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CHQ Strike Vote: Synopsis of the issues

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Brother Francis

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 7, 2002
Posts
266
THE FOLLOWING WAS POSTED ON THE RESTRICTED TEAMSTERS MESSAGE BOARD FOR CHQ. IT WAS POSTED BY AN EXECUTIVE COUNCIL MEMBER AND IS REPRINTED HERE WITH PERMISSION

Ladies and Gentlemen:

There have been numerous threads on this issue, so please bear with me as I try to scan all of them and answer their questions on this one.

Fact 1

The company has cancelled negotiations. There is no way to make them come to negotiations and negotiate in good faith once they get there. If Mr. Bedford's letter about wanting to negotiate a fair contract for us were true, then he would not have wasted so much time and money avoiding and stalling the negotiating process. The only legal pressure we can exert on the company for them to re-engage the process is to show them the resolve of the pilot group is enormously strong, and for them to avoid the process any longer may cause them financial heart-aches if we were to strike.

Fact 2

Wexford Holdings has been trying to leverage Shuttle America against Chautauqua. By trying to force them to take lower wages than the rest of the industry they are not only lowering the industry standard, but were also hoping to use that against us in negotiations.

Why would they do that with Shuttle? Because Republic needs an operating certificate, and one with the lowest paid contract in the industry is even better for them. Remember, Bedford still answers to Wexford- the investors are his boss.

Shuttle is a TEAMSTERS represented airline though, and Wexford has openned up a whole new can of worms on this one. This will work to our benefit, but I cannot for legal reasons discuss that at this juncture.

Fact 3

While many in this industry are taking pay concessions, they are associated with troubled airlines (regional ones) which are not making the money. Chautauqua on the other hand is still making money hand over fist which only gets better with every airplane we add. Having a Delta Mainline contract would not change us from being profitable. However, Chautauqua and Republic management are playing on the problems of other airlines and trying to use those problems to make him and his investors more money.

Fact 4

XXXX XXXXXXX is supposably the new DO for Republic, yet at this juncture he has NO RESIGNATION DATE from Chautauqua, and will continue being Chautauqua's DO until he must take the position of Reublic's DO. This is smoke and mirrors to make the pilot group believe that the formation of Republicis inevitable. Someone that has been around this company for so long to leave for Republic must mean it is going to happen, right? Wrong- he hasn't left yet. This is one more way to try to force negotiations down, and to try and make the pilot group settle for substandard wages. Why would Bedford have mixed emotions, when XXXX is still working for him in the same manner? Because it was just a political statement aimed at worrying the pilot group.

Fact 5

What the union has proposed to the company HAS NOT been unreasonable. In an attempt earlier to come to terms on an agreement, we had been very forthcoming on reaching a middle road, one which both the company and pilot group could live with. This included pay, work rules, scheduling, and hours of service. However, every attempt at a middle road from the union, was met by a backwards step from the company. The company kept trying to lower the bar on the middle road, countervening anything we had accomplished on those articles up to that point. The want to see how far they can try to drive us down, and what methods it will take to accomplish that, i.e: Republic, Shuttle, other regionals in financial trouble, etc., etc.

Fact 6

The whole purpose of putting out a strike vote is an attempt at AVOIDING a strike. If the negotiating team has the support and will of the pilot group, then the threat of a strike is more powerful than you can imagine. In earlier posts, I wrote how most contracts are signed during the 30 day cooling off period. This is because, as the possible strike date nears more and more pressure is put on both sides to come to a deal. American, Delta, USAirways, and Wexford investors are going to be calling Bedford everyday to find out if their investment or product is safe. Pilots also do not want to strike, but know they must in order to protect their jobs and way of life for the future. We, as a pilot group, need to put the company on notice, that if they will not negotiate a fair and equitable contract than we will strike. The way to do this is the Strike Ballot Authorization.

Fact 7

Before we can actually strike, we must be released from the National Mediation Board. We will not be released from the Board for AT LEAST another month. From the time of being released we have a 30 day cooling off period where the company and union will still negotiate as previously mentioned above. So the actual time before a strike would be called by the union will be at least a couple months away.

Fact 8

Why are we calling for this vote now, since we could not strike for at least another couple months?

For a number of reasons.

1. The timing of Wexford's involvement of Shuttle and Republic at this stage, while neither of the companies could actually take jets on for at least 4-5 more months.

2. While we still have USAirways ALPA support, we know they are receiving pressure from the carrier. We wish to not guess how long that support will last.

3. The company cancelling negotiations and naming XXXX XXXXXXX the "new DO" for Republic.

4. The company's continuous action in past negotiations to undermine the collective bargaining process. The is by not negotiating in "good-faith". This means always changing their "FINAL" offer to something less as the process goes on, and failing to entertain any of our proposals on wages, work rules, scheduling, and training.

Your union leadership is looking to the end game- A contract or a strike. No more of the company playing with themselves and seeing how long they can drag this out for their personal financial benefit. We definitely want a contract out of this, and the only way to show that, is to show the company how much they would not like the alternative.

What are the contractual issues?

They want us take sub-standard pay, no scheduling or work rules, no retirement, 10 days off a month, Republic as a sister carrier, no-scope, and be grateful for it. They don't want to talk to us otherwise.

With this strike vote they will talk. Otherwise, the company leadership will lose all credibility in the industry, it will be their fault they piss off our code-shares and they will lose their asses on stock options which is Wayne and Bryan's money in the bank.

