Alaska management verbally announces furloughs for

[Fubijaakr]

Furloughing only 20-30 pilots would be just plain stupid.

Not if your major goal in the whole equation is to "take hostages" and scare the rank and file into ANOTHER concessionary contract.

Its the ATA/Aircon/Ford and Harrison playbook in action.

 

[ImbracableCrunk]

Forgot to add lines numbers will go down in SEA and stay the same in ANC. Average line will be about 77hrs. That seems to be where the Company is going to go down to since it keeps the lowest line above 75.

Why is that? My line was bottom 'o the barrel and it had almost 83 hours!

Not enough people to do Arctic and ETOPS and have the lines be ~75?

 

[Old School 737]

Just reporting the news from him. He said they are cutting back on more flying but that ANC crews would be the same. SEA was going to slow down the most.

 

[Chief Pilot]

Not if your major goal in the whole equation is to "take hostages" and scare the rank and file into ANOTHER concessionary contract.

Its the ATA/Aircon/Ford and Harrison playbook in action.

Agreed,

They'll definately furlough, there is no question. The 30, 40, 70, 100 will merely be hostages to a company that wants a "cost neuter (I mean neutral)" contract. In other words, concessionary. This is the same company that touts its outstanding position to weather the current economic situation and grow in profitability to the folks on the Calyon conference call.

It's funny how GS continued to up the ante when nobody blinked at the initial numbers. As far as the "Early Outs" and LOA, I don't see a significant group of takers. First off, the LOA is crap if you don't get longevity and the EO is a huge waste of money. The only takers of the EO's are folks that were going to leave anyhow or were on the fence (I'd say 15 to 20). Basically the company is spending the 2 million or so to take the old guys out of the equation who would turn in their notice at the onset of a strike and leave the company shorthanded later. Stategically speaking I guess it's not a huge waste of money then, except for the fact that it really isn't meant to mitigate furloughs and young guys are still going to be on the street.

The LOA would only be good for the folks that know they are going to get furloughed. At least it pays for 6 months of COBRA....otherwise it's crap.

For the record, I'm in the 165 (or 190 now), and I second the sentiment that we shouldn't give up a damn thing on our next contract. I'd rather return to a better job, than have 5 more years under concessions.

Ok rant over.

 

[QCappy]

The LOA would only be good for the folks that know they are going to get furloughed. At least it pays for 6 months of COBRA....otherwise it's crap.

Actually once your number comes up for furlough you would not get medical paid for.

 

[Chief Pilot]

QCappy,

You may be right about that, although I spoke with the SEA FO rep the other day and it sounded like if you get it approved before the deadline you'd be grandfathered. Maybe he wasn't totally sure, or I misunderstood, but if that's the case as you say then it's total crap as well.

If management was truly interested in mitigating furloughs they would put out an actual EO that credited years of service to the folk close to age 60 so they would receive full benefits.

As it is, they are only interested in getting rid of an unknown variable...those who can put in 30 days notice and retire anytime between 60 and 65.

 

[sf340flyer]

Hey Chief,
If you take the ELOA, and then are furloughed you go into furlough status and get furlough benefits. The SEA FO rep is out to lunch 95% of the time. Sorry you got bad information. Next time please call the MEC office, there will be someone around to answer those questions.

 

[kingair1]

WOW It's our boss !! ?
Note the mug shot below. Bill has been at this since his younger days !

Article pulled from :

http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=95798

ELECTION 2008
[FONT=Palatino, Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif][SIZE=+2]Obama worked closely with terrorist Bill Ayers[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Palatino, Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif][SIZE=+1]Records show collaboration on funding leftists despite claim he's just 'a guy' in neighborhood[/SIZE][/FONT]

Posted: September 23, 2008

[FONT=Palatino, Times New Roman, Georgia, Times, serif]By Aaron Klein[/FONT]
[SIZE=-1]© 2008 WorldNetDaily[/SIZE]

JERUSALEM – In spite of Sen. Barack Obama's claims to the contrary, the Democratic presidential nominee had a close working relationship with former Weathermen terrorist leader William Ayers when the two served alongside each other on a hundred-million-dollar education foundation, according to the group's own archived records.
The records also show Obama's and Ayers' foundation granted money to radical leftist activist causes.

