More bad news for airline labor!!!

[PiperDriver]

This profession and this country are so screwed...

To everyone who voted GOP in the last election, thanks...thanks for nothing.

You're welcome.

 

[Timebuilder]

Thanks, Floyd. I have never worked, nor is it likely that I ever will work for a 121 carrier.

I have been a member of several unions, all working for Fortune 500 companies, including the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) associated with the Screen Actor's Guild (SAG). So, I have just a wee bit of experience in union matters. One union was the Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen, an RLA union. I have written on and reported on unions, been a striker, and never crossed a line.

I have worked for two non-union charter operators, and have many a friend who flies corporate, fractional, regional, charter, and major.

So, when people ask me how I have permitted myself to speak on issues regarding unions, I think that I am qualified.

As someone who currently works for a non-union airline, I wouldn't be so sure. Our work "rules" can and do change on a day-by-day basis, our pay scale has gone up a whopping 20 cents over 10 years ago, and seniority means very little with respect to scheduling and reserve call-outs. The most senior pilot is still required to work Sunday trips he can't commute to, even though there are plenty of less-senior pilots to work those days. We're at-will employees and can be fired for no reason if management wishes.

Sounds like one of my recent employers. Trips are handed out based mostly on the whim of a young lady or two. I am told that they have had, and now have, relations of a "personal" nature with some of the pilots. If they like you, you may fly often. If the boss likes you, you may upgrade to larger equipment. If they both like you, you will make money on OT. I'm the guy that flys the Sunday trip. Yes, I am an at-will employee, too.

Now, I could complain and say that I wish there were a union, but if there was one, the company I work for would probably cease to exist. Either of the owners could easily say that 25 years is enough to have been in charter, and close the doors. The contract itself could make us so non-competitive that business would slow to a trickle, airplanes would be sold, and you'd have a handful of senior employees with jobs, while everyone else would be laid off. Is this starting to sound familiar? Earth to regional airline pilot, come in please! Yes, it sounds like what is happening at the "major" airlines. The senior guys have jobs, and the lower ranks are chumped to the curb, particularly at the wholly owneds. Higher costs of operation lead to a shrinking company where only the most senior guys can hold jobs. From the perspective of the Big Airline, the contracts at the regional partners look very attractive by comparison, ergo: Comair grows while Delta shrinks. US Air gives a flowback to furloughed pilots via j4j.

It doesn't have to be an adversarial relationship; that depends very much on the parties involved.

Agreed. And being a unionized worker is FAR from being a panacea, I can vouch for that.

So, from a certain perspective one could say that recent political chages are somehow "bad" for airline labor, or more specifically, airline labor unions. I'm not certain that I agree, since it has become patently obvious that our business is in great need of change, and it WILL change whether we like it or not. What we are faced with are not evil people that want to stamp out unions (I'm not one of that bunch) but an entire industry that is undergoing some very drastic changes in terms of labor and equipment, and how the public accesses air travel in general.

If one attribute of the changes in Washington is a process to provide for speedy agreements that lets all parties including passengers, owners, labor and management have a firm basis for expectations about the health and operation of unionized carriers, then my opinon is that is a good thing. Particularly when you look at what happens when we muddle through protracted negotiations with no regard to changing makets and competition, and end up in backruptcy.

We have to remember that the elephant can't dance if his feet are chained to the floor.