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ASA union meeting

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ASADriver

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 1, 2004
Posts
706
Kinda dissapointed that there weren't any fireworks at the meeting today. I was hoping to see Pennekamp and RJMan go at it.
 
Fireworks might be fun to watch, but they are no good indoors.

I think the meeting went well and I'd rather be assured & secure than amused & scared.

But actually there was a fuse lit on one huge fireworks display, if you caught it. ALPA seems to be genuinely fed up with the Railway Labor Act and may be considering a test of the legitimacy of the NMB's unfair restraint. "Plan B" as alluded to is actually the strongest talk that I've ever heard from ALPA insiders.

Before firing that cannon they must show that they did everything possible to work within the system. In this instance labor has the moral high ground and strangely, the chest beating, threats and misinformation is not coming from the union side of the debate.

What I heard today was well prepared, resolute, conservative and confident leadership.

There is a process, which should be followed and which should have an equitable result. Under SkyWest's direction, that process has been abused. We have to give the NMB an opportunity to deal with problem which falls within their scope of authority, by providing a release.

Isn't it amazing that we still don't have a "release" after 5 years, but every other employee group already automatically has the right that is denied to us. It is unfair.
 
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Fireworks might be fun to watch, but they are no good indoors.

I think the meeting went well and I'd rather be assured & secure than amused & scared.

I agree, but the "we are close to a release" bit is getting old. My understanding is the NMB doesn't have to release us ever. After the last negotiations, a member of the neg. committee told me we will get a release. It didn't happen. Am I going to be told the same thing after next weeks meeting?
 
What I heard today was well prepared, resolute, conservative and confident leadership.

What I heard assured me to some point as well. When one guys asked about a vote regardless before we walked, the answer given cleared the muddy waters considerably. Some of the answers seemed to dance around the issue such as the Plan B that was not elaborated on but overall, the lack of chest thumping and anger was a good sign. As Fins said, resolute.
 
Can someone give us a rundown on what was discussed. I was flying today and couldnt make it but would like as much info as anybody can recall.
Thanks
 
My understanding is the NMB doesn't have to release us ever.

That's technically correct, but politically unfeasible. If the NMB drags this out too long, then ALPA-friendly politicians (such as the General's favorite, Senator Oberstar) will eventually start pushing for investigations and oversight of the NMB. No bureaucrat with a cushy government job likes some politician breathing down his neck, so the NMB will blink before it gets to that. I expect you'll see a release this fall before the holiday season starts getting close.
 
That's technically correct, but politically unfeasible. If the NMB drags this out too long, then ALPA-friendly politicians (such as the General's favorite, Senator Oberstar) will eventually start pushing for investigations and oversight of the NMB. No bureaucrat with a cushy government job likes some politician breathing down his neck, so the NMB will blink before it gets to that. I expect you'll see a release this fall before the holiday season starts getting close.

Then what happened with Great Lakes?
 
Then what happened with Great Lakes?

Who represents the GLA pilots, John? Do they have a voice in Washington? Does anyone in Washington even know who Great Lakes is? No offense to the GLA pilots, but comparing ASA to a small turboprop operator represented by a truckers' union is ridiculous.
 
Who represents the GLA pilots, John? Do they have a voice in Washington? Does anyone in Washington even know who Great Lakes is? No offense to the GLA pilots, but comparing ASA to a small turboprop operator represented by a truckers' union is ridiculous.

Your right, the Teamsters don't have a voice in Washington.....:rolleyes:

Since you failed that one, let's try another one. Why did Mesaba, Polar, and World get released in about half the time that ASA has been in section 6 negotiations? Something doesn't compute PCL....
 
Your right, the Teamsters don't have a voice in Washington.....:rolleyes:

The Teamsters are viewed as a bunch of radical extremists in Washington. They've never been able to recover from the stench of corruption that permeated the organization so many years ago. Not to mention the fact that the Democrats are largely beholden to the AFL-CIO which the Teamsters left high and dry without paying millions of dollars in dues that they still owe to this day.

Why did Mesaba, Polar, and World get released in about half the time that ASA has been in section 6 negotiations?

Mesaba was released because their management team made such elementary good-faith bargaining mistakes at the table with the mediator present that the NMB really had no choice but to release them.

I can't speak to World because they're not ALPA, so I wasn't really well-informed about what was going on behind the scenes there. As for Polar, their management team wasn't even fighting that release. The holding company believed that they could break the union, so putting up a big fight to keep the NMB from releasing the pilots wasn't on their agenda. ASA management is trying their best to convince the NMB to keep things going, so the NMB will go for as long as they think they can get away with it.

Something doesn't compute PCL....

John, I've been saying that about you for years. ;)
 

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