... most of us have a bad taste in our mouths over the whole RJDC thing and the not hiring of DAL guys after 9/11 with out seniority resignation. Fact is that most guys I fly with ask me this.
Because of this bad blood I do not see DAL ALPA ever putting you on the list. I agree that it is the best way to solve the outsourcing issues. Fact is that our MEC sees the DCI thing as a necessity. Why because we as DAL cannot assume the liability of all of the overhead. It is easier for us to outsource, and in fact protects the mother company from financial demise if the loans come do. I agree to some point, but the fact is that I still feel that we as a company and pilot group should do all flying. From an E-120 all the way to a 744. We can all dream. I guess I did for a second or two when Delta bought ASA in 1999. Then I woke up.
I can tell you this. These companies (DCI) are so different that mainline it is not even funny. I can say this because I have been on both sides. Fact is that the attitude that most Regional guys have would not work or fit in here. The mentality is so different.
ACL:
I'm not disagreeing with your reporting of what you see on the line. I can tell you are struggling with explaining something that just does not make sense. ASA has always been one of the most profitable airlines on the planet.
The amazing thing is that well educated pilots with experience as senior officers repeat this rhetoric with no consideration as to the actual financial mechanics of the DCI contracts, or their MEC's
sale of their scope.
The smarter (and less inhibited) foes of one list will come right out and admit that they want ALPA to negotiate higher pay for them and the rest of the pilots on smaller aircraft can be damned. At least this argument is logical.
The others lump the RJDC and Comair MEC together when in fact they took opposite positions on many issues. As one of the few who will admit to having supported the RJDC cause, I liked the idea of Delta pilots holding concurrent seniority on the ASA property because it was one big step closer to one list and one representational structure.
The RJDC was a representational fight - to get ALPA Reps at the table with the real employers at interest so they could represent their pilots. Today that has happened. SkyWest is bound by ASA's contract and Delta is bound by Comair's. Call up your former DFW Captain's Rep and ask him what role the RJDC played.
When I listen to the core concerns about outsourcing, most Delta line pilots are actually aligned with ALPA's most basic tenets of representation. The part I do not understand (and maybe someone on the board can explain to me) is why many pilots feel that Northwest deserves different representation from their union than Comair does? Logically, NWA integration is a much larger threat than ASA or Comair's staple would have been.
If it is big airplane bigotry, then it is even more illogical. Compass's E-Jets are more capable than early models of the DC9.
I think the reason why many Delta pilots have a bad taste in their mouths is because they've eaten a lot that isn't quite right on these scope issues. Somehow a group of regional pilots who never got to negotiate scope are to blame for concessionary contracts that Delta pilots ratified. It makes no sense.
I agree with you this perception exists to the extent that it is widely accepted as reality. Since you know the truth, I would encourage you to fill in the factual blanks.
As far as DCI attitudes go, you get what you manage and train. When I flew at a DCI carrier we were never told to emphasize "Safety, Efficiency and Customer Service." In fact, J Atkin sat in the crew lounge and told us "fuel is a pass through cost... we get paid for on time performance" and we got premuim pay so it was hard to argue with the guys who flew around at .82. I'm sure with good training and management attitudes can be brought up.
I've been talking up the concept of taking some form of "In Command" on the road to achieve just this sort of improvement. After all, Delta's brand is partially dependent on the service DCI provides.
You got owned because what he said about scope is right, that was my point
