Comair's got a T.A.

[Troy208]

Just heard it on the Vars from J.C. No cuts until March. Details to follow

 

[spinproof]

Comair and Pilots Union Reach Agreement

Feb 13 2:20 AM US/Eastern

By LISA CORNWELL
Associated Press Writer


CINCINNATI (AP) -- Comair and the union representing its pilots reached a tentative agreement Tuesday, forestalling a plan by the regional airline to impose wage cuts and other concessions.
The company has agreed to delay implementation of the concessions unless the agreement is not ratified by March 4, Comair spokeswoman Kate Marx said.

The proposal must now be reviewed by union leadership before going before the 1,500-member union for a vote, said Air Line Pilots Association union spokesman Paul Denke.

"The tentative letter of agreement is a significant development for Comair and its employees, who have struggled with the difficult sacrifices of restructuring for 15 months," Marx said in a statement.

Neither Comair nor the union were releasing details of the proposal.
"It's the best we could do given the situation and circumstances," Denke said.
He said the agreement was reached at about 12:20 a.m.

The Erlanger, Ky.-based Comair, near the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, was planning to impose $15.8 million in concessions at 11:59 p.m. Monday if an agreement was not reached. The Monday deadline had been extended from an 11:59 p.m. Friday deadline after the union presented Comair with a new proposal just hours before time ran out. Comair had said it extended the deadline through the weekend to give the airline time to evaluate the proposal.

Comair, a Delta Air Lines Inc. subsidiary, has said that the pilot concessions are necessary to its restructuring plan to save $70 million annually. Comair, along with its Atlanta-based parent, filed for bankruptcy in September 2005.
The regional carrier previously had an agreement with its pilots for $17.3 million in annual cuts over the next four years. But the deal was contingent on Comair getting a certain level of savings from its flight attendants and mechanics unions.

Because the flight attendants approved a deal in November to cut annual costs by $7.9 million, $1 million less than originally required, the airline had to negotiate new deals with the machinists and pilots. The machinists agreed to a modified deal, but the pilots did not.
Although the two sides continued to negotiate into last week, pilots had authorized their union leaders in early December to call a strike if concessions were imposed.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Adlai Hardin on Dec. 21 ruled that the regional airline could impose those concessions if no agreement was reached, prompting the airline to ask that he block any strike by the pilots. Hardin granted that request last Wednesday.

Comair operates 795 flights daily to about 100 cities in North America.
___ Comair: http://www.comair.com Air Line Pilots Association: http://www.alpa.org

 

[ASARJMan]

Today's Cinn Enquirer:

Comair, pilots strike deal
Details of tentative agreement not released
BY ALEXANDER COOLIDGE

20 minutes after an extended truce was set to expire, bankrupt Comair and its pilots union reached a tentative agreement early this morning to cut pilot pay.
Neither side released details of the proposal.
J.C. Lawson, chairman of the pilots union, said the union's negotiating committee reached the agreement with the company, but declined to provide other details, including when a potential vote to ratiify the agreement might take place.

"Under the circumstances, this is the most positive outcome," he said.
Comair spokeswoman Kate Marx said both sides have agreed once again to extend this "status quo" truce until March 4. She said the union has until that date to ratify the pact. The company has agreed not to impose court-approved cuts.
"The tentative letter of agreement is a significant development for Comair and its employees, who have struggled with difficult sacrifices during restructuring," said Marx.
The potential breakthrough follows 15 months of on-again, off-again negotiations and brinkmanship.
The latest development comes after Comair delayed for 72 hours implementing $15.8 million worth of court-authorized reductions to pilot costs on Friday night after the union made a new offer.
</B>
Both sides called the original truce in late December to avoid a showdown over New Year’s Eve, but since then, the pilots union’s bargaining position has been eroded by a judge’s order forbidding a strike.
While the 1,600-member union is appealing the decision, Comair has the ability to impose previously approved austerity measures without fear of labor disruptions.
</B>
Had Comair authorized cuts, the average Comair pilot would have seen his pay cut to $53,600 per year – about $6,000 less than before, according to Comair says. The range of pay – depending on pilot seniority, duties and the size of aircraft they operate – would have shrunk to between $20,160 and $92,750, from $22,500 and $108,600.
The cuts would have stayed in place until a new contract was negotiated or mediation was exhausted at the Delta Air Lines subsidiary. While potentially several more months of new negotiations would have begun after imposing, Comair with interim cost cuts would be poised to leave bankruptcy.
Company officials have said they are running out of time to reduce expenses. The pilots are the only employee group that has not taken a pay cut since the airline filed for Chapter 11 in September 2005.

 

[9rj9]

...

What do ya want to bet JC hooked you guys up with a 6 year terd of a contract, the top 10% take a 5% pay cut, bottom 49% take a 30% pay cut. Now the company doesn't have to worry about section 6 negotiations/ strike when they exit bankruptcy.

 

[wanagethi]

This should be very interesting, I just can't imagine that JC could have improved the terms very much at all

 

[eaglefly]

Yup.

Done deal.

Get ready to bend over.

Oh, don't forget the management bonuses after BK exit, for the fine job in "managing costs" (boning the pilots).

Managment will get to skim part of your givbacks as their reward for skimming you.

Oh, well, the Comiar sleighride had to end sooner or later.

