ExpressJet Pilots Reach Tentative Agreement

[BoilerUP]

While I agree some have been a little quick to say they would vote yes, a greater number have been just as quick to say they'll vote no. I can't believe pilots would insinuate another pilot would SCAB just because they want to vote in the contract. I have no doubts XJT pilots will get the TA, read the fine print and decide for themselves if a YES or NO vote is in the best interest of them, their families and their pilot group.

But I don't know much, so I'll leave ya'll to your "one big happy family" disagreement here.

Congrats on the TA again - it may not be all that you wanted, but hopefully it will satisfy everyone's needs and most people's desires.

 

[Mikes Apartment]

General:


These big round thick a$$ vessels run over the sky so deep.... it be crying. We'll be laying the cut straight, sitting on our a$$es...getting our drink on and our snack on....while we floss and fly these mo-fos all over dis bit@h.

For anyone who cares, the pilots at ExpressJet will read the TA and carefully consider all options before voting Yes or No.

 

[BluDevAv8r]

Neal,
Are the road shows sunday/monday gonna be the only ones. I'm on vacation right now, so don't know if I'll make it back in time but I guess I better if I'm gonna best understand this thing.

nimtz,

We are doing 5 days of hotel presentations (2 presentations per day) this week, then the ALPA BOD in FL, then another 6 days of hotel presentations (2 presentations per day) the following week, followed by 3 weeks of crew room Q&A visits. If that doesn't work, email me, and I will come to your house and give you a personal road show. I want every pilot, whichever way they ultimately vote, to make an informed vote.

-Neal

 

[BluDevAv8r]

Currently your seat purchase agreement with CAL limits you to only flying for CAL. (It also protects you as the only jet provider for CAL...a GOOD thing) I guess that is up for expiration/ammendment in 2007 right? So, in other words, no 70 seaters for a little bit yet. Maybe the bugs will be out of the E170s at that point.

Vortilon,

You are incorrect about our CPA. We can do flying for anyone else, including ourselves, at any time, provided we don't fly in/out of CAL's hubs. That is the only restriction.

-Neal

 

[BluDevAv8r]

real nice Lofgren (Only steve L on the bid packet) and please be sure to print out your vote. Don't worry though I'll remember you..

1 year back from furlough trying to make fast cash...Pathetic....

Pay close attention when they say to hurry and sign so you can get this year profit sharing..

Hagen,

Cut him some slack. There's a lot more to it than that. Perhaps he's had extensive conversations with me? Perhaps there is more to the story? C'mon S....

Settle down. Call me later.

-Neal

 

[General Lee]

Mike's apartment,


I got a thick a$$ vessel for YOU! (well, not really---I am not gay....and, I am married---so leave me alone!)


Good luck with your TA.



Bye Bye--General Lee

 

[SLFLYHI]

Hagen,

Cut him some slack. There's a lot more to it than that. Perhaps he's had extensive conversations with me? Perhaps there is more to the story? C'mon S....

Settle down. Call me later.

-Neal

Neal,

Thanks for defending me....but it's not necessary. I'll be at the IAH roadshow tomorrow to hear directly from the lion's mouth what the TA is. If it's as good as you and several other members of our union have said, I'm voting YES. And don't worry, Hagen, I will print out my vote and be sure to drop it in your V-file.

Steve Lofgren
IAH FO
(and yes, my brother Nils plays a mean guitar)

 

[Mikes Apartment]

Mike's apartment,


I got a thick a$$ vessel for YOU! (well, not really---I am not gay....and, I am married---so leave me alone!)


Good luck with your TA.



Bye Bye--General Lee

Thanks General

We're gonna need some luck......it seems like the Jedi mind $hit is already starting

 

[Tomct]

Reshizzle Mi Nizzles!!!

Hey guys, congrats on the TA. I know ya'll have not seen the who thing yet, but keep the faith!! We are still negotiating here and are probably another year or two from completion. That would make three to four total!!! I am tired of NO.....RESTPECT!!!!!!!! Whoaaa!!!!! Did someone step on a DUCK!!!

