Day in the life of Commutair Pilot

[CaptainCrunch]

And for the comment about flying our jets when we strike.......do not play. You wanna find out where Hoffa is? That was one of the reasons to go ALPA in the first place. So now what happens when your bosses go to you after we strike. Who will protect you if you "TRY" to say no? Ah hell you will probably jump at the chance to further your own careers at the expense of ours. Go ahead then your finally fit the true definition.

We don't want your jets. I just said that to see how you would respond. Most of us are happy flying the equipment we have. Even if you do strike our management is not the type to ask us to fly struck work. Our management however is the type that announced the company was having trouble in summer of 2001 and they would need to furlough half the pilots and then held a job fair to get all the displaced pilots jobs at other carriers. The Captains that were bumped back to FO didn't go back to FO pay but got paid in the middle of Capt and FO. That says a lot about the people in charge. The only reason COEX wants CommutAir to be ALPA is so they can have some control over what we do. You should probably focus your effort on SkyWest. They will probably be the ones who get your jet flying when you strike.

 

[Capt. Caucasian]

Anais Nin,

Apparently you are fantastically uninformed about the state of the industry, the current contract, contract 02, the company, and ALPA. I highly suggest that you call either (1) the NC, (2) the EA, (3) P2P chair, (4) anyone else at HQ, (5) Me. You can find my cell phone number on the Union board in the IAH crew room. Or listen to my voice mail message at VM#9577. Also, maybe you could talk to your own Rep. He happens to be a very good friend of mine.

Frats,
One of the Seven Dwarfs

 

[AVI1900D]

As I said in a another post, your anger at the furloughed pilots who didn't vote ALPA is a result of a post that was made on Calforums shortly after the vote. This post claimed that a majority of furloughed pilots didn't vote, which sparked severe rage amongst the CALEX pilots. I am telling you now, you need to ignore this person. He took no poll, he did no research. In fact, nobody else in the company would talk to him long enough for him to get any information. Everyone at CommutAir knows who I am talking about and could back this up.

We obviously do know since he did not post it here where names are withheld. I am one those furloughed calex guys at CA and I can tell you that it does not take a genious to put two and two together, lets do some simple math:
45 coex guys+
12 organizing members ( +/- 2 people)
= 57 votes
there where a total of 64 votes- 57 votes =7 other votes from regular CA guys. You and I both know that a lot more Commutair guys voted for ALPA than 7. I fly with them all the time.
CALALPA people where not born yesterday and I'm sure niether are you. I was there In the crewrooms and saw how the furloughees would scatter like buckshots as soon as anyone said the word ALPA. And the ALPA people saw how a starving FO would not walk into the meeting room even to grab some free food. The saw the negative response to their phone campaign. They where also aware of the few Coex pilots who were actively campaigning against ALPA. Few of my friends have even admitted not for voting. There were also the large group that were saying they did not recieve a ballot, but they did not try to call the number that was listed in the crew room. One pilot got so fedup with all the threats and BS that she quit. If you where one of the people who were on the committe in ALB, my hat is off to you bro, you guys worked hard. CLE was a different story though. Your organizing committe memebers did not even show up to the meetings and not once did I see them defend ALPA in the crew room when the ANTI-Union crowd was spreading their lies. I can gurantee that many of the comittee members did not vote for ALPA. Many were to scared to even admit that they where a member and the ones who did stated they did not give a $hit. Bottom line is that the company ran a better campaign and they are continueing it today with the Mutual Interest Committe.
They know they got lucky and they will not take another chance next year. So I hope we will use ALPA as a threat like SKYWEST and SWA do to get what we want. You can not blame this on one person. I also dont think that the way some angry Express pilots are venting here ( and rightfully so) is the official position of the union. To any Furloughed coex pilot reading this that did not vote, I would not lose sleep over this. You made a mistake fine , your friends are not going to turn you in. Just learn a lesson and Wear your **CENSORED****CENSORED****CENSORED****CENSORED** ALPA PIN like the rest of us to show that you are proud. To all my Commutair bros, lets leave the past in the past and work together to raise the bar. We can still fly as professionals even if we have a difference of opinion.

