Comair LEC Elections

[F/O Forever]

Everybody at Comair,

The last Captain that I flew with told me that only a fraction of the eligible voters cast a ballot in the recent Comair LEC nominations. (He said something like only 10% voted) The final vote should be soon, and I guess we'll get something in the mail from ALPA with the voting info.

I can't believe so few people bothered to get involved. As pilots, we tend to have "driver" type personalities. We are do-ers. Think about it. Would you rather be flying the plane or be sitting in 8B? Of course you'd rather be flying the thing yourself. If you don't take the time to get educated and vote, your sitting in 8B, and giving up the controls on your future.

People, this is our career we're talking about here. Educate yourselves on the candidates and get involved...and cast a vote...make an informed decision. It seems like none of the FO's here care about any of this stuff. Well, I do and I'm ashamed to say I didn't bother to cast a ballot in the nominations, but I'm definitely gonna vote.

Somebody on the crew van tonight was talking about some internet chat room where some of the candidates were gonna be talking, does anybody have the link so I can figure out who's who??

Thanks,

F/O Forever

 

[FurloughedAgain]

Good post.

F/O Forever,

Good post! I am extremely pleased to see our first officers taking ownership of their careers.

Check your PM's. I just sent you the link to tonights chat with the candidates. Let's not post the link on this message board though. If we post it here a lot of curious types might show up. This is a Comair election, lets make sure that the Comair pilots vote is not influenced by pilots from other airlines.

You bring up an excellent point. As pilots we are all, naturally, leaders and leaders-in-training. We all have that "type-A" personality and want to take control of our lives and our careers. So you're right, it IS extremely strange that we're so apathetic when it comes to who we choose to represent us.

I'll say this for Comair though -- I think we have some outstanding candidates this time around. Every one of them has experience doing ALPA volunteer work in some capacity. There are Comair lifers, furloughees from other carriers, and committee volunteers who are ALL passionate about the well-being of the pilot group. I think we'll be in good hands regardless of who wins.

That being said, i believe that we all need to take the time to talk with the candidates and find out where they stand on the issues that are important to us. And then, quite simply, VOTE.

ALPA makes the voting process very simple. There's really no excuse for less than a 90% return. After all... as F/O Forever implied, if #2 is on fire, and we're inverted, and you spill your coffee.... you dont stop flying the airplane do you?

So why let a vocal minority decide who will represent your interests?

 

[Treme]

Just left the chat. Just 7 or 8 people there, but they had some tough questions for the candidates. Lasted a little over a half hour.

One F/O candidate and one Captain candidate there. They were asked about concessions, bankruptcy, furloughs, jets for jobs, past experience, last years recall effort by some of the other candidates on that website.

Was surprised how few people were there.

 

[KingAirKiddo]

Everybody at Comair,


I can't believe so few people bothered to get involved. As pilots, we tend to have "driver" type personalities. We are do-ers. Think about it. Would you rather be flying the plane or be sitting in 8B? Of course you'd rather be flying the thing yourself. If you don't take the time to get educated and vote, your sitting in 8B, and giving up the controls on your future.


Thanks,

F/O Forever

Rode my share of 8B this week as skeds DH'ed me all over the country to cover trips...gotta say that it's kind of nice to ride around in the back and get paid for it

In all seriousness, though, I think we are in the midst of some of the most trying times that we will face as a pilot group and agree with you that we owe it to our families and each other to choose our representation wisely and become informed.

 

[DDpaysoff]

Whoever voted to have this 'conference' during game 7 of the NLCS I am voting against.

 

[F/O Forever]

Furloughed Again,

thanks for the PM with the link to the chat. Unfortunately, I didn't get your email until the chat was over. Their website says there will be another chat next week..I'll try to make it to that one.

F/O Forever

 

[FurloughedAgain]

It's Your Career - It Needs a Captain.

F/OForever,

There will be another scheduled chat on Thursday evening. Please try to pass the word to all of the Comair crews you know.

