Call it common sense, Fins. We should have had and economic analysis it is true, but where would we get it? And please, don't tell me Herndon.
We know the current state of the industry, it is not a secret. We know that Delta owns our company and that they are losing lots of money. We know that they have a huge debt and poor credit. This has nothing to do with Comair's "profitability" whether real or ficticious.
We also knew that our contract contained no job security and its no-furlough caluse, insignificant as it really is, failed to protect more than 1/3 of our pilots even in that minimal way.
Since we are not independent, to get more airplanes means Delta has to get them from somewhere. Ever since Comair was purchased by Delta, Comair can no longer buy its own airplanes and you know that as well as I do. Although we know that this pay freeze will not produce the money to buy even one airplane, we also know that Delta can decide where any airplanes it buys might go, and there are many takers available with a decided labor cost advantage.
Sixty one percent of us are apparently smart enough to realize that we are not immune from the world in which we live. Comair is not an island and, like it or not, as long as we are owned by Delta, whatever happens to Delta affects Comair directly. So does whatever Delta Air Lines decides to do with its airplanes.
There are a great many other factors in the industry that also affect Comair and the cost of our operation. Most of them are beyond the ability of Comair pilots to control. We cannot ignore these realities either. We must keep those costs that we can under control if we expect to be competitive with others, whether we grow or whether we don't. If we fail to do so we will eventually cease to be players in this game. That would not benefit any of us.
Many blame the ambitions of our junior pilots for this decision but I do not. There just aren't enough of them to make this happen without the support of many of our more senior pilots. While it is true that many of the newer pilots were not here during the strike, I do not see them as anything other than Comair pilots. The strike was over 4 years ago. It is history. The concerns, needs and wants of post-strike pilots are as much a part of our being as those of any pre-strike Comair pilot. Back during that disaster, we also had "junior" pilots and they stood together with the senior pilots, solid as a rock. Eighty-six of them even lost their jobs for a time. But, they did not let us down. And the rest of us did not let them down either, we brought them back.
Today, our junior pilots need opportunities and advancement of the same type that the rest of us have enjoyed. and it is the turn of the more senior to stand with them and do what we can to see that they get it. We have done just that and when it is time, they too will stand with the more senior to ensure the welfare of the whole.
Yes, this decision will result in growth but that is not the principle reason why I support it. Growth, without job security, can come or go overnight. Comair pilots had no job security whatever in their contract. Now that the LOA has been approved, we have achieved the best job security possible and also some growth.
Granted, the security provisions do not last forever; nothing does. However, they are extremeley important at this time to every one of us. We got it and the cost was in fact minimal. Yes, there's a price but IMO, it was well worth it. The kind of security we got is a lot better than a scope clause. Fifteen contractual pages of scope clause, often do little more than look good. This is in three paragraphs and, I think, better than all the legalese. Is it perfect? No, it is not. Nevertheless, this is a win/win deal.
The 40% who apparently didn't see that have made an error. Of course I have no idea who voted yes or who voted no and I really don't care. What is important is that the majority did see the light and did what needed to be done at this time. There will be another day when our own "bar" can be reset. We at least now know that those of us who want to will still be here to do it for ourselves when that time comes.
Meanwhile, we have undercut no one in any category of pay rates for similar equipment and we have done absolutely nothing that prevents anyone from improving on what we have or they have in any way that they see fit. We have not given up a single part of our contract other than the pay freeze and the amendable date. In fact we've actually improved some small parts of the remainder.
In my view this was not a decision about pride, ego, politics or emotions. It was a business decision and one that needed to be made now. Twice before Comair pilots have made the mistake of not adequately protecting the security of their jobs. This time we didn't and I remain convinced that it was the right thing to do.
I'm truly sorry that you don't seem to understand our thinking. We have not abandoned ASA and we have not "stabbed you in the back". That's an emotional exaggeration. We still support your efforts to improve your own contract just as we did before. Whenever you make your own decision our support will be there. You have not been undermined or prevented from doing anything you want to do, even if we disagree on this issue.
You must try to comprehend that supporting you and your effort does not mean that we can make decisions for you, nor that you can make them for us. Regardless of the level of support, your decisions have always been your own and ours have always been our own. Nothing has changed.