 

[XJTAv8r]

New Forums

nimtz,

We are doing 5 days of hotel presentations (2 presentations per day) this week, then the ALPA BOD in FL, then another 6 days of hotel presentations (2 presentations per day) the following week, followed by 3 weeks of crew room Q&A visits. If that doesn't work, email me, and I will come to your house and give you a personal road show. I want every pilot, whichever way they ultimately vote, to make an informed vote.

-Neal

Neal,

There's a bunch of speculation and misinformation floating on the new "freepipe" www.expressjetpilots.com It's gotten real busy since calforums started charging. We need you over there for some rumor control.

 

[vc10]

Exclusivity is unidirectional---CAL can't employ another regional to fly RJs, but XJT can work for another major. It expires end of 2006 anyway.

Are you sure that covers all of Express Jet HOLDINGS and XJT Holdings or just Express Jet AIRLINES?

I'm also not sure your facts regarding the hub exclusivity are accurate as well.

While Express Jet is the only jet provider for CAL thru the hubs, I believe other jet carriers could be CAL Connection if there was no hub flying involved. That's why SkyWest and CHQ have been talking with CAL about providing feed -- in jets.

 

[killjack]

Hurry and sign the contract 11%- thats awesome - thats the best I have ever heard - industry leading - 1.60/hr per diem - thats great - why do we need more per diem - we eat less than those overwieght major airline pilots. We are a Regional - Mexico Canada, Continental United States is just in our region. We should be paying the jims to fly their jets- Hurry and sign - what a deal - thats great - what a deal - and only another 6 years until another contract (4yrs plus 2 yrs to negotiate the next one) thats great - A BIG FAT "YES" - Poverty is great -

 

[BluDevAv8r]

Hurry and sign the contract 11%- thats awesome - thats the best I have ever heard - industry leading - 1.60/hr per diem - thats great - why do we need more per diem - we eat less than those overwieght major airline pilots. We are a Regional - Mexico Canada, Continental United States is just in our region. We should be paying the jims to fly their jets- Hurry and sign - what a deal - thats great - what a deal - and only another 6 years until another contract (4yrs plus 2 yrs to negotiate the next one) thats great - A BIG FAT "YES" - Poverty is great -

Thank you for the mature and productive statement JF.

Give me a call sometime or attend a road show and lets talk about it.

-Neal

 

[WolfManPack]

What's the answer???

Neal,

First of all......GO WOLFPACK!!!!!!

But perhaps more importantly....I have a question for you. Why is it that the union continues to allow near poverty level entry wages for professional pilots. While I'm quite sure we (first year FO's) have your sympathy, I'm not so sure you or any of our other reps are going to ever do something about it.

Personally I think there may be selfish motives within the pilot group thinking and thanking God that they were able to make it through that first year so everybody else should have to go through it too and besides that just means more money for ME ME ME.

But I have another angle perhaps ALPA reps should take. As long as first year FO's are paid near poverty wages for the first year, there will always be a "subconscious cap" on the pilots at the top of the food chain as well.

This brainwash tactic that seems to have worked for years in this business of well......"that's just the way it is" is not going to work in the current aviation environment. People are no longer looking at the "Regional Airline" as a stepping stone and fully expect to spend 5 or more years there if not make a career of it and these wages are simply not acceptable any longer. That's why I think there is so much of an emotional response from pilots these days when contract negotiations come up in conversation.

Anyway....fact of the matter is we're highly trained professionals just like engineers are and you will be hard pressed to see starting salaries for that same type of job below $40 K let alone $20 K.

Are Union reps not there to take up for the little guy? Is it not their job to make substantial gains in the face of such blatently obvious corporate greed?

I'm guessing that TA1 will indeed be voted down and I sincerely hope that if that happens that the negotiators strive more diligently to raise the bar from the BOTTOM up!

Thanks and I really would appreciate your response!

-WolfManPack

P.S. Glad we don't have to play you guys in football this year!

 

[BluDevAv8r]

Neal,

First of all......GO WOLFPACK!!!!!!

But perhaps more importantly....I have a question for you. Why is it that the union continues to allow near poverty level entry wages for professional pilots. While I'm quite sure we (first year FO's) have your sympathy, I'm not so sure you or any of our other reps are going to ever do something about it.

Personally I think there may be selfish motives within the pilot group thinking and thanking God that they were able to make it through that first you so everybody else should have to go through it too and besides that just means more money for ME ME ME.

