ALPA and CommutAir

[LaxPilot]

Just woundering what is going on with ALPA and Commutair. Any one have any news? Hopefully the guys there will get it,... they need it.

 

[CA1900]

Last week, we got word that we had better than the 80% of interest cards returned. That means ALPA is going to petition the National Mediation Board for a representation election; I believe the paperwork was filed yesterday.

The review and election process should take about 90 days. Stay tuned!

(And to all those that sent your cards and got yourselves informed, thank you.)

 

[FSB99]

This is excellent news for Commutair, and the whole emerging 'continental brand umbrella.'
if only we could get skywest unionized..!

 

[Rank&File]

Is CAL and CALEX pushing Commutair to organize or do y'all think they'd have done it anyway? The timing of this suggests that this is part of CAL ALPA's agenda.

 

[utahpilot]

if CA gets ALPA'ized, what will be the biggest changes seen? pay? benefits?

anyone with specifics?

 

[LaxPilot]

CAL and COEX ARE NOT pushing for the union. The pilot group is doing it. The pilot group has tried in the past to unionize under the teamsters, but did not happen. Hopefully this time it will.

 

[CA1900]

Is CAL and CALEX pushing Commutair to organize or do y'all think they'd have done it anyway? The timing of this suggests that this is part of CAL ALPA's agenda.

No, CAL isn't pushing us to organize. They're assisting us because we asked, but they're most certainly not trying to push us into it. This is an effort by a very dedicated group of CommutAir pilots who want to make this a more secure place to work. We've watched for the past several years as our pay and benefits have stagnated while the rest of the industry has been getting steadily better pay and work rules.

Back when we were rolling in profit sharing checks, our overall pay was very competitive in spite of our low hourly pay. Scheduling was also a whole lot more flexible then than it is now. Further, everyone was leaving in couple of years, so they put up with the crappy work rules. I think that's why the previous organization attempt failed -- things really were pretty good here, which is why there wasn't much of a groundswell of support.

Now, with cruddy commutes after 2/3 of the domiciles closed, trips that start with an unpaid deadhead (to one of those former domiciles, no less!) and a five hour sit to end up getting paid our daily minimum for a 12-hour day, people are realizing things like deadhead pay, trip rigs, and duty rigs don't happen on their own at this company. (Indeed, many who've never had jobs outside CommutAir don't realize concepts like this even exist at other companies!)

They're realizing that our per-diem is substandard, and like our pay, hasn't kept up with inflation. They're realizing that other companies don't pay a fourth-year employee, who was finally offered an upgrade, "first-year captain" pay, as Commutair does. (And now we have second-year employees upgrading, making the same pay as those fourth-year captains.) They're realizing that it's not fair for scheduling to make the more senior people work more hours than the junior people because of a bidding system that doesn't work, but that's exactly what happens here.

They're also realizing that if our company gets bought by a bigger fish, we have no reason to believe we'll get placed anywhere but the bottom of their seniority list (if we're lucky) unless we have a contract to protect us. It happens time and time again. Date-of-hire integration won't happen unless a contract forces it.

It's not a bad place to work, but it could be so much better. I'm very hopeful that we'll get the majority vote we need to start making this a better place to work. It may not happen overnight, and it won't all happen in the first contract to be sure. But until we make this first step, it won't happen at all.

CommutAir Pilots: Vote YES!

(edited for typos)

 

[B190Captain]

IMHO, for an airline the size of Commutair, ALPA will just take their money.

I hope I am wrong. Good luck guys!

 

[Saluki Dawg]

I applaude the Commutair pilots and fully support their decision to try to bring ALPA onto their property. The only way that this race to the bottom is going to eventually end is for airlines like Commutair to have the courage to stand up to management and demand the pay and work rules that they rightfully deserve. Now if we can just convince the Skywest pilot group to follow Commutair's lead, then maybe CAL management will finally get the message, that we won't allow a whipsawing of these different pilots groups against each other. Good luck in your organization efforts!

 

[FSB99]

IMHO, for an airline the size of Commutair, ALPA will just take their money.

I hope I am wrong. Good luck guys!

i hope you're wrong, too. that's a terrible way to look at it.
one thing to remember, the union (be it alpa, teamsters, apa, etc) is not a magical mystical entity that will fix things. it's just a legal means to protect your pilot group from harmful potentialities.
your union is only as good as you make it.. the union is the pilots who make up that body.

nice job, commutair guys/gals! good luck!