Mesaba pilot contract summary

[T-handle]

Don't spend your strike fund just yet. This TA won't pass, I think that's pretty obvious. We had the balls to take our negotiations this far and we will have even bigger balls to turn it down... and possibly go on strike.

I am so cynical now that I know something even darker went on behind the doors 1 minute before the deadline. NWA intimidated us in 96 to fly the Avro for sh!t and they backed Pinnacle in the coner in 98-99??? to fly the CRJ.... I fockin know NWA big wigs were in that room before the deadline! and something went down. A Golden carrot was presented and they threatened to shut down Mesaba if we declared a strike. Now way in m'f' hell am I going to be Mesa Contract II. I can't live with that for 5 more years and hold my head up in the airport terminals knowing I sold out for Scope? So much for a 98% strike vote and a deadline.

Btw, we're beyond the 30 day cooling period and still legally entitled to engage in Self help. So this sh!t ain't over with.

 

[T-Gates]

Stand up for what you want guys!!!!

We're all still behind you!

 

[DTWFO]

Please don't settle if you aren't happy with it......like he said, we're (9E) behind you 100% and our contract depends on yours as well. Good luck.

 

[cl-65link]

Nothing against your MEC but, at least you have membership ratification. In the end, it's up to the individual pilot.

 

[Fly2Scuba]

Not entirely surprised, but disappointed

Not good by along shot. That Avro may have 69 seats in it, but in reality it's an 80 seat all coach airplane surpassing the CRJ-70. The pay rates should be at least what Air Wisconsin makes. Sick of hearing the arguments the company makes over there that if there was a seperate rate for Saab FOs and Avro FOs, then training cost would skyrocket for transition training. What the heck do the major airlines do in regards to have multiple size airplanes? And per diem, that's been the biggest insult because you layover in sometimes the same cities as NWA and their crews are making correct if I'm wrong over $2.00 hour. Good luck!

 

[trip]

Skywest Pay Scales as of June 28, 2002--still in effect.

First Officer
1st year F.O.---------19.02
2nd year Emb-120----27.42
2nd year CRJ---------34.54

Captain
3rd year Emb-120 Capt.--------48.49

5th year CRJ Capt.-------------65.25
18th year----------------------92.87

Per Diem 1.65 per hour

 

[Stallion]

I'm with you T-handle. I think something ominous went down Friday night just before the deadline. This is so far off from our goals that I'm still in shock. Just wish I hadn't wasted all that time on the phone with Wilson polling. I could have taken a nap and gotten more out of it. An XJ guy who is tired of being bent over.

 

[Xdriver]

Vote it down those pay rates suck!

 

[spinproof]

Does anyone know if the Mesaba MEC is going to do "road shows" to get a better understanding why the TA on such an inferior contract? Could be they just want to relieve themselves of liability!

Don't put away those picket signs just yet!

 

[mesaba2425]

Here are a few quotes I copied from articles in the Star Tribune. It appears that union leadership isn't in touch with the pilots.

-----

"We've had a very, very long and arduous path to get to this point," said Tom Wychor, chairman of the Mesaba unit of the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA). However, he said, negotiators achieved "good, solid increases" in pay and retirement benefits for Mesaba captains and first officers.

-----

Mesaba pilots and management faced an 11:01 p.m. strike deadline on Friday, but the pilots decided to remain at the bargaining table to reach an agreement. "After the strike deadline when we got this agreement done, we saw the company put a substantial amount of money on the table to make sure that our first-officer pay was corrected and that there was an even amount of money put across the board to increase compensation for all Mesaba pilots," said Kris Pierson, a Mesaba pilot and union spokesman.

-----

The union said the tentative agreement also greatly improves the retirement plan for Mesaba pilots. Union leaders said they are pleased with the new contract because it puts their contract in the top tier with other major regional airlines -- Comair, Air Wisconsin and Atlantic Coast.

-----

Wychor also was gracious in his remarks, saying, "I would like to extend our appreciation to our Mesaba president, John Spanjers, for staying at the table and helping us find a way to meet the goals of our airline and our pilots."

-----

 

[Beerme]

Re: Not entirely surprised, but disappointed

And per diem, that's been the biggest insult because you layover in sometimes the same cities as NWA and their crews are making correct if I'm wrong over $2.00 hour. Good luck!

Domestic: $1.85
Int'l: $2.05

 

[winged princess]

As a Comair pilot, I want the Mesaba pilot group to know that we are behind you in whatever you decide.

Our MEC has requested we have checks ready to send to help you and your families.

Going on strike is no picnic. You will decide if this TA is what you can live with. After 89 days on strike, our TA was not what we wanted, but it passed. We thought we should have gotten everything we wanted, but it doesn't always work like that.

We will back you whatever happens.

wp

 

[Tflyer70]

To my fellow pilots at Comair: Since you have been down this road, I would like to know what the changes were from Managements last offer for a TA, and what you received on the contract signing after the strike. Did any parts of the contract get worse, or better? And what was the difference in section 3 items from what was first proposed and what was finally settled.

Thanks for all of you and the other carrriers support. Mesaba pilots including myself deeply appreciate it.

 

[mesaba13]

I agree with stallion that something big went down that night and the negotiators got to see the man behind the curtain. Came up well below my expectations and I am probably more company than most.