News reports, archived records, interviews and Ayers' own curriculum vitae document that Ayers was the founder of the Chicago Annenberg Challenge, or CAC, which bills itself as a school reform organization. Ayers also served as co-chairman of the Chicago School Reform Collaborative, one of the two operational arms of the CAC, from its formation in 1995 until 2000.

In 1995, Obama was appointed as the CAC's first chairman.

In response to a query by National Review Online writer Stanley Kurtz, the Obama campaign issued a statement claiming Ayers was not involved with Obama's "recruitment" to the CAC board. The statement said Deborah Leff and Patricia Albjerg Graham, who served as presidents of other foundations, recruited Obama.

Last April, Obama dismissed Ayers as just "a guy who lives in my neighborhood," and "not somebody who I exchange ideas with on a regular basis."

But Kurtz reviewed the CAC archives at the Richard J. Daley Library at the University of Illinois at Chicago, which houses CAC board meeting minutes and other documentation from the education foundation. He found that along with Leff and Graham, Ayers was one of a working group of five who assembled the initial board of the CAC, which hired Obama.

"Ayers founded CAC and was its guiding spirit. No one would have been appointed the CAC chairman without his approval," Kurtz writes in a Wall Street Journal opinion piece today.

According to the documents, the CAC granted money to far-leftist causes, such as the radical Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, or ACORN, which, WND reported, has done work on behalf of Obama's campaign.

ACORN is the nation's largest community organization of low- and moderate-income families. It has held violent, disruptive protests, seeks to regulate banks, supports left-leaning education policies, is accused of working on urging partisan voter turnout for elections, and seems to promote driving businesses from cities.

WND broke the story last week that while Obama chaired the board of the CAC, more than $600,000 was granted to an organization founded by Ayers and run by Mike Klonsky, a former top communist activist. Klonsky was leader of the Marxist-Leninist Communist Party, which was effectively recognized by China as the all-but-official U.S. Maoist party.

Confirms Kurtz: "Instead of funding schools directly, [the CAC] required schools to affiliate with 'external partners,' which actually got the money. Proposals from groups focused on math/science achievement were turned down. Instead CAC disbursed money through various far-left community organizers, such as ACORN."

In 1995, the year Ayers founded the CAC, he gave an interview for author Ron Chepesiuk's book "Sixties Radicals" in which Ayers stated, "I'm a radical, leftist, small 'c' communist."

Ayers' wife, Dohrn, also has served on panels with Obama. Dohrn was once on the FBI's Top 10 Most Wanted List and was described by J. Edgar Hoover as the "most dangerous woman in America." Ayers and Dohrn raised the son of Weathermen terrorist Kathy Boudin, who was serving a sentence for participating in a 1981 murder and robbery that left four people dead.

The charges against Ayers were dropped in 1974 because of prosecutorial misconduct, including illegal surveillance.


entire story:

 

[waveflyer]

McCain cites high prices/credit cards as poor economy’s instigator

September 19, 2008 by slander08

McCain looking very in touch.

Republican presidential nominee John McCain believes he has found the source of America’s economic troubles.
Speaking to a crowd of hundreds outside a Kroger in Cleves, Ohio, Sen. McCain took issue with what he had just seen inside the grocery store. “I know hardworking Americans all across this great nation have been reeling from economic hardship, and now I can see why,” he said shaking his head in disbelief. “I just saw someone pay $1.89 for a bottle of Coke. In my day, I could get a Coke for a nickel!”
“And no wonder there’s a credit crisis,” McCain continued. “Everyone in there was paying with plastic! When you put things on credit cards, you’re going to be paying a lot of interest. Plus you have to mail in your payment: That’ll cost you another 4 cents. If you don’t have cash on hand, the least you could do is write a check. Then the money will come right out of your bank account. I carry my checkbook with me wherever I go. It just makes sense, people.”
Despite his somewhat pedantic speech, the Senator showed he could relate to the people. “I know it’s tough,” he admitted. “When I got my first Master Charge Interbank card, I was hooked, but sometimes, you just gotta slow down. Grab a couple bucks, and take the family to a picture show.”

Palin plays race card… on HERSELF!

September 18, 2008 by slander08

Sarah Palin movin' some fishscale.

