JetBlue and ALPA

[B6Busdriver]

The inhouse crowd never has a plan. They have done nothing and live in the past only to whine and cry about ALPA. For the umpteenth time go ahead and start your little inhouse fantasy and I will sign a card. You won't do it do it though, you'll just cry about ALPA and do nothing....as usual.

 

[Smarta$$]

Great! Where's my card? Oh, there's no card? No money? No plan, even? Why are you wasting our time with this crap? It's the CBA, not the name on the card, that matters.

We've got maybe 6 months to get our act together or it just won't matter what name's on the card. It's probably too late already but I'm not ready yet to give up.

So, what do you think is going to happen? Lay it out for us simple line pilots please.

BTW, I am yes to ALPA or In-house.

 

[LearLove]

As divided as JB pilots are, an in-house union would be worthless because no one will cough up the seed $$$ to get it off the ground. It will not have $$$, expertise, political clout...nothing; game over.

Then just vote in ALPA and let them set everything up and after a year or 2 dump ALPA for an inhouse union using the frame work they set up. Or maybe it's not that easy. Anyway good luck.

 

[$$$4nothin]

So, what do you think is going to happen? Lay it out for us simple line pilots please.

BTW, I am yes to ALPA or In-house.

I believe what he is getting at is the fact that once the company starts a certain level and type of code sharing(specifically domestic) it will highly diminish our career movement and earning potential. That level of code sharing is coming. The company has taken a little at a time for such a long time it doesn't throw enough people into a pissed off frenzy at any one time each time they take something. In the near future we will be offered a double digit percentage raise. My guess is 12-15% which gets JB to PSIA regarding actual hourly rate. The problem is that 15% is going to cost us a level of scope that will hurt the JB pilot group so bad it won't matter if the raise was 40%. This raise will help the top 20% of our group because they already are in the plane they want with good schedules. For the rest of us this means stagnation in the spot we are in forever. Best case scenario. Worst case scenario is furlough. Actually worse yet is part of the group is spun off to work for RAH or some other horrible low paying regional. I would gladly give up a 15% raise until ALPA comes on board and gets us a CBA with an airtight scope section and PSIA pay and benefits. Since most of our pilot group is in there 30's to 40's I would think this would be a no brainer, but I am surprised daily. Actually I was surprised very much by a conversation I had in my crash pad last week with a (I am from COMAIR and will never vote for ALPA no matter what because ALPA screwed me) guy last week, even though he is 30 years old. Even though I gave him 10 good reasons for ALPA that he couldn't argue with. It is becoming painfully obvious to me that our pilot group is one made up of enough military guys, and guys that have had it so bad for so long it doesn't matter what is taken they will just live with it. I will work as long and as hard as I can to get the protections we deserve as a group, or until Delta, Fedex, or UPS calls. Also keep in mind I am not one of the burn in to the ground blow hards either. As a matter of fact I love working at JetBlue. I love my schedule, and my household income/debt ratio is extremely good. ALPA is a business decision that I am making by looking out over the possibilites of a 30 year career with and without the protections a CBA provides, and the history of U.S. airlines over the past 40 years. Good luck to us all. I know you are pro CBA so this isn't completely for you, but for all interested in JB as a current and future employer.

 

[Blue Dude]

So, what do you think is going to happen? Lay it out for us simple line pilots please.

Personally, I don't think this round of consolidation is over and we're one of the few good targets left. We have good market position, prime real estate, slots that are nearly invaluable, paper thin career protection, and cheap stock. We're worth more dead than alive, and when the time comes, I'd like to have a shot at keeping my job, maybe even keeping my seat. That last may be too much to hope for, but as I say, I haven't given up yet.

 

[Smarta$$]

Personally, I don't think this round of consolidation is over and we're one of the few good targets left. We have good market position, prime real estate, slots that are nearly invaluable, paper thin career protection, and cheap stock. We're worth more dead than alive, and when the time comes, I'd like to have a shot at keeping my job, maybe even keeping my seat. That last may be too much to hope for, but as I say, I haven't given up yet.

