IBT Day#1? CHOKE!

[AirBill]

ALPA had no leverage with 0 pilots on property. Has the IBT even used the Midwest rates? I'm betting no. But thats ok you have that "5 letters" moron running things with the IBT, things will get better.

Then again don't let FACTS get in the way when our 88 seat pay rates were 50% LARGER than your 99 seat ones at the IBT..............

If you had any idea about our history with this company, you might not feel that way. But that's ok. We have our facts, you have yours, and you use them constantly to make yourself feel better.

 

[CitationLover]

To which moron are you referring? What is the "5 letters" story?

Our former negotiating committee chairman is the IBT's "international representative for all flight deck crewmembers" (their job title on their website).

http://teamsterair.org/about-teamsters-airline-division

Many pilots didn't appreciate a lot of SH and questioned some things he did, including dropped trips and picking up trips, etc. In response he sent out blast emails to every pilot 5 days in a row (5 letters in 5 days).

Let me check my email to see if I saved these gems.

 

[CitationLover]

If you had any idea about our history with this company, you might not feel that way. But that's ok. We have our facts, you have yours, and you use them constantly to make yourself feel better.

Not flying since 2008 will make ANYONE feel better. Keep being slave labor for Jesus Man.


I was wrong, it was "6 letters in 6 days". I will now post what the IBT leadership has "guiding it".

 

[CitationLover]

Day 1 of 6

Greetings to all and I want to take the time to thank everyone who participated in the contract study survey. I believe that your opinions about our contractual issues will serve as a valuable source to help us develop our strategies for our upcoming section 6 negotiations. Your opinions on these issues are much appreciated.

That being said, there are other comments (some were more allegations) that were submitted in the survey that dealt with non-contractual issues. After reading through the comments in this survey, the scope and totality of these allegations have caused me great concern. No longer will I allow these types of attacks to go unchallenged. These anonymous, faceless attackers make their allegations without any facts to support their claims. Their motives and intentions are divisive and dishonorable and do not merit any of our considerations. There have been personal, negative attacks against myself and others asserting that I and other union officials have been involved in illegal activity. They have never given any of us opportunity to address their scandalous lies. They've never raised their heads publically to bring their malicious drivel to a proper venue. Since they do not allow us to face our accusers, I will attempt to call them out and meet their lies head on. If they have documentation or data that supports their claims, ask them to provide it to the MEC or, better yet, the President of the Association immediately. If they do not have even the slightest shred of documentation to support their assertions, they should crawl back in their hole where they came from and allow us to continue to do our work representing and supporting the Midwest pilot group. Our pilots deserve neither their emotional instability nor their unsavory motives.

There are two issues that stood out from a small portion of our pilot comments in this survey. One, the issue of trust in the MEC officers and the other is the ongoing Junior/Senior issues. As an individual that has served this group for its 10 year history in ALPA and as your Negotiating Committee Chairman for most of it, I have been at the forefront of all negotiated contractual documents. I will attempt to address these issues so you may have a better understanding of the facts. I have the first hand knowledge and experience to support my comments. If my comments do not meet your satisfaction, Capt. JS, MEC Chairman and Capt. Rep., FO GU, MEC Vice Chairman and FO Rep., or FO MP, MEC Secretary-Treasurer will have all the supporting documentation to further satisfy your concerns.

This is enough from me for today. Tomorrow, I will talk to you in a little more detail about the issue of trust and how this has come out in terms of DFA’s being given to union volunteers.


Sincerely,

Captain SH
Negotiating Committee Chairman
Merger Committee Chairman
National Collective Bargaining Committee Member

 

[CitationLover]

Day 2

To my fellow Midwest pilots,

I hope you read my letter to you from yesterday as I will pick up from there in today’s letter.

The trust issue has been brought up again and allegations of wrongdoing associated with it. There were a few comments that insinuated financial improprieties alleging scheduling abuses by union officials calling into question the fact that some volunteers were hiding their schedules on FLiCA. I ask the individuals that make these allegations to come forward with your facts. What documents do you have to support these allegations? I ask because I have not seen them. Has anyone else seen these individual's documentation? If this evidence existed (which it does not as this never happened) it certainly would have been published throughout the pilot ranks! I know the answer to these questions: THERE ARE NONE! These individuals do not have any supporting data to verify their claims but they certainly promote their lies throughout this pilot group. They do not call or attempt to contact the MEC Chairman, Vice-Chairman, Secretary-Treasurer, or even a national officer to address their claims which should bring into question the reasoning for their viral behavior. They do not take the time to come to a meeting, get on a committee, participate in a teleconference call provided to all our crewmembers (and if they did, they did not speak up during the question/answer session), or even make a call our secretary over at our office to set up a meeting with any of us to discuss their concerns. They have not even given the courtesy to those being accused to answer their accusations and provide the facts.