 

[BeechSlapped]

there where a total of 64 votes- 57 votes =7 other votes from regular CA guys. You and I both know that a lot more Commutair guys voted for ALPA than 7. I fly with them all the time.

This is very true. As I said previously, I know the names of a few COEX people who didn't vote. But you're holding the whole group responsible for the actions of a few.

I was there In the crewrooms and saw how the furloughees would scatter like buckshots as soon as anyone said the word ALPA. And the ALPA people saw how a starving FO would not walk into the meeting room even to grab some free food. The saw the negative response to their phone campaign.

Have you ever heard the old phrase "It's not what you say, it's how you say it"? Cornering someone in the trailer is not how you go about getting a positive response. I was on the organizing committee and I wanted ALPA as much as the next guy, however I refused to push and push until the person not only resented me, but ALPA as well. There is a limit to how much people can take before not wanting anything to do with the whole campaign.

CLE was a different story though. Your organizing committe memebers did not even show up to the meetings and not once did I see them defend ALPA in the crew room when the ANTI-Union crowd was spreading their lies. I can gurantee that many of the comittee members did not vote for ALPA.

You're entitled to your opinion, but please don't go spewing this garbage. So how can you "guarantee" that many of us didn't vote? You need to remember that this whole organizing effort was put into motion many months before you even knew what CommutAir was. So, please don't accuse us of not putting an effort into this just because you walked in at the tail end of the organizing effort. In regard to the meetings, the problem wasn't the lack of attendance from the committee, but from the pilots themselves. Many times, we would only see a handfull show up. Even then it was just for the free food.

My job was to disseminate information so the pilots could make an informed decision. But there is a fine line between giving information when it is requested and cramming down one's throat until they loathe your existance at the end of a 4-day. If this Mutual Interest Committee works, fine. If not, I hope we will try to organize again next year. And AVI1900D, I hope you will be on the committee so you can see what I am talking about. Good day sir.

 

[AVI1900D]

Beechslapped,
I do admit that you guys had your work cut out for you. You did not have to cram information down anyone’s throats, there are other means of communication i.e. rumor control news letters like calalpa has. Or something like the truth squad calalpa had. Blaming each other and using divide and conquer methods is what the company used very well against us. Lets not give them the satisfaction. As far as the association goes I hope some of the more senior people such as yourself step up and take charge otherwise some of these people who have been nominated will go up to PLB and give the house away. We need more than just scheduling and longevity pay. We need the whole &amn enchilada. Duty rigs, 7days of vacation (per year), deadhead pay, moving expenses etc…etc…Like I say its all water under the bridge. Can’t we all just get along.!!!!!!

 

[NEDude]

While we're on the subject of how things happened here, there were a lot of "helpful" comments made from the Coex group that scared a lot people off. One of the Coex ALPA representatives made not so veiled threats at one of the meetings that cost us several votes (ie "It would be a shame if you couldn't jumpseat on us anymore" - real class there). The Coex crews that talked with us about a flow-through to Coex, which many of see as an insult. And nobody could figure out why the Coex crews were SO interested in us going ALPA - it scared a lot of people away for fear of some hidden agenda.

Again, this vote was about the Commutair pilots, and the Commutair pilots only, nobody else.

 

[mckpickle]

While we're on the subject of how things happened here, there were a lot of "helpful" comments made from the Coex group that scared a lot people off. One of the Coex ALPA representatives made not so veiled threats at one of the meetings that cost us several votes (ie "It would be a shame if you couldn't jumpseat on us anymore" - real class there). The Coex crews that talked with us about a flow-through to Coex, which many of see as an insult. And nobody could figure out why the Coex crews were SO interested in us going ALPA - it scared a lot of people away for fear of some hidden agenda.

Again, this vote was about the Commutair pilots, and the Commutair pilots only, nobody else.

To threaten the Jumpseat was pretty Gay, but I keep hearing these rumors of a COEX to CA flowthrough. I'm not sure where you got this but it did not come from our union.

I think the main reason that WE were interested was so the two pilot groups would have a way to communicate with each other. As it stands there realy isn't that in place now.

