"Failed" Strike at ASA?

[CF34-3B1]

My $0.02 is striking is premature. a company Sick day would be a better message. It only costs the company one day of lost revenue plus a few unhappy customers and lets "them" know we are serious.

A "sick out" is an illegal job action.

A strike is not.

As far as a strike being premature, we are many, many months away from one anyway.

 

[Freebrd]

>>>captaincaveman wrote:CP told me today that Willie has been authorized to do some extreme $hit in January and that the CPs are unauthorized to overide his assignments. Get ready to accept assignments with protest.<<<<

CPs have been 'unauthorized' to override anything for quite some time now. Why do you think Joe A. and Bill H. quit? Bring it on Willie, and what you bring will endure the pilots to management I'm sure, ......not. We can take it but it'll cost the company a lot of goodwill.

 

[701EV]

Bill H is no longer a CP?

When did this happen?

701EV

 

[79%N1]

Exactly what kind of extreme sh!t can Willie be expected to pull? There are FAA rules/contract that govern most of what scheduling can do with a pilot. Not sure what could be so extreme other than junior manning?

 

[shamrock]

We can take it but it'll cost the company a lot of goodwill.

There's not enough goodwill left for it to be a concern to the company.

I didn't know Bill H quit either, but then again I haven't seen him around so it would make sense.

 

[CF34-3B1]

there was a CP Vacancy posted on the website

 

[VABB]

Militancy is fabulous, BUT good luck getting released from the NMB. Trust me I speak from exprience. Expect to be worn down in recess till it is not worth it anymore. Special thanks to the charlatan Bush voters who claim to care about the bottomless pit this profession is headed towards.

Who was in office when the American Airlines pilots were forced not to strike. Was it Clinton? Was he a Republican or a Democrat?

 

[Tim47SIP]

What about DH?

I noticed Doug has a CR7 line this month. How long has he been out of the CP business? I have been out of the net on MLOA. Thanks.
Willie is not the only problem. Mike M also has a heck of an attitude towards junior pilots. He has heartburn with to much time off (more than 10 days). Hopefully this will all be fixed by the time I get back in 2007! Now that is a stretch, don't ya think

 

[VABB]

Okay, I'll admit it: I just had an ugly picture painted in my head by a certain former EAL striker, and I need someone to hold me and tell me everything'll be okay.

I've noticed that since the informational picketing began in ATL a while back, my fellow ASA pilots have become more and more militant. It seems everybody I talk to is "ready to walk."

The question that was put to me is this: if the ASA pilots are released and walk, what's to stop the company from cutting the strikers off at the knees by taking ASA's assets and scabs--and let's not kid ourselves; there will be scabs--and rolling them into the rest of DCI (i.e. Comair), thus eliminating us troublesome ASA pilots altogether?

Is such a scenario worth worrying about? Or is this unlikely?

I think there is a lot to worry about.

First, scabs. Yes, some will cross intially, then some later. Some will come from off the street. Looking at the current job market, there are still a lot of qualified pilots out there who would rather be flying jets than working at Home Depot. And looking at the conditions of the majors and the long-term prospects of the industry, I don't think too many people will be concerned with being called a scab. It's not like it will come up in the UAL interview anytime soon.

Second, Delta Air Lines. If they have too, they can drop ASA like a hot potato. They could, in theory, file Ch. 11 and use that to get rid of ASA. They would simply tell the courts it is part of their reorganization plan in an effort to streamline to be more efficient.

Delta could distribute the void in flying to other regionals, to include SkyWest and Comair. SkyWest could stand to get a lot of ASA's equipment and routes, and being non-union they could be a viable candidate. Also, look at the other regionals out there who are looking for work. The carriers operating under US Airways Express would also be good candidates. If Delta had to, they might be interested in code-sharing with Independence Air. As a last resort, Delta could add some parked aircraft of it's own to pick up some of these flights. And as even last-last resort, Delta could cut ASA, take the assets, and start up another carrier.

There is no shortage of carriers out there who could pick up ASA's flying, whether it be through a code-share or a long-term agreement.

Third, pilot shortage. Finding pilots would not be a hard job for Delta, especially with a lot of RJ qualified people on the streets already looking for work. Also, can you imagine how many people would cross a picket line at ASA if Delta were to go down to ERAU and recruit people right out of school for an FO position? They would stampede all over each other to get there. Personnel will be found.

Finally, I think a short-term strike COULD be beneficial. I say that only because it would get the airline's attention. Who wants negative publicity, especially after what happened last week with Comair and US Airways. A long-term strike could have negative consequences though. Personally, if that were to happen, it's likely Delta would cut it's losses and run, leaving ASA out to dry.

 

[shamrock]

But how quickly could these plans be implemented? Seems to me that even a short strike could be disasterous for Delta and that they would need to get the ball rolling on these plans well in advance to be able to pull off the transition of flying.

Emotionally, I have been on the bandwagon about shutting the place down, but realistically, I haven't wanted it to happen because I'm lazy and I've settled in to this (sad?) lifestyle. Then I printed out a year-end report on my financial situation. I could have estimated how much I made in my head, but seeing the numbers in black and white was an eye opening experience. I still don't want the place to shut down, but if it happens, well, life will go on!