 

[rightseatjocky]

Which schmuck is going to get a bonus for this one? dang CEO's will get something for this, mark my words.

 

[FmrFreightDog]

Comair does have membership ratification, right?

 

[goahead]

Good luck guys, Hopefully we can give you your 70's back now since I'm sure we'll be the over paid ones in this marriage.

 

[FlyingSig]

Comair does have membership ratification, right?

The fact that JC is still in office after all these years shows that they're a bigger follow-the-leader pilot group then even Delta pilots.... TA will pass no problem because of this.

 

[ASACRJFlyer]

Here we go...

Guys , I know it's easy for me to sit here at ASA where my job isn't being threatened (yet!) and armchair quarterback, but if this TA takes you to the bottom of the regional payscale, tell them to stuff it. Now that airlines are hurting for pilots, if you sign a crap contract, you won't be able to attract pilots and Comair will die anyway. ASA is in the same boat right now, after 4 years of negotiations, people have correctly figured out that it makes NO sense to go to ASA when other airlines with faster upgrades and better QOL are HURTING for pilots. Why would a new hire choose to go to Comair with a freshly signed crap contract or ASA with an 8 year old crap contract, both with 4+ year upgrade times, when they can go to SkyWest, ExpressJet, CHQ, ect. and have a better QOL and a 2 year upgrade? I know I won't be the one on the street if no deal is made but would it really be worth it to keep Comair alive if it was only to become the next Mesa? And oh, by the way, their contract is amendable very shortly so they may actually end up better off than Comair if this TA stinks as bad as I imagine it's going to... Just my 2 cents...

 

[scott hall]

I can't wait for the ASA pilots to see the terms of this deal. Maybe then they will realize they need to "get real" and take what we are offering to be competitive with the rest of the industry. And then I should get a nice modest bonus for my efforts

 

[Mojo Risen]

Interviewed and waiting for the call

I recently interviewed and am waiting for the call. I asked them about the cuts, and the 15 planes sent to SKwest. Hr said no problem, and the Captain just looked at me and said nothing. So I go or should I let the door hit me in the ass on the way out?

 

[DrewBlows]

It's premature to comment on the TA since it hasn't even been released yet. Seriously, I'm sure that you guys who don't work at Comair have good intentions, but it's really not appropriate to comment when you don't even know what the TA says.

Maybe we're all getting a 10% raise and the company will say "sorry, practical joke gone bad, can you forgive us?". That's possible, right?

Or maybe it's a piece of poo, and we'll vote it down.

 

[hockeypilot44]

Same old story. This reminds me of Mesaba a few months ago. We will never strike. Management knows this. They call our bluff and block it in the courts. Until a pilot group actually strikes and defies a judge, we have no negotiating power and the airline knows that. We always end up bending over and agreeing to a disgraceful paycut. Inflation does not go backwards so neither should any of our paychecks. Pilots are the dumbest ********************ing professionals on the planet. You talk about a pilot shortage coming up. There's no shortage. The regionals will just low the minimums to about 300 hours total time. That is what they did before 2001. Why would this time be any different? Then they will put out articles saying how now is a good time to get into aviation, and people will switch careers. One thing these companies will not do is raise the pay. This industry sucks.

 

[DrewBlows]

I recently interviewed and am waiting for the call. I asked them about the cuts, and the 15 planes sent to SKwest. Hr said no problem, and the Captain just looked at me and said nothing. So I go or should I let the door hit me in the ass on the way out?

I just talked to a friend who interviewed. He said they told him Comair was getting -900s. In my opinion, it's disingenuous to tell new hires that, as that information is unknowable except for the executives who make those decisions at Delta, and I don't think they are sharing that information with Comair HR. Comair may or may not get more airplanes, but you can't say everything will be rosy when you just don't know.

 

[JonnyKnoxville]

It seems to me that an agreement would be in effect for say four years with four more years of negotiating for a new contract. Whereas voting down this TA would lead us to similiar concessions that we can begin fighting against as soon as we exit bankruptcy. Looking at maybe four years after bankruptcy versus eight years on a b.s. contract. Am I wrong on this one? What am I missing? Who would vote for this piece of sh*t anyway. Concessions when we made money... WTF!!!!

 

[JonnyKnoxville]

I recently interviewed and am waiting for the call. I asked them about the cuts, and the 15 planes sent to SKwest. Hr said no problem, and the Captain just looked at me and said nothing. So I go or should I let the door hit me in the ass on the way out?

Take the job while immediately trying to get a job at Skywest or Chatauqua. Whatever you do, do not stay at Comair unless you will like living on food stamps with no option of upgrading.

 

[michael707767]

I just talked to a friend who interviewed. He said they told him Comair was getting -900s.

on the other hand, I could see Comair dangling some -900s in front of them if they take concessions.

 

[JonnyKnoxville]

on the other hand, I could see Comair dangling some -900s in front of them if they take concessions.

No need to dangle anything in front of us. They have federal law backing them to force concessions. We WILL be taking concessions one way or another thanks to the bankruptcy judge.

Maybe managements only incentive to come to an agreement with us is to prolong our concessions and prevent us from fighting back when Delta exits bankruptcy in a few months. Either that or labor groups under concessionary contracts are a requirement dictated from the buyer of Comair.