Bizjet said:
The SkyWest pilots need a reason to join a union. An ASA successful T/A will provide some of that impudence they need to challenge JA and his writing his rules as he goes along mentality. Delta never wanted to merge the two airlines (ASA/Comair). They realized that buying us was a mistake but were so far behind the 8 ball that it took a bankruptcy to get them to sell us for some emergency cash. They couldn't sell Comair because the value of Comair was much less than ASA. It also gave regional managements a chance to have mainline airline management write code share contracts that encouraged the race to the bottom if they were to acquiring flying.
We are not likely to get SkyWest pilots to want a single list with us. They need a reason and that will be provided with an ASA quality contract. Scope is a separate issue. We need to buy our own scope as part of these negotiations. Every pilot here should be willing to make it a strike issue. However, many won't because they see themselves as just passing through. In order to have success at our level we must get certain contractual language and Scope is the most important. JoeMerchant wants us to gut our contract giving us nothing to negotiate with. We will have MOST pilots then wanting to leave this debacle of an airline because the MEC was weak. We know his race to the bottom is not well thought out. His hatred for ALPA and this MEC is forcing him to choose the wrong strategy. If you have nothing this management wants there are no deals to be struck.
Our pilots also have to believe in the power of the pilots to bring this deal to a close. Many continue to do everything possible to keep this airline running. That is NOT THEIR JOB. If Delta and SkyWest management don't care about our passengers why should we voluntarily add that to our job description? If the pilots could just understand that THEY are the key to a successful contract we could close this deal in a few months. The company is stalling because they think time is own their side. Given enough reasons they could approach the NMB and request to return to the table and the NMB would restart negotiations. They would then have to produce or we would be much closer to a release. We need to stop the informal talks with our management because they are not the decision makers. We need to convey this message to the NMB that two times now our management has requested to stop negotiations in order to cost out our proposals and then seek permission from the decision makers to give them more negotiating capital. Who they are talking with needs to be at the table and the NMB needs to be pressured to bring them in. We need to engage in collective bargaining and stop this collective begging. Again our pilots are the key to all of this. The younger pilots need to realize that they are never going to get this management to respect us. All they need to do is look at how they treat the passengers that provide the revenue for our existence and easily understand that respect for us (the ones who require pay to continue to provide our services) is not possible or even necessary. Fear is a much stronger weapon against an abusive management than gaining their respect. If they fear us and the power of the pilot group to act as one they will actually behave as though they like and respect us. Comair had this in 2001 but due to their union leadership getting weak over the last two years has made that nothing more than a memory.
Back to the scope question. Delta pilots do not own scope. They lease it in every contact they sign. If they owned it they wouldn't continue to have to pay for it. They then trade if off for something they value more. Delta management refused to negotiate with ASA/Comair for flying because they feared the large number of Delta pilots and the clout that comes with those large numbers. Delta management knows that the Delta pilots will trade away part of the scope they just leased. This allows the regional’s to continue to grow and Delta to shrink. This provides a balance in the allotted flying and less power for the Delta pilots. All of us are responsible for the problems we now face. Mainline pilots should have never given away any of the undesirable flying. That was the start of all their problems. Now they are starting new carriers to provide jobs for their furloughed pilots. This is no accident. The code share pilots are in the race to the bottom. Mainline will use these new carriers for low cost jobs and in the future many of the pilots entering the work force will likely start at these NEW Union created airlines and move over to the newly down sized mainline carriers as positions open. The regional’s as we know them will consolidate and some will just go away. ALPA has no problem with this strategy. It is time to start defending the regional airlines that still have descent contracts and encourage minimum contract standards to ensure the quality of the jobs. Once we just give away our hard fought contracts we have lost. We will never get them back.
We need to DEMAND SCOPE and if ALPA can't support us in obtaining it we need to ask for outside counsel to prevent ALPA from just going through the motions and saying SCOPE is just not available this time around.
Pay attention to the organizing drive at SkyWest. If ALPA pushes for a vote before ASA has a quality T/A it will likely fail. If ASA produces a quality contract and copies are provided to all SkyWest pilots to read it will create the numbers to make for a strong vote for union representation. ASA is carrying the fight for the whole regional industry. This is the most important fight for the top tier regional’s because if we fail JA WINS. ALPA and their creation of their own alter ego airlines WINS. Mainline management WINS by having most of the growth shifted to the newly ALPA sponsored low cost junior seniority alter ego preferred carriers as growth is slowly shifted. Those working at the new alter ego carriers will find life in the minor leagues tolerable because it is the way to the quality mainline jobs in the future. They will be pulling on the same end of the ALPA rope. Things will be better for everyone except those that have many years invested in building the regional industry to where is is today and looking to increase the quality of these airlines in the future. LIVING TO FIGHT ANOTHER DAY IS NO LOINGER AN OPTION. We are being tested NOW. This is the most important contract fight and ASA pilots were not chosen to lead the fight is was just dumped in their lap. Too many other carriers have already shown they will buy growth and play the race to the bottom game. There are only a few regional’s left who have not sold out. Which list will we be added to. Show this management that you have had enough and will do YOUR JOB only!!!!!!!!
Bizjet, I actually agree with much of what you say, but I don't agree that our hope should lie in SKYW pilots joining ALPA. We would be better off making a single list a part of the section 6 negotiations. The only time a pilot group has forced a holding company to form a single list, has been during section 6 negotiations. It has happened 3 times.
1. Mesa/CCAir/Freedom
2. Republic/CHQ
3. EGL - Wings West, Simmons, Executive, Flagship
Those are the only cases of a pilot group forcing a holding company to form a single list among the various pilot groups flying under that holding company. In every single case, not all the groups were ALPA.
Every single case of an ALPA carrier trying to force a single list with other ALPA carriers, has failed. We tried with DAL and CMR in 2000 and we tried it with CMR subsequently. Neither attempt was successful.
So tell me, why would SKYW be different? What will make our situation different if we don't pursue it in section 6 and instead put our eggs in the "ALPA will take care of it" basket?
You actually have a fairly good comprehension of the issues, I just don't understand why you think SKYW joining ALPA will be any different than CMR or DAL being ALPA. It didn't work with them, it won't work if we wait for SKYW to join ALPA. We should push for it in section 6 like EGL, CHQ, and Mesa did.
:laugh:
