ALPA at Jetlbue

[hyflyin]

I'd say lucky you. You havn't needed LOL, LTD, had a grievance, bent any metal and needed a lawyer, or had an accident at work. Ever slip in an icy glycol mix and break a shoulder? How long till you get a medical back? well here you'd be lucky to still qualify for cobra.

Alpa not needed for any of this, but it could use some help.

I guess your company gave you all that stuff in the contract voluntarily.
Work rules, trip rigs, min gurantees, 401K, vacation, yea you've had non of that in 10years right? Just curious what would ya pay to birth a child on your plan?

Given most of this, sometimes more, sometimes less than what Alpa provided. And didn't have to pay the 1-2% to get it.

Merge yet? How'd that work out?

How did it work out for the TWA guys??

You've got alot more at your disposal with alpa than the average bear.

Very true, but is it worth it? Not sure at this point.

But your blanket statment that ALPA has done nothing... even if your contract is concessionary(how would that have gone without them) is far from true.

Independent unions have faired far better than anyone in Alpa for a long time.

Don't get me wrong, Alpa has definitely made strides since the beginning of aviation, but they have also moved back quite a bit from where they were. They are no longer the power house they used to be. Perhaps Moak can bring them back.

 

[N813CA]

Wow

A good company can offer good benefits if they want too. You are right I have never bent metal. The only people I have witnessed getting their jobs back because of ALPA didn't deserve their job. I work for a non-union company and my benefits are as good if not better than my last ALPA company.

 

[aewanabe]

Just curious, you're comparing your benefits at an LCC to those you had at Comair? We've got a ton of guys at Blue who did this too. "It's better here than it was at MESA, and I had ALPA there, so obviously this place rocks". Newsflash- It's SUPPOSED to be better.

 

[Smarta$$]

The Constitution clarifies the inalienable rights citizens have with respect to the government. It especially clarifies what the government can and cannot do, as the government is the only entity legally able to use force to obtain its goals. It is entirely silent on the relationship between an employee and an employer.

You can use as much rousing political rhetoric as you like but it doesn't change the fact that the US Constitution isn't a labor relations document and never has been. Give it up, Rez, you're headed toward a dead end with this line of thinking.



This is an utter non-sequitur. One of these things is not like the other...

Pot meet kettle.

 

[Lake Alice]

This is what gets me in the ALPA debate. If you work for a regional carrier or the cargo equivalent you are essentially being paid by the mainline carrier. You are a third party. Why on earth would that mainline carrier provide you with an industry leading compensation package? In order for the mainline carrier to record a higher profit you must be paid, as a contractor, the least amount negotiable. All ALPA can do in these situations is help you negotiate a fair wage and benefits, not industry leading. At a mainline carrier ALPA can help you achieve industry leading because you are negotiating directly with the source and not as a third party.
Each of you who thought, as a regional pilot, that you should be paid closer to your mainline counterparts did not understand the nature of business and your situations. Every mainline ALPA pilot has better benefits, pay, retirement, recall rights, safety department and overall protections than every Jetblue pilot.
Yes, we have a good relationship with management at Jetblue and outsiders take that to mean that the company is "taking care of us" hence the anti-union argument. In reality we are still substantially behind our peers in nearly every category. Add to that the lack of any protections or ability to negotiate any changes. We are told what we will accept, period!
Lastly, the company/employee group relationship is a function of the elected leadership.

 

[Blue Dude]

Pot meet kettle.

??? I wasn't making a political argument. On the contrary, I pointed out that it was misplaced.

 

[Mickey]

ALPA=Useless

Just go find a group a of pilots who don't want to fly and give them part of your paycheck so they can party at your expense. Don't worry about their jobs, they will protect themselves at your expense. Run from ALPA as fast as you can. I grew up in a union family and believe in unions. Start your own. ALPA doesn't care about any airline, because they are no longer an airlines union. They are trying to be the union for all airlines and have lost focus. Look at how they screwed TSA. They sent the weakest lawers fresh out of law school to lose the GoJet flying. They rolled over at the first sign of failure. If they are so good why don't they have the best pay and work rules per equipment. They are quick to throw away your money so they can have a good time. Just send them money and they will go away.

 

[Smarta$$]

??? I wasn't making a political argument. On the contrary, I pointed out that it was misplaced.

I was just giving you crap anyway!

 

[boomlrd]

Any of you JetBlue guys hearing a Spirit Jetblue merger if and when Jetblue votes in ALPA? Just shaking some trees, rumor has been gaining steam at Spirit, our workrules, your pay, one happy ALPA family? These things usually happen when least expected, but our IPO keeps getting pushed back and we have a lot of planes coming, but we have been slow to do any real hiring. Just thinking out loud. All I beg for is fence FLL, I can't do LGB.

 

[Blue Dude]

Haven't heard that one. Honestly, I'm not real sure what Spirit could do for the operation that we can't do for ourselves already, and without the headache of merging companies.