You have close to 400 FO's of which most will be disappointed. There are hundreds of junior captains that will not like it. There will always be some senior guys that will complain about anything.
I dont see it passing without 100 crj's tied to the deal!

 

[Simon Says]

I want to apologize to all who supported us (and still do support us) for putting forward this TA. The only good thing in it is scope. Rest assured this fight is not over. We will overwhelmingly vote it down. We are not going to sell out for scope.

Big Sky, now do you see what kind of damage you have caused by not standing with us. Now you guys are the enemy and we will have to write you off. We were willing to give you one for one senority if only you stood up and fought the power.

 

[T-handle]

Now the question is does our MEC have what it takes to declare a strike when this TA is voted down???? Or are they going to try to go back to the table and waste more time with the company? I lost a little faith after January 9th 11pm CST when they decided to extend the deadline indefinitely. But when they assured us that the contract was in line with our peers (and it wasn't) I lost even more faith.

 

[AWACoff]

Ouch...

Vote the way you need to guys but remember this...Air Wisconsin settled too soon and look where it got us. That TA is poor. You can do better. MUCH better.

 

[de Pez]

Quoted from the TA: "Q Captain pay increases are 5.1% across the board. The Captain payscale tops out at 18 years and pay rates differ by the aircraft type, as delineated by seat ranges."

"Q All pilot payscales will increase by 2% for the first two years after signing, and 4% over the last two years."



Hmmm. Isn't the last contract almost three years out of date already? So no one has received an additional raise in three years?...(Can this be correct?) Prices aren't the same today as they were 3 years ago, but your pay is?! Assuming a standard 3% inflationary cost of living per year (the standard basis for calculating inflation and the cost of living), then the "old contract's" payscales are at least 9% less valuable today than three years ago....

So, a raise of 5.1% + 2% + 2% ("for the first 2 years," am I reading this correctly? Or is it 2% over 2 years?) would work out to be a total raise of 9.1% two years after contract ratification. However, subtracting out the additional 6% cost of living expense associated with inflation two years from now as discussed above, that would leave total inflationary costs at 15% over five years, offset by a raise in the second year of the contract of 9.1%. Unless there are significant retirement perks, or something else I'm missing, then this TA would in fact be 5.9% LESS pay in terms of buying power than the last contract...Please correct me if I'm wrong with my assumptions or numbers, but I think this might in fact be a pay cut!

 

[skybwnd]

simon says....


So what you're saying is all the problems you guys have suffered over the past 3 years with your contract is the fault of the Big Sky pilots?? And as far as standing with you......ALPA turned down Big Sky not once, but twice. We stand behind the Mesaba pilots......don't go blaming us, the Big Sky pilots, for your problems. If we had our way, Mesaba pilots would get everything they asked for.

 

[T-handle]

I'm still in shock

Overall, this TA is "OK to maybe somewhat good" at best. But that was not our goal and apparently our negotiators/MEC strayed way off course on several issues especially pay.

This is how I see it. Before Big Sky was bought, Pay was our top priority along with Scheduling and Retirement. The company new that to reduce labor costs they had to divert our attention to a non economic but important issue. So Foley went out to buy Big Sky to threaten our jobs so Scope then became our top priority. I could see the company at the table just hours before the deadline saying Ok you can get Scope but you're gonna have to give up a little in pay and scheduling to get it. Hell I wouldn't be surprised if Johnny Ornstein was sitting on XJ's side that night. Scope costs the company nothing, it's just a bargaining chip that they played very well.

NWA told us in '96 if we want to fly the Avros you're going to have to sell out the FOs. Then NWA backed then-Express into the corner in '98-'99 to fly the CRJs. At least those two scenarios were pretty much guaranteeed growth. Now Mesaba is faced with NO GUARANTEE of any new airplanes, on top of losing 36 airplanes and 300-350 pilots. So if we agree to this TA, we lower our standards AND still risk losing up to 350 pilots. So as I see it, we all wanted to raise Saab and AVRO pay knowing we have no guaranteed growth. And hell, even if NWA just replaces the Avros with 36 CRJs, that's not growth.

To back up what I said earlier, something sinister went down on Jan. 9th. There is all kinds of talk that management scared the sh!t out of our MEC with bankruptcy and liquidation talk at the last minute and we blinked. There is talk of NWA dangling another big a$$ carrot in front of us and they ONLY way to grow Mesaba was to bite the orange focker. I'm still in shock as to why, after 2.5 years of company stalling, we agreed to go past a deadline? WHY? Did they freakin taint the negotiator's water with some drug?

We may truly never know what happened 1 minute before the deadline, besides what they said in the opening pages of the TA's summary. But what we do know is 98% voted in favor of a strike, a deadline was set, and when the time came, a decision to accept a TA or go on strike at that VERY minute had to be made. The pilots EXPECTED that. We didn't vote nor recommend or suggest to extend a deadline indefinitely. Either a TA that is, at the minimum, 98-99% of our goals or a strike. Period. Neither was met. I didn't care either way, I am just disappointed a decision wasn't made at 11:01pm CST on Jan 9th and to add insult to injury we just get a sugarcoated Mesa Contract after they assured us that it was in line with our peers at Comair, AirWis, and ACA.

Hell if we took ACA's current contract, tore off the cover and put Mesaba on it, I'd probably "reconsider" that. But our TA.... uh no. Like a fellow XJer said, we just got PUNK'D! Back to the table.