In a stunning series of comments today, Republican V.P. nominee Sarah Palin claimed that she’s a blacker candidate than Barack Obama.
“I support five kids on a government job. My teenage daughter is pregnant. My dad was a track coach and I won the state championship for my high school basketball team and haven’t shut up about it since,” the Governor said as she ran down her street credentials.
“My husband’s got more arrests than college degrees!” Palin exclaimed. “Obama’s married to a mutha********************in’ lawyer! Who sounds blacker to you?! You can go tell Uncle Tom Obama to stop frontin’ because Sarah muthaf**kin’ Palin is here!”


--------------------------------------------
thought i'd add to the random slander...

 

[Baze]

I see that ALK has no problem flying an -800 around for an hour and a half for a photo op with high fuel prices and _up to_ 190 furloughs on the horizon.

Check out trip 1040 on open time for Seattle.

Although, it could very well be for the touch-and-goes to try out SEA's new 3rd runway.

 

[Chief Pilot]

Don't see trip 1040 anymore, but I see we've picked up some lucrative gov't charters. Maybe they're making enough on those to justify some photo flights.
Not enough, of course, to save a few jobs.

At least we can bring some service men and women back home to McChord after being away too long. Those are the flights I'm proud to make happen.

 

[Baze]

If you go to "Schedule" -> "Pairing Display" and enter the trip number and date, it will show up.

Yes, I've seen those government charters on there. I wouldn't mind doing some of those. Would be cool to bring some military folks back home.

 

[wingit]

They just made at least two more SEA open lines to cover flying for October that had no FO assigned. Not sure what that means, but I thought I'd put it out there. Maybe this has happened before, not sure.

 

[Chief Pilot]

Hopefully, what it means is that the pilots at Alaska are showing some unity and trading their lines down to the minimum. Hopefully it means you won't see a bunch of low-life, scum bag, scab-like VSA sh!t heads picking up a bunch of extra time while the company is threatening people's jobs. Hopefully, management will realize the long term limitations a furlough will have on the most financially sound and well positioned airline in the country (according to independent analysts).

We'll soon see if all the hoping is for naught.

 

[Baze]

I certainly hope you're right!

If every single pilot on the property would drop down to 75 hours, not VSA, and bail out of the bank program, ALK would end up bringing in some new-hires! Heck, even with the 10% Kool-Aid drinkers still enabling...

But, we all know that won't happen. The sad thing is that it would probably only take one month of doing this - short-term sacrifice for long-term gain.

Hopefully, what it means is that the pilots at Alaska are showing some unity and trading their lines down to the minimum. Hopefully it means you won't see a bunch of low-life, scum bag, scab-like VSA sh!t heads picking up a bunch of extra time while the company is threatening people's jobs. Hopefully, management will realize the long term limitations a furlough will have on the most financially sound and well positioned airline in the country (according to independent analysts).

We'll soon see if all the hoping is for naught.

 

[Dan Roman]

WOW It's our boss !! ?
Note the mug shot below. Bill has been at this since his younger days !

Article pulled from :

http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=95798

ELECTION 2008
[FONT=Palatino, Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif][SIZE=+2]Obama worked closely with terrorist Bill Ayers[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Palatino, Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif][SIZE=+1]Records show collaboration on funding leftists despite claim he's just 'a guy' in neighborhood[/SIZE][/FONT]

Posted: September 23, 2008

[FONT=Palatino, Times New Roman, Georgia, Times, serif]By Aaron Klein[/FONT]
[SIZE=-1]© 2008 WorldNetDaily[/SIZE]

JERUSALEM – In spite of Sen. Barack Obama's claims to the contrary, the Democratic presidential nominee had a close working relationship with former Weathermen terrorist leader William Ayers when the two served alongside each other on a hundred-million-dollar education foundation, according to the group's own archived records.
The records also show Obama's and Ayers' foundation granted money to radical leftist activist causes.

News reports, archived records, interviews and Ayers' own curriculum vitae document that Ayers was the founder of the Chicago Annenberg Challenge, or CAC, which bills itself as a school reform organization. Ayers also served as co-chairman of the Chicago School Reform Collaborative, one of the two operational arms of the CAC, from its formation in 1995 until 2000.

In 1995, Obama was appointed as the CAC's first chairman.

In response to a query by National Review Online writer Stanley Kurtz, the Obama campaign issued a statement claiming Ayers was not involved with Obama's "recruitment" to the CAC board. The statement said Deborah Leff and Patricia Albjerg Graham, who served as presidents of other foundations, recruited Obama.