Best regards.
We know the current state of the industry, it is not a secret. We know that Delta owns our company and that they are losing lots of money. We know that they have a huge debt and poor credit. This has nothing to do with Comair's "profitability" whether real or ficticious.
We also knew that our contract contained no job security and its no-furlough caluse, insignificant as it really is, failed to protect more than 1/3 of our pilots even in that minimal way.
Since we are not independent, to get more airplanes means Delta has to get them from somewhere. Ever since Comair was purchased by Delta, Comair can no longer buy its own airplanes and you know that as well as I do. Although we know that this pay freeze will not produce the money to buy even one airplane, we also know that Delta can decide where any airplanes it buys might go, and there are many takers available with a decided labor cost advantage.
Sixty one percent of us are apparently smart enough to realize that we are not immune from the world in which we live. Comair is not an island and, like it or not, as long as we are owned by Delta, whatever happens to Delta affects Comair directly. So does whatever Delta Air Lines decides to do with its airplanes.
There are a great many other factors in the industry that also affect Comair and the cost of our operation. Most of them are beyond the ability of Comair pilots to control. We cannot ignore these realities either. We must keep those costs that we can under control if we expect to be competitive with others, whether we grow or whether we don't. If we fail to do so we will eventually cease to be players in this game. That would not benefit any of us.
Many blame the ambitions of our junior pilots for this decision but I do not. There just aren't enough of them to make this happen without the support of many of our more senior pilots. While it is true that many of the newer pilots were not here during the strike, I do not see them as anything other than Comair pilots. The strike was over 4 years ago. It is history. The concerns, needs and wants of post-strike pilots are as much a part of our being as those of any pre-strike Comair pilot. Back during that disaster, we also had "junior" pilots and they stood together with the senior pilots, solid as a rock. Eighty-six of them even lost their jobs for a time. But, they did not let us down. And the rest of us did not let them down either, we brought them back.
Today, our junior pilots need opportunities and advancement of the same type that the rest of us have enjoyed. and it is the turn of the more senior to stand with them and do what we can to see that they get it. We have done just that and when it is time, they too will stand with the more senior to ensure the welfare of the whole.
Yes, this decision will result in growth but that is not the principle reason why I support it. Growth, without job security, can come or go overnight. Comair pilots had no job security whatever in their contract. Now that the LOA has been approved, we have achieved the best job security possible and also some growth.
Granted, the security provisions do not last forever; nothing does. However, they are extremeley important at this time to every one of us. We got it and the cost was in fact minimal. Yes, there's a price but IMO, it was well worth it. The kind of security we got is a lot better than a scope clause. Fifteen contractual pages of scope clause, often do little more than look good. This is in three paragraphs and, I think, better than all the legalese. Is it perfect? No, it is not. Nevertheless, this is a win/win deal.
The 40% who apparently didn't see that have made an error. Of course I have no idea who voted yes or who voted no and I really don't care. What is important is that the majority did see the light and did what needed to be done at this time. There will be another day when our own "bar" can be reset. We at least now know that those of us who want to will still be here to do it for ourselves when that time comes.
Meanwhile, we have undercut no one in any category of pay rates for similar equipment and we have done absolutely nothing that prevents anyone from improving on what we have or they have in any way that they see fit. We have not given up a single part of our contract other than the pay freeze and the amendable date. In fact we've actually improved some small parts of the remainder.
In my view this was not a decision about pride, ego, politics or emotions. It was a business decision and one that needed to be made now. Twice before Comair pilots have made the mistake of not adequately protecting the security of their jobs. This time we didn't and I remain convinced that it was the right thing to do.
I'm truly sorry that you don't seem to understand our thinking. We have not abandoned ASA and we have not "stabbed you in the back". That's an emotional exaggeration. We still support your efforts to improve your own contract just as we did before. Whenever you make your own decision our support will be there. You have not been undermined or prevented from doing anything you want to do, even if we disagree on this issue.
You must try to comprehend that supporting you and your effort does not mean that we can make decisions for you, nor that you can make them for us. Regardless of the level of support, your decisions have always been your own and ours have always been our own. Nothing has changed.
Best regards.
