ASA MGMT proposes CONCESSIONS

[FL990]

Everything that has occurred over the past two weeks has all been preparing the pilots for this news. Late yesterday, the union released an updated outlining various proposals in the endgame presentation by ASA management. Included in this proposal were pay concessions for the 70 by approx 8% and no pay increase (except longevity) for the 50 for the life of the contract which is 5 years plus whatever it takes to negotiate the next contract (????years). Also, many of the QOL issues have not been addressed. Now, I understand that we will offer counter proposals and will hopefully meet somewhere in the middle, BUT if they really expect us to take concessions on pay or go the next 5 or more years without a cost of living raise....hand me a picket sign!

Did anyone else see this coming. The company has been bombarding us with propaganda ever since they announced there intentions to finish these negotiations. Now, first, i am not saying that they are lying. They have outlined other airlines whose costs are high and noted the loss of aircraft they have or suposedly will be losing. (CMR, Mesaba, Express Jet) Yeah, Express Jet was the latest in a company memo issued friday. Alegedly, they will be losing up to 70 aircraft as Continental will offer a majority of flying up for outsource bidding.

Apparently, companies are trying to make a stamement that they are a huge proponent to the "race to the bottom" concept.

When I came to ASA, I was a huge "anti-strike" person. HOWEVER, this industry is not what I signed up for. The way I see it now, what do I have to lose...MY JOB???? SO WHAT. Who the heck can live on this pay for the next 8 or 9 years. WE HAVE TO STAND UP TO THIS. THE RACE TO THE BOTTOM HAS TO STOP. I am aware that no one group can hold up the bar, but there are other companies out there who are doing the same. We have to show them that they need to find other ways to reduce costs...or raise prices across the industry. WE CANNOT WORK FOR FREE!!!

THE STRIKE VOTE WILL BE COMING SOON!! WE MUST HAVE A SHOW OF UNITY!!! VOTE YES!!

 

[Crash Pad]

THE RACE TO THE BOTTOM HAS TO STOP. I am aware that no one group can hold up the bar, but there are other companies out there who are doing the same. We have to show them that they need to find other ways to reduce costs...or raise prices across the industry. WE CANNOT WORK FOR FREE!!!

Sorry capitalist guy here again. If you lose your job you will end up at MESA, CHQ, or Skywest. That will be a concession... especailly if you consider the couple months without pay. If you want a better job may I suggest SWA, AirTran, CAL, etc... You see if the pay is so low that people don't take the job they will have to entice workers with say better pay and work rules. MESA has discovered that people will do this job for a lot less. So by putting ASA out you would grow MESA because they look at our demise as a growth opportunity.
If you have grandiose visions of an industry taking notice if we strike... You are foolish. I mean that even if we BK Skywest and DAL. The world will move on.

 

[FL990]

Sorry capitalist guy here again. If you lose your job you will end up at MESA, CHQ, or Skywest. That will be a concession... especailly if you consider the couple months without pay. If you want a better job may I suggest SWA, AirTran, CAL, etc... You see if the pay is so low that people don't take the job they will have to entice workers with say better pay and work rules. MESA has discovered that people will do this job for a lot less. So by putting ASA out you would grow MESA because they look at our demise as a growth opportunity.
If you have grandiose visions of an industry taking notice if we strike... You are foolish. I mean that even if we BK Skywest and DAL. The world will move on.

CrashPad...they will keep taking as long as we keep giving. AND you are very wrong about one thing, I will not end up at Mesa or CHQ. I will leave the industry because it is falling apart. Every time we take a job with less than adaquate pay because of some vision of grandure that one day we will fly a 777, we are replacing the very jobs we are slaving to one day get. They will keep cutting until we stand up and say ENOUGH. I have said all along that if we get too much, I have no doubt they will shift the flying and put us on the streets. BUT IF TOO MUCH IS LESS THAN WHAT WE HAVE NOW?!?!?! If this company and others like it can't find a way to fairly compensate there employees for doing a high responsibility and highly skilled job, they don't deserve to be in business and should be shut down. The same will happen as Mesa and CHQ too...eventually. When upgrades go from 2 to 10 years and attrition slows, they will eventually have to do the same thing.

Don't you see what they want to do...are you that blind?? They are giving us bigger and bigger planes with the hope of having us one day fly a 757 at RJ pay. Get over the wet dream and wake up to reality.

