From: IBT Local 357
Subject: 02-12-14: Executive Board Update
Date: February 13, 2014 at 5:35:06 AM GMT+3
Reply-To: IBT Local 357 Eboard
The following is an Executive Board update regarding the pull down of EMB-140/145 flying at Chautauqua. While we do not yet have specific information regarding the logistical issues or specific information regarding the coming displacements, we wanted to give you the ?big picture? view of what this means for us as a pilot group.
Brothers and Sisters:
On February 10, 2014, President and CEO Bryan Bedford announced the removal of EMB-140 and 145 aircraft from service as a result of the shortage of pilots to staff them. This move was not unforeseen, nor should we view it as an isolated incident. As the supply of pilots willing to work for the compensation package currently offered dries up, companies across the industry will be faced with this simple choice: Which airplanes get flown, and which do not. Due to RAH having one of the lowest compensation packages among our peers coupled with an unstable base structure and lack of industry standard work rules, RAH is among the first to face this dilemma. In RAH?s case, the solution was simple: if there are not enough pilots to operate the entirety of the fleet, what portion of the fleet would the Company prefer to sit idle? The 37 and 50 seat fleet, or the 70+ seat fleet? The answer is rather clear, when put that way. However, the solution comes at a cost: loss of income. In the Feb-11 8-K filing, RAH stated the loss of income could be between $18 and $22 million. There are two issues with this statement. The first being if you recall the Chautauqua operation was refinanced and flying at near cost meaning the Company is also saving $18 to $22 million. Secondly, what is the cost of a new CBA that Mr. Bedford has advertised could reverse the removal of aircraft, and how does this compare to the reported gap between the Union and company proposals?
We all know how supply and demand works, yet RAH has continued to ignore it. There is no pilot shortage: only a shortage of pilots able and willing to work here with our current structural problems. The only solution is to fix the problem, yet RAH coaxes pilots into coming to talk to them with gift cards, and raffles for electronics.
So while Mr. Bedford can write about how hiring pilots with less than 1,500 hours would greatly help the Company?s current situation, the reality is that current law requires more experienced pilots. The law didn?t get enacted because airlines were acting responsibly; it was enacted because the industry abused the discretion given to them in hiring qualified personnel. Rather than increase compensation, the industry chose to continually reduce hiring minimums. At the end of the day, the value we bring as professionals is not our ability to manipulate flight controls or how quickly we can recite limitations and memory items. The true value we bring as professionals is our experience, and how we can relate those limitations and memory items to practical, everyday use. Our experience leads us to predict situations that we may wish to avoid and can prevent us from having to use those skills in handling difficult situations in the first place, or at least how to mitigate the risks that those threats present.
In our organization some pilots may have been hired with low flight time, however many were hired well above the 1,500 hours currently required and seen by management as the cause of their problem. There are still banners to tow, the bypass mail system is alive and well, cargo and freight still needs to be flown nightly, pipelines still require patrol and student pilots still require instruction. If the industry presented pilots with a viable career path, one without the shocking poor compensation and scheduling, then the training pipeline would again be filling with new entrants. Again, this is an industry wide problem, RAH is simply a participant in that industry.
As you read this, SkyWest has a pay scale that will pay a 2nd year Brasilia FO more than the highest paid RAH FO. It is no wonder that RAH is the second carrier (behind Great Lakes) to announce a major pull down of flying as a result of their inability to recruit and retain pilots.
If we accept Mr. Bedford?s premise that there is not a shortage of pilots willing to work for the compensation package offered, then perhaps logic would dictate that there is simply a shortage of airline management offering a compensation package acceptable to pilots.
Fraternally:
Craig, Gary, Jim, Dan, Matt, Carl and Shane
Subject: 02-12-14: Executive Board Update
Date: February 13, 2014 at 5:35:06 AM GMT+3
Reply-To: IBT Local 357 Eboard
The following is an Executive Board update regarding the pull down of EMB-140/145 flying at Chautauqua. While we do not yet have specific information regarding the logistical issues or specific information regarding the coming displacements, we wanted to give you the ?big picture? view of what this means for us as a pilot group.
Brothers and Sisters:
On February 10, 2014, President and CEO Bryan Bedford announced the removal of EMB-140 and 145 aircraft from service as a result of the shortage of pilots to staff them. This move was not unforeseen, nor should we view it as an isolated incident. As the supply of pilots willing to work for the compensation package currently offered dries up, companies across the industry will be faced with this simple choice: Which airplanes get flown, and which do not. Due to RAH having one of the lowest compensation packages among our peers coupled with an unstable base structure and lack of industry standard work rules, RAH is among the first to face this dilemma. In RAH?s case, the solution was simple: if there are not enough pilots to operate the entirety of the fleet, what portion of the fleet would the Company prefer to sit idle? The 37 and 50 seat fleet, or the 70+ seat fleet? The answer is rather clear, when put that way. However, the solution comes at a cost: loss of income. In the Feb-11 8-K filing, RAH stated the loss of income could be between $18 and $22 million. There are two issues with this statement. The first being if you recall the Chautauqua operation was refinanced and flying at near cost meaning the Company is also saving $18 to $22 million. Secondly, what is the cost of a new CBA that Mr. Bedford has advertised could reverse the removal of aircraft, and how does this compare to the reported gap between the Union and company proposals?
We all know how supply and demand works, yet RAH has continued to ignore it. There is no pilot shortage: only a shortage of pilots able and willing to work here with our current structural problems. The only solution is to fix the problem, yet RAH coaxes pilots into coming to talk to them with gift cards, and raffles for electronics.
So while Mr. Bedford can write about how hiring pilots with less than 1,500 hours would greatly help the Company?s current situation, the reality is that current law requires more experienced pilots. The law didn?t get enacted because airlines were acting responsibly; it was enacted because the industry abused the discretion given to them in hiring qualified personnel. Rather than increase compensation, the industry chose to continually reduce hiring minimums. At the end of the day, the value we bring as professionals is not our ability to manipulate flight controls or how quickly we can recite limitations and memory items. The true value we bring as professionals is our experience, and how we can relate those limitations and memory items to practical, everyday use. Our experience leads us to predict situations that we may wish to avoid and can prevent us from having to use those skills in handling difficult situations in the first place, or at least how to mitigate the risks that those threats present.
In our organization some pilots may have been hired with low flight time, however many were hired well above the 1,500 hours currently required and seen by management as the cause of their problem. There are still banners to tow, the bypass mail system is alive and well, cargo and freight still needs to be flown nightly, pipelines still require patrol and student pilots still require instruction. If the industry presented pilots with a viable career path, one without the shocking poor compensation and scheduling, then the training pipeline would again be filling with new entrants. Again, this is an industry wide problem, RAH is simply a participant in that industry.
As you read this, SkyWest has a pay scale that will pay a 2nd year Brasilia FO more than the highest paid RAH FO. It is no wonder that RAH is the second carrier (behind Great Lakes) to announce a major pull down of flying as a result of their inability to recruit and retain pilots.
If we accept Mr. Bedford?s premise that there is not a shortage of pilots willing to work for the compensation package offered, then perhaps logic would dictate that there is simply a shortage of airline management offering a compensation package acceptable to pilots.
Fraternally:
Craig, Gary, Jim, Dan, Matt, Carl and Shane