SeaX
I'm not sure who you are, who you work for or how much you know, so I will try to fill you in.
While I don't condone 'bashing' 9E, I will admit that not everyone here at Xj is behaving as they should.
That being said, I doubt any XJer is really targeting the people at 9E, we simply recognize that in the corporate shell game being played over at 5101 Northwest Drive, Eagan, MN Pinnacle has the spotlight, for now. Most all of us are aware that the majority of the pilots at 9E support us and mean us no harm, it is NWA that is using 9E to antagonize the pilots of XJ.
Please notice that I said the majority of the 9E pilots, this was not a mistake. Back in 1997 when XJ was in the spotlight, and 9E was languishing in the corner, NWA consolidated all of the Airlink flying in MSP and gave that flying to XJ. The pilots at Mesaba Airlines agreed to allow pilots from 9E to transfer to XJ with seniority. Not only did the captains from 9E come with either 1-2 or 1-3 seniority, but FOs came over with a specific date, several months before they were actually hired, effectively leap-frogging several new hire classes, including mine.
We did not have to do this, we did it because it was the right thing to do. For me the difference is between holding a line and being on build-up/reserve. And despite the fact that I suffer from the effects of having people who came on property after I did, but have several months of seniority over me, I support this action and I am glad we did it, it is indicative of this pilot group's integrity.
One provision of the letter of agreement was that if the situation were to be reversed, the MECs would need to meet and work out a reciprocal deal with conditions no less favorable for Mesaba pilots.
So with Mesaba shrinking, furloughing pilots (thankfully they have been recalled) and losing airplanes while Pinnacle gets CRJs, hires and migrates North what happens to this agreement?
Nothing. The pinnacle mec does nothing, splits hairs over how the transfer of flying isnt the same as '97 or some cr*p. Pardone my language, but that is a load of b*llsh*t.
See my login name? See my signature? I am no longer a CWASaab driver because of 9E flights into CWA, specifically overnights. Or how about we talk to the folks at stations like ATW, LNK, and ELM? A pay cut to work for 9E and the managers were reportedly not even offered jobs.
Yeah, I know, this is all NWAs doing, fueling the fire of discontent and competiton. But you know what? In 1997 the pilots here did the right thing. The pilots at Pinnacle have allowed their elected leaders to discredit them and do them a great disservice.
So perhaps the pilots at Mesaba have a right to be suspect of Pinnacle as we try to extend our level of brotherhood to our peers in the red tail family.
The only way to defeat managment's whipsaw tactics and achieve good contracts for all is too be for all.
I certainly appreciate all of the Pinnacle folks that have expressed thier support for us now, as I recognize it is vital. As will ours be when the tables turn in the future. I look forward to welcomming 9E pilots into our info picket lines.
So SeaX there is history, and to many of us here at XJ it seems like we have been the 'bigger' group, offering jobs, to our own detrement, when NWA tries to pit us against each other. And in return we recieve the cold shoulder from the the 9E MEC when the situation is reversed.
And despite this treatment, we continue to strive for brotherhood, to be the 'bigger' group.
I am not trying to 'bash' 9E pilots, I count good friends amongst their ranks. I am trying to highlight that we must work together, that as individuals we must be vocal in telling our MECs that this is what we expect.
And no, I do not begin to think that Mesaba pilots are somehow better than 9E pilots simply due to the past. I do think that our union leaders are blessed with fantasitc vision for the future, and an unwavering sense of duty to the line pilots they represent, a connection that they work hard to maintain.
