More SWA pilot perspective from everyone's favorite SWA Bubba.
In my OPINION (take if for what it's worth), you guys should think more for yourselves, and listen less to ALPA national. ALPA is not your friend. In fact, ALPA is not anyone's friend (but that could take several more threads to discuss). Their national strategic interest does not include Airtran, other than as a tool in its overall strategic planning. Why would you think otherwise? As soon as this deal is fully consummated, you're lost to them as dues-paying members. Once a deal is signed, I doubt Lee Moak would even return your calls. They just want you to put up a fight out of their playbook to keep their reputation intact. And of course, pay dues as long as possible. Obviously, they'd like you to win, but even if you get crushed, just fighting their fight helps them.
They seem to have a one-size-fits-all merger policy, but the trouble is, it almost never fits anybody. They guarantee you'll get all they promised in arbitration, but don't give a crap if you actually get it or not.
Please look at the facts yourself, and then decide what you want to do. It looks like you'll get the chance, since ATN ALPA recently agreed to send the new agreement (whenever it comes out) to a vote. I guess we'll see what happens.
Also my opinion:
I personally think that Gary Kelly underestimated ALPA. I think he assumed that since you guys are all "culture" and all, similar to us, you'd appreciate what he was offering and put it to a vote to let the members decide. As we all now know, that turned out to not be the case.
However, I also think ALPA seriously underestimated Gary Kelly. They assumed he was like every other airline CEO, and only cared about the bottom line. They could push as hard as they wanted, and GK would give whatever it took to integrate, up to the point that it took him to the other side of the money curve. They failed to note that while he IS a money guy, he also has some idea of the amount of money his company's culture is worth to him. There's a line somewhere. I don't know exactly where it is, but he obviously does. This alone separates him from any other airline CEO in the world.
The line is where he decides the extra money isn't worth the hit to his culture when all his people are pissed off. He (and all of us) believe that our culture is not just a "nice thing to have," but rather that it contributes to our bottom line. This way of thinking is alien to ALPA. They don't generally care, or assign any value to this concept.
It's also probably alien to a lot of you at Airtran, although through no fault of your own. I assume it's due to Mr. Fornaro's "less than stellar" leadership. You may have the culture, but not the symbiotic relationship between labor and management.
Regardless, everyone should know that what Gary really wanted was a way into Atlanta, some planes, and pilots who wanted to fly for SWA. If ALPA pushes him too far, he'll pull the jettison handle. After all, he'll still have Atlanta and the planes. Where "too far" is, is of course the $64 question.
Please don't think I'm being threatening, because I'm not. I (and actually all of SWAPA's pilots) are bystanders just like you. Gary really IS running the show, not SWAPA or ALPA. It's his company and his money. In case you're wondering why SWAPA doesn't fight him like ALPA fights their management, the answer is, fight for what? We pretty much already have everything. As long as he treats (and pays) us better than any other airline pilot, and the company keeps making money, we're happy to work with him and for him.
Good luck to all of us. Hopefully we'll ALL be SWAPA pilots soon, and won't have to give a crap about ALPA's intents anymore.
Bubba
In my OPINION (take if for what it's worth), you guys should think more for yourselves, and listen less to ALPA national. ALPA is not your friend. In fact, ALPA is not anyone's friend (but that could take several more threads to discuss). Their national strategic interest does not include Airtran, other than as a tool in its overall strategic planning. Why would you think otherwise? As soon as this deal is fully consummated, you're lost to them as dues-paying members. Once a deal is signed, I doubt Lee Moak would even return your calls. They just want you to put up a fight out of their playbook to keep their reputation intact. And of course, pay dues as long as possible. Obviously, they'd like you to win, but even if you get crushed, just fighting their fight helps them.
They seem to have a one-size-fits-all merger policy, but the trouble is, it almost never fits anybody. They guarantee you'll get all they promised in arbitration, but don't give a crap if you actually get it or not.
Please look at the facts yourself, and then decide what you want to do. It looks like you'll get the chance, since ATN ALPA recently agreed to send the new agreement (whenever it comes out) to a vote. I guess we'll see what happens.
Also my opinion:
I personally think that Gary Kelly underestimated ALPA. I think he assumed that since you guys are all "culture" and all, similar to us, you'd appreciate what he was offering and put it to a vote to let the members decide. As we all now know, that turned out to not be the case.
However, I also think ALPA seriously underestimated Gary Kelly. They assumed he was like every other airline CEO, and only cared about the bottom line. They could push as hard as they wanted, and GK would give whatever it took to integrate, up to the point that it took him to the other side of the money curve. They failed to note that while he IS a money guy, he also has some idea of the amount of money his company's culture is worth to him. There's a line somewhere. I don't know exactly where it is, but he obviously does. This alone separates him from any other airline CEO in the world.
The line is where he decides the extra money isn't worth the hit to his culture when all his people are pissed off. He (and all of us) believe that our culture is not just a "nice thing to have," but rather that it contributes to our bottom line. This way of thinking is alien to ALPA. They don't generally care, or assign any value to this concept.
It's also probably alien to a lot of you at Airtran, although through no fault of your own. I assume it's due to Mr. Fornaro's "less than stellar" leadership. You may have the culture, but not the symbiotic relationship between labor and management.
Regardless, everyone should know that what Gary really wanted was a way into Atlanta, some planes, and pilots who wanted to fly for SWA. If ALPA pushes him too far, he'll pull the jettison handle. After all, he'll still have Atlanta and the planes. Where "too far" is, is of course the $64 question.
Please don't think I'm being threatening, because I'm not. I (and actually all of SWAPA's pilots) are bystanders just like you. Gary really IS running the show, not SWAPA or ALPA. It's his company and his money. In case you're wondering why SWAPA doesn't fight him like ALPA fights their management, the answer is, fight for what? We pretty much already have everything. As long as he treats (and pays) us better than any other airline pilot, and the company keeps making money, we're happy to work with him and for him.
Good luck to all of us. Hopefully we'll ALL be SWAPA pilots soon, and won't have to give a crap about ALPA's intents anymore.
Bubba