My position regarding their false accusations is: Until you provide me with your facts and documentation to support your allegations, I will not meet with you. I do not have time for your slanderous allegations that are without merit. You have become a cancer to this pilot group and I ask that you cease continuing to hold court in our bag room, in our cockpits, or in the bars on your overnights until you can provide the facts that support your claims.

There is full transparency within our union. All you need to do is call in order to meet with anyone on the MEC or me at anytime. I will tell you right now, we do have the facts. There are laws that must be complied with and policies in our union’s Constitution and By Laws and Admin. Manual that guarantees it. There are checks and balances throughout our union. I look forward to your request for a meeting. Maybe you need a crowd, like at a quarterly pilot meeting, to levy your accusations. Bring your facts and data, because I and the MEC officers have the supporting data and facts. How much you want to bet that it doesn't support your claims?

Regarding the blocking of schedules, let me make MY position very clear. I will NEVER unblock my schedule as long as we have that option with FLiCA. I, as well as all of you, have that option. I have personal reasons, as well as you do, why I block my schedule. Many of you also block your schedules. It is none of my business to know the reasons behind your decision to block your schedule. Likewise, it is none of your business to know my reasons.

When it comes to your faceless and asinine assertions that I am doing something wrong related to my schedule, why don't you contact our Secretary-Treasurer, FO MP, and inquire about the work that I was doing. I may be dropped off a trip doing a variety of projects from negotiation preparation to meeting with my fellow committee members on the National Collective Bargaining Committee. I may be assisting other properties with merger or negotiating concerns or I may be meeting with our legal staff preparing strategy for our upcoming Section 6 negotiations or assisting in preparation for an arbitration. YOU KNOW WHAT? I just may be flying for Midwest Airlines – something I've been doing for the last 20 years only missing three days since August. I was asked to help in the SkyWest organizing effort and spent two days in DC meeting with ALPA attorneys and the MEC Chairman regarding our upcoming negotiations. I was DFA'd on October 31st and accompanied in Chicago by three other Midwest Airlines pilots. Whether they were also DFA'd for trips is unknown to me and guess what - our DFA's were paid for out of a national budget for that event. The DFA’s for the trip to DC were paid for locally if we actually had to pay for them at all given the provisions of our contract regarding Association Leave.



Sincerely,

Captain SH
Negotiating Committee Chairman
Merger Committee Chairman
National Collective Bargaining Committee Member

 

[CitationLover]

Day 3

Our NC at Midwest was too busy using the word "I" to describe himself versus "we".

To my fellow Midwest pilots,

I want to pick up today talking about the issue of the availability of flight schedules on FLiCA.

I don't spend my down time snooping around other pilots’ schedules for the purpose of creating lies and accusing those individuals of wrongdoing. I actually appreciate everyone’s volunteerism and hard work. It is this very effort that makes our union a stronger and better organization. I've been doing this for a very long time, I like to think that over the years, my efforts, along with all the other volunteers has made a difference in making our careers here a little better.

Let me ask a few questions of our resident agitators: What have you done to make our collective careers here a little better? What have you done to better our contract, or help a pilot in need? What have you participated in to help our National union become a stronger organization? My guess is that the vast majority of our accusers have never lifted a finger for anyone but themselves. You’re great at taking and taking, but you haven't a clue on how to give.

Getting back to the schedule issue, do you know that there is no way to determine what I may be doing by "just looking" at my schedule? Likewise, there no way to determine how much ALPA work I conduct on my days off or the amount of vacation time I have used for ALPA work. ALPA duties and situations that require my assistance don’t just miraculously stop during my vacation periods. Sometimes dealing with them can be delayed but other times the needs of the pilot group outweigh my personal needs or the needs of my family while I am on vacation.

