Problem...
Here's the big problem that I see. The guy that said that SKYW will refuse to fly struck work...yes, most of you will (hopefully) but will everyone? No.
See, it shouldn't even be an option; I love how any time ANYONE mentions the 50/70/90 seat rate, the first thing I hear is "Look at my W2! Look at my W2! It's bigger than yours!" "It doesn't matter because my 50 seat rate is better than your 70/90 seat rate." Where does the lunacy end? What if management came to you and said "Umm...yeah. We're extending the 50 seat rate to 137 seats, and 737's are coming on the property! Isn't that great?" That, or the "Well, the same rate was only supposed to be for 18 months." How long ago was that 18 months? And you're telling me no one thought that negotiating those rates to 99 seats GUARANTEED that you WOULDN'T get anything larger than 70 seats?
If you can forgive all of this -- the blended rate, management's empty promises...the one thing that can't be forgiven is the "Will not fly struck work" clause that exists in 99% of the union airline contracts out there. Delta isn't stupid - they've been down this road with regional labor before. This is an honest question -- how much overlap between the SKYW delta flying and ASA delta flying is there? If there is none, then the issue is pretty clear cut. It's easy to separate who does what and what "struck work" is, and what isn't. It shouldn't even have to go this far, though. Right now, with no union, there is absolutely nothing but morals and ethics that dictate not flying struck work. And, worse than that, if a SKYW pilot refuses the route, there's no union mechanism in place to get his job back.
Hmm...get fired or fly the route? Technically SKYW isn't even union busting, because there is no union!
I often think that SKYW's place as the "most favored regional partner" is often due to the non-union status, especially after what happened with Comair in 2000.
Look, this isn't an attack on Skywest. I have friends there, many whom have been through several other failed airlines, and it does seem like a good place to work. Like it or not, though, this lack of union representation is really going to bite someone, and I think it's going to happen soon.
For heaven's sake, though, stop with the W2 comments. It's embarrassing. Just admit what happened - management made an 18 month promise and they broke it. Wow - your group is not the first nor will it be the last to be promised something and not see it come true. Is anyone at SKYW pursuing the 18 month thing from a legal standpoint? Or was it just some sort of "verbal" or "gentleman's" agreement? I ask because I really don't know.
Take care,
-brew3