I too am very capitalistic and conservatively business minded. That doesn't mean that I will work for free. We have to stop it. Others will eventually follow...perhaps not right away, but if we continue to let this happen, they will never come up with other ways to fix the problem.

 

[Crash Pad]

CrashPad...they will keep taking as long as we keep giving. AND you are very wrong about one thing, I will not end up at Mesa or CHQ. I will leave the industry because it is falling apart.

Ok you are misunderstanding me. I agree 100% about everything you say about the industry, the job, etc. I don't beleive I have any useful job skills except flying an airplane. Trust me I spend my time off on reserve... Which is quite a bit lately. Looking for other jobs. The market just is not that good. So pissing away the one with health, dental, 401K, travel bennies, oh yeah and a I work 2 days a week etc.. doesn't seem bright. I realize it sucks but to me unemployment, home depot, ditch digging, suck worse.
Give me skywest and I'm good to go.

 

[captain caveman]

Crash Pad, If you have the basic aptitude to fly airplanes in the 121 envirnment, you could probably take on a technical trade such as plumbing, electricity, auto mechanics or HVAC repair to name a few with far less education than piloting aircraft. Anyone of these would provide you with more income and security than flying for a regional.

That's why I'm not afraid to walk. Within several months I will be making more than flying as a Captain as a CRJ700 at a regional perhaps not in a technical trade but in something different. I don't think it's too much to ask to be compensated more than the above trades. I didn't get into flying just because it's fun.

 

[dogismycopilot]

I hear a lot of talk about strike this, strike that; what about a less dramatic step such as work to rule or something like that? The company gets the message, nobody is out of a job, and nobody has to walk around at the airport holding up a sign. I haven't heard of a good work to rule in a long time... any thoughts?

 

[L1011 Rules!]

Crash Pad you are way off base!!!!! It is pilots like yourself which will sink this industry. Is it ok for our company to run to the bank laughing at the pilot group because we are held legally from taking any action due to the Railway act? Let us look at Big D for a second....Hmmmm.....Top Executives like LM, MB ect.....they have proptected pensions and walked off the property with millions all while the company was failing....That is down right stealing from all of the employees including you and me. For the past 3.5 years we have been working under a contract that is concessionary in comparison to all other contracts of comparable size regionals. All the while management has pocketed the difference in pay. Now they want us to take a concessionary contract so that we go 10 years without any type of cost of living increase? I really don't care much about the pay rate, But it will be a cold day in H3ll before I vote to accept any contract without significant work rule improvements. We are at the bottom when it comes to work rules and it is not acceptable to allow WH more lattitude, he has already ruined the only good part of ASA scheduling.

The company is totally unrealist if they expect me to work for less money and worse work rules.....I vote to shut this place down so others don't have to suffer with the fate of a concessionary contract. Take a look at www.airlinepilotcentral.com and tell me that it is ok for a SW pilot to make $190 an hour to fly a 737 and DL 777 guy to make $186 an hour? THis bleeding has to stop and airlines must fail to bring equality back into this business......Why should labor be financing the recovery? IF a business fails in othre industries it ceasesd to exist...in the airline industry we limp along charging cheap fares which the employee subsidizes. Not me! I am drawing the line in the sand after 15 years and we need to stand up for labor!

 

[wms]

Crashpad,

How low do you go before enough is enough? ASA has not been a poverty stricken airline since DAL did us a favor and sold us. SKW/ASA is a prosperous company and can afford to reduce its fees (fit in the Cost box) without creating financial hardship to itself. Yet to preserve their profit margin they want to pick our pockets and create hardship for loyal employess, rather than resort to an effective business plan and corporate structure that will have longer lasting benefits.

 

[Berry McCockner]

I hear a lot of talk about strike this, strike that; what about a less dramatic step such as work to rule or something like that? The company gets the message, nobody is out of a job, and nobody has to walk around at the airport holding up a sign. I haven't heard of a good work to rule in a long time... any thoughts?

What is "work to rule"? Are you talking about a sick day or some other illegal job action?

 

[atlcrashpad]

There are 15 meetings scheduled between now and Mar 06. We will see what our ALPA Rep's propose to the Company. It should get very interesting. I cannot wait until they announce our pass benefit changes. Watch the exodus of some very good people.