I currently participate in two national functions – as a member of the National Collective Bargaining Committee and on the Panel of Pilot Neutrals for seniority list mergers. I have done work at other properties along with my duties here at Local 30. Do you know that when I do any work outside our property that the DFA's (when required) are paid for by someone else's budget? Do you know that there are times when I am removed for ALPA duty here at Midwest and we may not end up paying for that either?

Do you know that when ALPA drops are known for the upcoming month that the MEC Chairman requires that we cut ourselves off from participating in the SAP2 process at noon of the second day so he can get the dropped trips back out to the pilot group? Do you know that when I attempt to pick up trips in DAP after a sequence of DFA's, I still calculate the values of the trips dropped, so as to not break the 28.5 in 7 or calendar day off in 7 restrictions? You that have perpetuated false allegations accusing us of "double-dipping", which FLiCA doesn't even allow, have never taken the time to pick up the phone and just ask someone about the process. Shame on you!

Participating in the bidding process is the only method any Midwest pilot has to get compensated for any work they perform. The same is true of those who volunteer for union duties. I have been a line holder for many years. There are some that believe in the notion that union work should be done for minimum guarantee or all on days off. I say step up right now and start your career doing union work for this pilot group or else stop your slanderous accusations and defamations right now! Anyone who thinks that our pilot group can achieve its goals and meet its needs with union work being done that way better be prepared to give the level of effort as many of your volunteers do now.

For you that want our schedules unblocked, I will not take away from my duties as your Negotiating Committee Chairman, other union duties, or from my family to spend one minute accounting for my time because of a few unscrupulous individuals who want to monitor my schedule to try to levy false and faceless accusations. We had such an individual last year who acquired my schedule without authorization (probably from someone in management), sat on another captain’s jumpseat showing my schedules, questioning the amount of DFA's I had, and concocting false accusations of wrongdoing. Needless to say, he did not know that besides local work, I spent time at two other properties doing work, had national committee work, and was a member of a three-man arbitration panel merging Atlas and Polar airlines. Sorry fella, you were a little misguided in your accusations. Had you just asked, I would have explained to you my work and what was going on with those DFA’s at the time.

Because of individuals like this and other personal reasons, I will never unblock my schedule. As I said before, even if I did, you cannot figure out what my activities were anyway. The best way to find out, if it is so important to you, is to call, make an appointment and come over to the MEC office and get the facts.


Sincerely,

Captain SH
Negotiating Committee Chairman
Merger Committee Chairman
National Collective Bargaining Committee Member

 

[CitationLover]

At this point I had a trip with a very senior Midwest CA who pointed out SH walking in the D concourse and said:

"Why does this a$$#ole keep sending us letters?"

 

[CitationLover]

Day 4

To my fellow Midwest pilots,

Over the last three days I have talked a little about my schedule and how union work has been accomplished. Today I want to talk about our MEC Chairman’s schedule.

There are flat out lies, distortions, and misinformation being bantered about regarding Captain S's flight pay loss arrangement established by the full MEC. Some of you have accused him of "milking" the system. Your accusations about him are riddled with slander and faceless lies. Hey! Run for his position next time, you might just get a peek at what his job is all about. But if you are considering my invite, you better be ready to do the work that he does day in and day out for this pilot group. If you are elected, I will not let you slack. There are ways to deal with incompetents set forth in the ALPA Constitution and By Laws and, believe me, I know how to use the applicable provisions. Even still, the damage will already have been done to our pilot group and we would all have to live with the consequences for a long time thereafter.

Capt. S is not on "full time" trip loss. He is on “non-biding status” which is a "fly back" plan and doesn't get paid extra when he does pick up a trip, accept a junior assignment, attend training, or take vacation. If you had participated in the teleconference call at the end of last month or had just picked up a phone to inquire, you could have received an explanation as to how this works. He is actually one of the very few MEC Chairmen in ALPA who is not on full time trip loss. He has provided over the years a very active and engaged local leadership with 24/7 assistance. Remember, for the first 5 and 1/2 years as your MEC chairman, he sat reserve at the office while doing our work. Guess what, he is now a line holder and has a family (always had that), just like most of us. I will tell you that if he gets ONE day per week free of all ALPA work, he is lucky. ALPA work at his level almost never stops - that is if you want to be successful in your pilot group’s endeavors. Also, do you know that the vast majority of his peers, as well as my peers are on full time trip loss, getting paid well above the levels of what Capt. S makes?

