Pilots Association's six-pilot Board of Directors voted to endorse the tentative agreement reached over the weekend by its negotiating committee and AirTran Airways . The tentative agreement will now be sent to AirTran's more than 1,500 pilots for a ratification vote. "The approval of the tentative agreement by the NPA Board was no slam dunk; in fact, it's a qualified endorsement predicated on the company providing the union with a series of 'questions and answers' that spell out the meaning and intent of several sections of the contract," said Capt. Allen Philpot, President of the National Pilots Association. "The board was very deliberate in its consideration of the deal hammered out by our negotiating committee and the company. While the board was satisfied with the pay and pension increases they had some difficulty agreeing to when the clock starts, meaning when a pilot starts getting paid."[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]If ratified, the new contract will initially increase pilot hourly pay to $160.60 per flight hour for 12-year captains from $152.57, and to $83.30 from $78.37 per flight hour for 7-year first officers; these increases will put AirTran squarely ahead of Atlanta rival Delta Air Lines for narrow body flight crews. The new contract would also improve pilot pensions by increasing the company's 401(k) match to 2 percent by the end of the contract. While not getting all that they had hoped for in the scheduling section of the tentative agreement, the new contract does improve some work rules such as a two-for-one duty rig, meaning at least one hour of flight pay for every two hours on duty.[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]"One of the positive things about this new contract is its short duration," said Capt. Philpot. "The worst case scenario will have us back in negotiations within 3 and a half years because of our six month 'early opener' provision, which will give us the chance to fix the scheduling deficiencies we were not able to improve in this contract." Under the terms of the tentative agreement the new contract will become amendable on June 30, 2011.[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]The NPA will release the result of its ratification vote on Thursday, June 28, 2007 after a series of meetings in Atlanta, Baltimore and Orlando to educate its members on the terms of the contract. "We want the pilots to fully understand what this new contract will mean to them and how it will impact their flying at AirTran," said Capt. Philpot.[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]National Pilots Association[/FONT]




Looks like they aren't 100% in favor, clarification still needed.

 

[Citrusflyer]

Oh man.....a 5% raise??!?!

This is going to be an ugly thread............

 

[DougCorp-9]

This is going to be an ugly thread............

If I could take a crap through my computer I would. So long BOD, where is the recall petition.

 

[BoilerUP]

If I could take a crap through my computer I would. So long BOD, where is the recall petition.

Why would you recall them? If you don't like this TA can't you vote NO and send them back to the negotiating table after soundly defeating it?

 

[Murphy]

"The new contract would also improve pilot pensions by increasing the company's 401(k) match to 2 percent by the end of the contract."

This has got to be a typo. Does it increase the match from 10.5% to 12% over the life of the contract or does it increase to 12.5%?

Wow. We have to wait another 3 1/2 years to fix scheduling deficiencies if it passes? I thought that was one of our biggest gripes.

Nice timing from Orlando on the order of 15 more 737s. That will help bury a few FOs heads in the sand as they read and vote on the TA.

 

[Fly-By-Cable]

I could be wrong here, but I was just thinking....let's say NPA would say TA sucks and vote it down. Next day KG would start a "communication campaign" to pilots stating NPA BOD is wasting your money and effort of all parties over last 2 years to reach what he will call an industry leading contract.

As a result half of our pilots (clueless ones) will turn on BOD and KG got what he wanted.

If they endorse it, they face flames from some pilots for not having a back bone...hence this thread. Not defending BOD, just thinking out loud what the alternative would be

Does BoD like this contract?....I don't think so. "One of the positive things about this new contract is its short duration," said Capt. Philpot.
"We want the pilots to fully understand what this new contract will mean to them and how it will impact their flying at AirTran,"
At best it sounds like a neutral recommendation which is a polite way of saying NO!
.

As it stands now it is in our hands to show KG that we will stick together and vote this thing down.

Since contract 2001 our pilot group has tripled. This will be a test of our unity and I really hope we don't fail.


If what I hear is true, my vote will be NO!

 

[Citrusflyer]

Nice timing from Orlando on the order of 15 more 737s. That will help bury a few FOs heads in the sand as they read and vote on the TA.

I haven't flown with an FO yet who is that dense!

BTW, the 2 to 1 duty rig is worthless. Going over the last several months of my schedules there is not one instance where that would have appllied, and we had a 12 hour duty day then. Trade the 4 hr min and the 12 limit on duty for a 2 to 1 rig? Absolutely not!

 

[RIDETHELIGHTING]

"
Nice timing from Orlando on the order of 15 more 737s. That will help bury a few FOs heads in the sand as they read and vote on the TA.

Not me or anybody I know. We just need the CAs with the I got mine to get on board and vote this crap down.

 

[DougCorp-9]

Not me or anybody I know. We just need the CAs with the I got mine to get on board and vote this crap down.

I won't leave you hangin bro!!!!

 

[nck4857]

How long do we have to be on property before we can vote? Is it 6 months??