Last April, Obama dismissed Ayers as just "a guy who lives in my neighborhood," and "not somebody who I exchange ideas with on a regular basis."

But Kurtz reviewed the CAC archives at the Richard J. Daley Library at the University of Illinois at Chicago, which houses CAC board meeting minutes and other documentation from the education foundation. He found that along with Leff and Graham, Ayers was one of a working group of five who assembled the initial board of the CAC, which hired Obama.

"Ayers founded CAC and was its guiding spirit. No one would have been appointed the CAC chairman without his approval," Kurtz writes in a Wall Street Journal opinion piece today.

According to the documents, the CAC granted money to far-leftist causes, such as the radical Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, or ACORN, which, WND reported, has done work on behalf of Obama's campaign.

ACORN is the nation's largest community organization of low- and moderate-income families. It has held violent, disruptive protests, seeks to regulate banks, supports left-leaning education policies, is accused of working on urging partisan voter turnout for elections, and seems to promote driving businesses from cities.

WND broke the story last week that while Obama chaired the board of the CAC, more than $600,000 was granted to an organization founded by Ayers and run by Mike Klonsky, a former top communist activist. Klonsky was leader of the Marxist-Leninist Communist Party, which was effectively recognized by China as the all-but-official U.S. Maoist party.

Confirms Kurtz: "Instead of funding schools directly, [the CAC] required schools to affiliate with 'external partners,' which actually got the money. Proposals from groups focused on math/science achievement were turned down. Instead CAC disbursed money through various far-left community organizers, such as ACORN."

In 1995, the year Ayers founded the CAC, he gave an interview for author Ron Chepesiuk's book "Sixties Radicals" in which Ayers stated, "I'm a radical, leftist, small 'c' communist."

Ayers' wife, Dohrn, also has served on panels with Obama. Dohrn was once on the FBI's Top 10 Most Wanted List and was described by J. Edgar Hoover as the "most dangerous woman in America." Ayers and Dohrn raised the son of Weathermen terrorist Kathy Boudin, who was serving a sentence for participating in a 1981 murder and robbery that left four people dead.

The charges against Ayers were dropped in 1974 because of prosecutorial misconduct, including illegal surveillance.


entire story:

Let me guess, you wear a tin foil hat when you fly above 10,000'?

 

[ClearRight]

I'm trying to figure this whole thing out. . . If they plan on sending notices next week will it just be sloughing off the bottom 30-40? So the captain lists will be pretty fat, no? So in order to make it all work, they'll need to downgrade a bunch of captains. Now if they do that, as I read the contract, they'll need to post a reduction bid. 14 days. The furlough section of the contract says, "If a pilot is to be furloughed and another pilot is to replace him (a downgraded captain?), the pilot to be furloughed shall not be placed on furlough prior to the completion of all training which is required to qualify a replacement." I'm guessing another 2 weeks.

So- we're looking at a month before any pilot could be on the street from the time they post a reduction bid. That's if they get all their ducks in a row to push a bunch of guys through the already overloaded sim schedule.

Am I correct in my thinking??

 

[Mookie]

Anyone have an over/under of how bad C.M. is going to screw up this bid???

Mookie

 

[Baze]

Mookie,

You should call her and ask. I bet her answer will be:
"What reduction bid?"

I'm sure nobody has told her anything about reductions, downgrades, furloughs!

Anyone have an over/under of how bad C.M. is going to screw up this bid???

Mookie

 

[QCappy]

I'm trying to figure this whole thing out. . . If they plan on sending notices next week will it just be sloughing off the bottom 30-40? So the captain lists will be pretty fat, no? So in order to make it all work, they'll need to downgrade a bunch of captains. Now if they do that, as I read the contract, they'll need to post a reduction bid. 14 days. The furlough section of the contract says, "If a pilot is to be furloughed and another pilot is to replace him (a downgraded captain?), the pilot to be furloughed shall not be placed on furlough prior to the completion of all training which is required to qualify a replacement." I'm guessing another 2 weeks.

So- we're looking at a month before any pilot could be on the street from the time they post a reduction bid. That's if they get all their ducks in a row to push a bunch of guys through the already overloaded sim schedule.

Am I correct in my thinking??

No. If they furlough 30-40 guys and have 30-40 senior guys take the early retirement then there would be no need to downgrade anybody.