I have never been on any form of long-term trip loss. If you want the facts instead of perpetuating lies and distorting the truth, you should call the MEC office sometime. Make an appointment with one of us and get the facts. Remember the next time you insinuate that we are doing something unethical or we should be doing all our work on our free time, the response will be NO and always NO to both counts. The pilots within our group that enjoy the successes that have been able to achieve and want to be successful in the future should tend to appreciate the fact that these things don’t just happen by accident or from the good graces of Tim Hoeksema. They know that successful union work can’t be done working out of the trunk of someone’s car or from the corner bar on days off while flying a full schedule in addition.

Think about the level of effort given over the years by your union officials. Just ask someone who needed immediate assistance with an FAA Letter of Investigation or some disciplinary issue levied by management. We too have families, and while I understand we have made the decision to do union work, our families do deserve some attention. That is why most of our peers are off full time. Their respective pilot groups value union work and understand that elected representatives and volunteers have private lives also.

Those of you that assert that the MEC is complicit in any financial improprieties, better come over and make an appointment and get the facts on our financial history under Capt. S's leadership. You will be very surprised by these facts, especially his responsible and efficient management of your union funds with the participation of four different Secretary-Treasurers you have elected to serve with him over the years. You may want to take the time to compare our financial history to other ALPA properties. Again, better get your facts straight before you start making allegations of improprieties.


Sincerely,

Captain SH
Negotiating Committee Chairman
Merger Committee Chairman
National Collective Bargaining Committee Member

 

[CitationLover]

Day 5

In rereading this one, I love SH bragging about the contract he negotiated. In hindsight that scope clause was a real winner SH!

To my fellow Midwest pilots,

Over the last four days, I have tried to address an extremely divisive issue that has been propagated by a few among us regarding your union leaders’ schedules. If you still have questions, call to get the facts.

I didn’t set out to write these letters because I felt a real need to defend myself or others in the leadership, I did so because this divisiveness will kill our pilot group’s chances to achieve its goals as we approach negotiations. Maybe that’s exactly what some want, but I think the majority of us want to continue our successes far into the future.

In today’s letter I want to talk about another issue that that came out in the contract survey which I believe is equally, if not even more divisive – this issue deals with seniority.

First, I want to make it perfectly clear that I do understand the effects of 9/11, the ongoing financial troubles of this airline at the hands of this management group, and the personal effects these issues have created in all our lives. While I know that I have not personally walked in their shoes, I have tried to understand the effects of these events on my fellow pilots who became downgraded Captains or furloughed First Officers. I am grateful that each of these downgraded Captains have since had the opportunity to return to the left seat and that we were able to do some things that allowed almost all of our formerly furloughed pilots to return if they desired. If management had only done a few things differently, maybe we would have been able to recover EVERY former Midwest pilot who they furloughed. If anyone who has flown with me over the years feels I do not understand the junior pilots’ plight here at Midwest and have demonstrated a contemptuous or uncaring attitude toward you on a personal basis, please get in touch with me.

On a purely representational basis, as your Negotiating Committee Chairman, did we not negotiate a 5 year recall in exchange for pay concessions? Did we not negotiate in a manner that actually forced our management to change the way they operated our airline schedule or change the way they utilized our fleet in order grow our airline and to realize their cost savings? Did we not just let them get away with negotiating in a manner that gutted our contract of real dollars to pay for their mistakes? Doesn't growth equate to jobs? Did we not recall our pilots, who wanted to return, faster than almost anyone else in the industry that furloughed pilots also? You know the answers – of course we did all of these things!

Many may not realize that we also created provisions in our contract that allowed our pilots overall to realize earnings that were the highest in ALPA last year for narrow-body domestic aircraft. The fact is these earning exceeded the abilities of some wide-body pilots at other properties.

Some insinuate that the union leadership cares more about the senior pilots because of the fact that our pay scales had to be extended to 15 and 16 years during the contract restructuring that occurred in 2003 to recover the “real” money what was achieved in Contract 2000. While the majority of the pilot group was able to offset cost of living increases even immediately following the restructuring, the pilots who were scaled out at 14 years did not receive any additional increases (COLAs or otherwise) until the second year of the Restructuring Agreement. This phase in of pay rates ended up recovering the rates that were already present in Contract 2000 but those pilots were forced to wait another two years of longevity to realize them.