In order to access the chat, simply go to the web address printed on the flyers that were put in your v-files and on the walls in the crew facility.

(if you still dont know the web address, feel free to PM me and i'll send it to you)

Once you're on the home page, click "Pilot-to-Pilot Chat" on the left hand side of the screen.

Once the chatroom loads, type your name into USERNAME and click LOGIN.

That's all there is to it! But remember, this chat is sponsered by only 4 of the candidates. There are 4 other candidates running.

The elections are just a few weeks away. This is a terrific opportunity to sit down and ask questions of some of the candidates.

Who are they?
What is their background?
What made them decide to run?
What would make them a good status rep?
What is their opinion on (insert your area of concern here)?

As a group we are entering one of the most challenging periods in our collective history. We will soon be faced with a barrage of attacks on our contract, our compensation, our lifestyles, and even our own job security. Fighting to defend ourselves against these attacks will be difficult. An apathetic, fragmented, group will no-doubt fail.

Even though we will face these challenges as a group, our individual concerns vary widely. There are pilots who are concerned about maintaining their current rates of pay. Still others are worried about our work-rules, vacation, sick accrual, and retirement. We have pilots who fear a transfer or outright sale of aircraft. And those same pilots might be worried about taking a 100% concession -- furlough. We have junior captains worried about being downgraded, and lineholders worried about falling back onto reserve. Some are concerned about bankruptcy and what the courts might do to our working agreement. And some are worried about Jets-4-jobs and its impact on our pilot group and our moral. Some are just worried about making ends meet -- paying the mortgage -- feeding the kids...

The right engine oil pressure is dropping and the weather looks pretty lousy up ahead. This is no time to be a passenger. It's your career and it needs a Captain. Take the time to educate yourself and VOTE.

F/Os -- dont forget, you can vote for your Captain reps.
Captains -- dont forget, you can vote for your F/O reps.

Find out who is running. Educate yourself. and, most importantly, VOTE.

During the nomination process only a few hundred people submitted ballots. Do you really want 10% of the pilot group to determine your representation?

It's Your Career -- It Needs A Captain.

 

[FurloughedAgain]

Comair preparing
Cincinnati Enquirer 10/27/04

The court's control would extend to Comair, which Delta bought for $1.91 billion in 2000, if Delta included it in the bankruptcy.

Comair officials would not comment on the chance of the company being included under Chapter 11. "As any prudent business would do, we are preparing for any contingency," spokesman Nick Miller said.

Union officials did not return phone calls seeking comment.

Late last year, Comair management asked its pilots and flight attendants, both the highest paid in the regional airline industry, for concessions. In return, Delta would guarantee that Comair would get new planes and new routes.

But the pilots union, which went on strike for 89 days in the spring of 2001, said no. As a result, Comair is not scheduled to expand its fleet next year.

Comair, the nation's third-largest regional airline, made a $23.1 million operating profit in the second quarter of 2004, Transportation Department statistics show

 

[FurloughedAgain]

Delta in last-ditch effort to avoid bankruptcy

Associated Press

ATLANTA - Delta Air Lines was engaged in a last-ditch effort this afternoon to avoid a bankruptcy filing that could come later in the day.

Atlanta-based Delta was hoping to reach a deal with its pilots for one-(b)billion-dollars in concessions.

The nation's third-largest carrier was expected to decide by today whether to seek Chapter Eleven bankruptcy protection.

But that could be delayed if the airline and pilots strike a deal.

Intense negotiations were still going on past 6 p.m..

Yesterday was Delta's self-imposed deadline for debtholders to respond early to an exchange offer meant to give the airline breathing room.

The deadline came and went without any word from Delta on its progress.

Delta has warned that its massive debts could still force it into bankruptcy, even if its unions agree to big concessions.

The pilots have publicly offered up to 705-(m)million-dollars in savings and have NOT released details of subsequent offers.

 

[DDpaysoff]

Anybody know what time the conference is tonight?