The company could not have picked a better time for them to cancel negotiations. We will stop Shuttle from becoming Republic, which the company planned on using as their trump card. Republic will not be able to get an Operating Certificate by October, and USAirways is going to insist on somebody flying those airplanes. By a strike vote, hopefully it will not take us to need to be released from the mediator to get a contract. Hopefully the company will realize the inevitablility of the situation they are in, and will also realize the money they will save by negotiating in good-faith and settling our issues now. Remember, Delta is also waiting in the wings to convert our options to orders as well as American now has the ability to do the same since they no longer have scope restrictions on 50 seaters.

The company has much to gain be settling our contractual issues, now we as a pilot group must show them what they stand to lose if they do not.

Struck work will not be flown by any other carrier, and the company cannot transfer flying to another company in enough time to save their asses even if they could find 700 scabs.

Now is the time brothers and sisters. I hope this explains a little better. Some details we cannot go into about specific things across the table until we have a T/A. Some other things still have legal ramifications, however I have been completely honest with you and as forthcoming as I can be.

If you have any other specific questions please call me at XXX-XXX-XXXX

Also, for those of you who have called offering help, I will get back to you soon. I have been awfully busy, but I do appreciate your help and will need it.

Fly Safe
 
Comair started the fight, Chautauqua is taking it the next step. I, as a current CHQ F.O., am only looking for parity, equality. I do not expect mainline contract or pay rates; however, I would like to be able to pay my phone bill consistently. I was with Comair during thier strike, and prior to the new pay scale, I qualified for food stamps. I think the spectrum of pay is too extreme. The "big guys" make way too much, and the "little guys" make way too little. The extremes would not matter as much if I could change jobs within the industry and maintain some sense of senority. But to start over at each new job, makes life difficult. The industry as a whole lacks leadership, morlaity, and ethical standards.
 
Comair did it!

I guess the good thing to come of all this is the fact that Comair did it so we know it can be done. I don't know the details of the strike that Comair did but obviously it paid off, literaly.

Are they the highest paid regional airline now? I haven't taken the time to compare pay rates for like equipment. I don't know if I want to be excited about all of this or apprehensive.

It does make me proud to see somebody stand up to these greedy buggers. GO GET 'EM!
 
Management's position

Company Update for May 29, 2003

Good Afternoon. In the wake of the recent press release from the IBT concerning the impending strike vote, I have received so many emails from concerned employees [mainly pilots] that I felt it would be better to address this issue in this format. Please know that I am not ignoring your individual emails, however, it is just impractical for me to respond to each individual asking the same questions.

In response to the IBT decision to take a strike vote, of course I share your disappointment. Unfortunately, this appears to be standard operating procedure in modern day contract negotiations. However routine this vote may appear on the surface, the airline can’t and won’t ignore the seriousness of such a vote. Should our pilots give the IBT a strike mandate, the company and our code share partners will be obligated to develop appropriate contingency plans. Of course it should go without saying that such contingency plans would include an abrupt halt to any expansion beyond our current levels. No one, especially our current partners, is going to take anymore Chautauqua operational exposure if there is a risk the planes won’t fly.

Regardless of the final outcome of the vote itself, I assure you we will continue to hold open negotiations with the IBT in our continuing efforts to secure a new working agreement for our flight crews. This airline is committed to paying fair wages and benefits for services rendered to all its employees, we are certainly not looking for a concessionary contract; it will provide secure and stable jobs to all its employees and work with all its people with respect. But we will not be threatened or bullied into making bad business decisions which we would all come to regret later.

I believe [rightly or wrongly perhaps], that we have been very good stewards of Chautauqua’s limited resources. Over the past 4 years, under this team’s leadership, we have created over a 1,000 new jobs, more than doubled pilot positions, more than tripled flight attendant and technician positions and have created unprecedented upgrade opportunities; all at a time of significant turmoil in this industry. I hope you consider this when making your decision.

Finally, we have seen some disturbing acts of defacing of our aircraft in the cockpit and external decals over the past week. I don’t have to remind the offending individuals that such antics are not worthy of professional airline pilots. I sincerely hope that we will not see a continuation of such unbecoming conduct in the future.

OPERATIONAL PERFORMANCE
Following is a breakout of performance by major air carrier system through 5-28:

On-Time [A’14] Completion Factor
American 83.4% 98.7%
America West 81.4% 97.3%
Delta 85.4% 99.6%
US Airways 81.4% 98.4%
System Total 83.1% 98.7%

Another solid week of performance. Many thanks and please keep up the great effort.

Following are this weeks aviation related news stories:

(remainder not relevant)
 
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Megreene..

I agree 100%. The regionally WO I fly for pays me about 25% what they pay the mainline FO's at my 5th year seniority. I fly twice as much as them, so the "you fly smaller planes, so we pay you less" excuse doesn't hold salt with me. We all need to be raising the bar as regionals being "transitory little guys on the way to the big time" is an old wives tale.

Good luck to CHQ. Don't put up with the C**P!
 
Good Luck in negotiations, we're all pulling for you.
MeGreene, I disagree with you on the issue of big guys getting paid too much. Compared with other professional positions and even mgmnt. positions, pilots are well worth this amount of money. If you argue they are paid too much, how can you argue you are worth more? Please reconsider this philosophy. It is never beneficial, and only looks caddy, to degrade someone else or their salary.
 
Wexford needs to be stopped. I will walk the line with the CHQ pilots. Send a message with your vote!
 

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