The simple fact is that, since February of 2000, we have only had only ONE opportunity to negotiate increases in any areas in our contract for our pilots. This was the failed contract extension talks in August this year. Do you know that management was looking for additional relief in the contract (concessions – again), while looking for an extension? Do you know that they proposed pay rate increases over the extended years that did even not come close to cost of living adjustments? Do you know what our strategy and agenda was for those negotiations? Do you know what our proposals contained? Do you know what cross section of our seniority list would have prospered the most? Did you participate in the two teleconferences we had and listened to my breakdown of the failed negotiations? Did you ask any questions regarding the information I gave? If you did, I do not know how in the world you can accuse the MEC, me, or my committee of favoritism. Have you even called to inquire about the negotiations, if you were unable to attend the teleconference calls?

To date, I have not received one call. We created a fundamentally solid 1st agreement in 2000, with provisions that many mature contracts are without. Until this upcoming September 2008, we have never had the legal vehicle to address all the items in our contract in a progressive manner. In our only limited opportunity that occurred this year, your Negotiating Committee and MEC attempted to get management to restore longevity for our former furloughed pilots. Unfortunately, management was unwilling to even entertain that idea despite its miniscule cost increase.

We have constantly been developing strategies for future negotiations, while waiting patiently for our second "bite at the apple". The last time we negotiated a full contract, Contract 2000, we set it up for growth. Your leadership, like many of you, was told to expect a 1000 pilot airline. Unfortunately for all of us, like many of management’s claims over the years, that didn’t happen. I for one look forward to our upcoming negotiations with the knowledge that we will again, as Capt. S recently stated, “be able to meet management on an even playing field at the bargaining table” and attempt to meet the contractual needs of the pilot group both junior and senior.


Sincerely,

Captain SH
Negotiating Committee Chairman
Merger Committee Chairman
National Collective Bargaining Committee Member

 

[CitationLover]

Day 6

AHH yes, let's now really brag about our "future" under TPG SH! I love it!

To my fellow Midwest pilots,

In my last letter to you today, I want to talk about another issue our pilot group has dealt with over this last year – the decision by the Midwest Air Group BOD to reject AirTran’s offer and sell to TPG/NWA.

Most line pilots may never know everything behind the failed AirTran attempt to acquire Midwest. Many pilots will never understand or even accept the fact that there were significant problems developing that would confront us in a seniority list merger with the AirTran pilots and that our First Officers were the main group at risk.

Did you know that the MEC Chairman and I were talking to senior management at AirTran, their pilot leadership, and major institutional shareholders during this process right up to the very last day when the Midwest BOD made its decision? Did you also know that there were a number of pilots among us, within our own ranks, who were also talking to AirTran management before and apparently during this same time and that the speculative comments made by these individuals could have had a very detrimental effect on us in a seniority list arbitration?

Your leadership initially got behind our management to be in the best position to represent the interests of this pilot group given the circumstances we faced due to political realities within the AirTran pilot group and the negative exposures that were magnified by the careless statements of a few pilots. That same leadership later pulled their support in August. Why? Because it was clear that management was unwilling to provide any of the provisions our pilot group (the only labor group within this corporation who said anything publically in support of management) needed to protect their interests in the event that the BOD decided to sell to AirTran.

I realize that there are many rumors regarding the future of our airline and I guess that is to be expected given the fact that management provides no real leadership to its employees regarding what the future holds for Midwest Airlines. Maybe even our own management doesn’t know since TPG and NWA have yet to take to keys to the HQ building. Regardless, your leadership is constantly in contact with many involved in our industry as we continue our efforts to best prepare us for what lies ahead. Industry consolidation is most likely facing pilot groups across the country within the next few years and anyone who believes that Midwest will be immune from the affects of this change just isn’t facing reality. One only has to look as far as TPG’s own statements regarding their most likely exit strategy to see the potential that lies ahead for each of us.

I will conclude by asking all Midwest Airlines Pilots to please seek out the facts and try to approach our mutual challenges ahead with a cooperative spirit. Thank you for your time and consideration.


Sincerely,

Captain SH
Negotiating Committee Chairman
Merger Committee Chairman
National Collective Bargaining Committee Member