You do have to admitt that the COEX, CA pilots, who did not support this spit in the face of the very people that helped them get jobs again.

 

[BeechSlapped]

AVI1900D,


You're certainly correct in that the Mutual Interest Committee will have its hands full in trying to make some changes. Even though nothing that is agreed to is legally enforcable, I guess it will be a start. The idea of looking at SkyWest's agreement is a good one. They are good example of an airline that seems to be doing fine without representation.


To ALL COEX pilots in CLE:

I want to apologize in advance for something that will be happening in the coming weeks. Apparently the City of Cleveland thinks our trailer detracts from the "beauty" of the rest of the city, so they are forcing us out of it. We are being shoved into the hallway behind the monitors at the top of the escalator in D Concourse. The stink of it is that they will be blocking access to this room from the terminal (from the coded door) except for CommutAir pilots. We realize that this is a high-traffic area and that everyone will be inconvenienced by having to take the elevator from the connector level into the "fishbowl" and begging to be let into ops (if you don't have a swipe card). We at CommutAir just want you to realize that this was neither the pilots' decision nor our management's. We like being in the trailer (as strange as that sounds) and we hate the thought of moving. So, maybe if enough of you complain about this, we can get it changed. Honestly, we thought that they were joking when they first brought it up. I don't know exactly when this will take place, but it will be probably sooner than later.

BeechSlapped

 

[NEDude]

Yeah, apparently the trailer on the north side of the D25 pier is an eyesore, but the dumpsters on the south side aren't. Maybe we need to throw a bunch of garbage around and the city will be okay.

I like the trailer, but I'd rather have a double wide. A couple of rusted out cars up on blocks and some old couches sitting outside and we'd have the perfect setup.

Yeah, the new "crew-room" sucks. Nobody likes the idea. Coex guys, PLEASE complain about this. If everyone does, maybe we can get this changed.

 

[mckpickle]

Yeah, the new "crew-room" sucks. Nobody likes the idea. Coex guys, PLEASE complain about this. If everyone does, maybe we can get this changed.

I'm not trying to be a jerk here but you do see the irony of this right?

If we complain about this it will actually be our union that is going to effect any change.

 

[FSB99]

so true, mcpick... so true.
guess we should get used to CA riding on our efforts.

 

[BeechSlapped]

guess we should get used to CA riding on our efforts

I don't think we're "riding" on you to do anything. This new setup will invonvenience you guys more than it will us. If you can live with it, so can we. The only reason I posted this was because I wanted to clear up any misconceptions as to who's decision it was to move. Unfortunately, the timing of this couldn't be worse as it will be symbolically pouring gas on an already raging fire. You must admit that when this news starts to spread, it will change completely from person to person and by the time you would have heard it, it would have been more along the lines of "those d@mn CommutAir SCABS are blocking us out of our own crew room!" You know how stories change when emotion is involved.

CommutAir, the company everyone loves to hate.

BeechSlapped

 

[Company Man]

I keep hearing these rumors of a COEX to CA flowthrough. I'm not sure where you got this but it did not come from our union.

McPickle

The suggustion of a flowthrough was brought up by YOUR union's Executive Administrator.

It was at an ALPA road show in PLB (coincided with the first class of furloughed COex pilots).

Mr "L." asked the 3-4 regular CommutAir guys that were there how we would feel about a flowthrough to Expressjet. This was in response to the question how will the relationship between COex and CommutAir change if ALPA was voted in.

When asked what would happen if it wasn't voted in the infamous "it would be a real shame if you couldn't jumpseat on us anymore" came from

 

[NEDude]

I'm not trying to be a jerk here but you do see the irony of this right? If we complain about this it will actually be our union that is going to effect any change.

so true, mcpick... so true. guess we should get used to CA riding on our efforts.

Nobody is asking you to do it all. As mentioned, this will be a major inconvienience to you. We are doing our part from our end, all we are asking is if you don't like this either, then do you part from your end.

You guys really need to get off your high horse. You are no where near as great as you obviously think you are. Statements like these reinforce your image as spoiled, whiny brats.