Who do you see us with? Just curious.

 

[coogebeachhotel]

Southwest. Single airframe era is gone as Southwest is looking at widebodies. Unless of course Boeing builds a 737 widebody. I half joke. But if Southwest has two. Why not three? JFK is money for any carrier. Either to take us out or use us.

 

[Blue Dude]

Who do you see us with? Just curious.

I don't know. And it doesn't really matter which. We are uniquely vulnerable in the industry and sooner or later one of them will pounce. It's not if, but when.

 

[geardown]

Take a look at this airline route mapper, I have used it and it won't hurt your computer. It is pretty interesting when you put WN, FL, and B6 together in the custom box. It definitely makes for a compelling argument. You can click on any city to see all the routes flown. B6 does not overlap on much but they certainly complement the network.

http://arm.64hosts.com/

 

[coogebeachhotel]

There are many among us that when faced with cold dose of reality turn and stare into the warm glow of fantasyland.

 

[Ski-N-Fly]

It never ceases to amaze me how the majority can be so easily fooled. Hopefully more than enough have finally woken up to the reality of the corporate greed which flows freely through the veins and arteries of this airline.

Send in a card for representation so we can end this experiment and protect our careers.

 

[Splert]

A350 hit the in house bong. Then passed out.

 

[A350]

No bongin here....just letting you guys vent your anguish about your poor career prospects and lack of pay, benefits, and retirement.

Instead of $itching your brains out on this stupid forum, why not spend some time with your family, plan a vacation, or work an extra day to earn some extra $$$.

If you come to work, come with a smile, a willing to help attitude, and without that chip that you seem to always have on your shoulder about what you don't have compared to everyone else.

This company is buying airplanes. This company is hiring. This company pays better than a LOT of companies. Focus on what you have and not on what you don't. Expecting JB to pay SWA pay and bennies at 13 years of age is like expecting SWA to have paid UAL pay and bennies when they were 13 years old. Guess what? There would be no SWA if they had done that.

Get an in house going. It will pass handsomely. I won't start it because I don't have the expertise or the inclination. I do have a checkbook, and I am prepared to use it.

Are you or do you just want to take another hit off the ALPA pipe?

A350

 

[Splert]

Spicoli,

Leadership is the group who told us they wanted us to have PSIA pay, benefits, work rules. That was 2007. Leadership even pay protected a group of pilots, paid for hotels, meals and travel expenses to document the short falls and then agreed with the results but then punted. Also the in house will not pass because its supporters do nothing to start it. All-ya-all do is pass the in house bong, then say it would be 'sweeeeeet' and then pass out. The proof is years and years of in action.

 

[hyflyin]

No bongin here....just letting you guys vent your anguish about your poor career prospects and lack of pay, benefits, and retirement.

Instead of $itching your brains out on this stupid forum, why not spend some time with your family, plan a vacation, or work an extra day to earn some extra $$$.

If you come to work, come with a smile, a willing to help attitude, and without that chip that you seem to always have on your shoulder about what you don't have compared to everyone else.

This company is buying airplanes. This company is hiring. This company pays better than a LOT of companies. Focus on what you have and not on what you don't. Expecting JB to pay SWA pay and bennies at 13 years of age is like expecting SWA to have paid UAL pay and bennies when they were 13 years old. Guess what? There would be no SWA if they had done that.

Get an in house going. It will pass handsomely. I won't start it because I don't have the expertise or the inclination. I do have a checkbook, and I am prepared to use it.

Are you or do you just want to take another hit off the ALPA pipe?

A350

Fedex had a strong in-house union and .....went.... back.... to ...... ALPA.

Why?

In-house is worthless and expensive unless you have someone to back you up. For example the teamsters back up the IPA at UPS and vice versa. Comparatively for what you get, ALPA is the better choice.