But I have another angle perhaps ALPA reps should take. As long as first year FO's are paid near poverty wages for the first year, there will always be a "subcoscious cap" on the pilots at the top of the food chain as well.

This brainwash tactic that seems to have worked for years in this business of well......"that's just the way it is" is not going to work in the current aviation environment. People are no longer looking at the "Regional Airline" as a stepping stone and fully expect to send 5 or more years there if not make a career of it and these wages are simply not acceptable any longer. That's why I think there is so much of an emotional response from pilots these days when contract negotiations come up in conversation.

Anyway....fact of the matter is we're highly trained professionals just like engineers are and you will be hard pressed to see starting salaries for that same type of job below $40 K let alone $20 K.

Are Union reps not there to take up for the little guy? Is it not there job to make substantial gains in the face of such blatently obvious corporate greed?

I'm guessing that TA1 will indeed be voted down and I sincerely hope that if that happens that the negotiators strive more diligently to raise the bar from the BOTTOM up!

Thanks and I really would appreciate your response!

-WolfManPack

P.S. Glad we don't have to play you guys in football this year!

Attend a road show and voice your concerns there. All questions will be answered frankly and honestly.

-Neal

 

[nonstop]

Attend a road show and voice your concerns there. All questions will be answered frankly and honestly.

-Neal

Yes, attend a road show. That way union reps armed with the knowledge of approximately 10 lawyers will be able to pummel you live with facts as to you why you deserve jack sh1t.

Want a brief summary, instead of a pummeling by your constituents? I'll quote XJT CEO Jim Ream; "You're a poor silly soul. If you don't like it, I'll help you pack your sh1t!"

Here's the real answer: This is progress, a bone tossed out by the company (however meager it may be). Want real progress? Vote it down with authoriy.

This TA is an embarrassment!!! Unfortunately, I saw it coming a mile away like the majority. :/

 

[WolfManPack]

What's the answer???

Neal,

With all due respect and I say that with all sincerity because I do appreciate the hard work you have put into this process and understand to an extent the situation you must find yourself in.

Having said that however...aren't YOU supposed to be the voice of my concerns?

You know it's not everyday that I get to talk to Ream or Nidis.

I appreciate your response and I hope to be able to make the meeting you guys have....but that was not the response I was looking for.

Thanks for replying nonetheless though!

 

[BluDevAv8r]

Neal,

With all due respect and I say that with all sincerity because I do appreciate the hard work you have put into this process and understand to an extent the situation you must find yourself in.

Having said that however...aren't YOU supposed to be the voice of my concerns?

You know it's not everyday that I get to talk to Ream or Nidis.

I appreciate your response and I hope to be able to make the meeting you guys have....but that was not the response I was looking for.

Thanks for replying nonetheless though!

Yes, I have been voicing OUR concerns for over 2 years now. However, what I will not do is engage in an open public debate (with an anonymous entity nonetheless). Sorry. My previous offer stands - Attend a road show and feel free to ask any and all questions at that time.

-Neal

 

[MJG]

WolfPack....

I hate to be the one to break this to you, but the life of a probationary pilot pretty much sucks. Deal with it.

BTW, you've got a lot of balls to throw accusations like that around, especially as a "First year FO".

 

[Vortilon]

I just read through the bullet points and skimmed the larger TA. Having worked at XJET before and then worked for a major...I'd say this is a much more formal, mature contract that everyone should be proud of. Block or better on a leg basis is HUGE! (We were all told at the road shows in 97 thats how it'd work...guess they made a mistake). Other things being spelled out like maternity leave, the big scope improvements, uniform allowance (no excuse for looking like crap), reduced duty time allowance for backside of the clock, only 1 leg after standups possible. The reserve system is somewhat similar to what I had at DAL and it was fantastic. All the little quality of life things add a lot of value to an employee...its not as easy to quantify as a pay rate but they are what you deal with more often as you progress through life at a company.

Don't just look at payrates by themselves. The Year 1 FO pay is sad but the agreement as a whole appears pretty solid. I think you'll see a higher paycheck with all the extras than the payrate tables initially suggest (75 x rate). But then I only looked at it for an hour. The retro pay is structured nicely too. The raises compared to status quo are pretty good as well.

You guys can be proud of this contract. Enjoy your XJET retro this XMAS!