Open Letter to All United Pilots

[dixieflyer]

Some of yall may have seen this before. It's an email that's been making its way around aviation circles. Enjoy, and let the flames begin....


"An Open Letter to All United Pilots. I'm a dinosaur to you. I started new hire school at United on August 8, 1966 and flew my last trip on December 14, 2000. During my 34+ years I was a loyal ALPA member from day one. I worked under countless United presidents and CEOs and many fine MEC chairmen. I supported every labor issue as it came along, once getting stranded for a week in Honolulu (tough duty) when the IAM went out on one of their many strikes. I walked the picket line when the Eastern employees went out, I walked with the Continental pilots, I walked with our own AFA when they were picketing informationally and more recently when the American flight attendants walked. I walked the picket line with our IAM countless times and they, and our flight attendants, walked with us in '85. Do you think that ANY group would walk for you today?In 1985 my wife, a UAL F/A, and I put our jobs on the line, not for ourselves, but for the future of your profession. I say not for ourselves because, our then president Dick Ferris, only wanted to change the pay and work rules of the future pilots, not for us. We could have sold you down the river, a river that you seem so willing to sell us down today. When we went on strike, for you, in 1985 we had a 50-50 chance of never flying for United again but we went out knowing that the profession that we loved would be worthless without unity, unity throughout the entire workforce at UAL. We couldn't take the easy way out and let management divide us, the greater good was too important.Today that unity seems to be a thing of the past. The contract that you just voted for is the most shortsighted, selfish contract that I can imagine. It's not only a contract that sells out your fellow active employees, it sells out all of us who came before you. Those of us who sacrificed so that you could aspire to the wonderful profession that I left, proudly, in 2000.I wore my ALPA pin with pride for 38 years, both as an active employee and as a retiree, but now I'll wear my pin upside down out of shame for what my union has become. I'll still wear it because I want people to know that I was once a member of a proud association of professionals, but I'll wear it upside down because I have no respect for the current members.Captain W. Thomas (Tommy) [email protected]"

 

[ATR-DRIVR]

I wonder if ole' Deewayne has seen it.

 

[FDJ2]

I suspect the author never spent two years in BK. The problems facing UAL and many others are real and need more then just emotional broad sides.

 

[dojetdriver]

I suspect the author never spent two years in BK. The problems facing UAL and many others are real and need more then just emotional broad sides.

Excluding a former CAL, Eastern, ect guy,
I suspect a alot of post 1985 UAL pilots may have never walked a picket line either or watched a scab take his job.

 

[Frac Daddy]

Yeah, but....

the chicken known as "deregulation" has finally come home to roost.(After twenty-something years.) SW, JetBlue, Airtran, etc. don't have "legacy costs" like UAL. No defined benefit pension or large retiree medical costs.

When Captain Tommy started at UAL this was not an issue. Instead of flaming UAL ALPA, why not come up with another solution to compete with the likes of jetBlue and Airtran. I know having your pension slashed sucks, but what are they(ALPA) going to do? Not trying to start a fight. Just asking a serious question.

 

[FNG_that's me]

Two issues here:

1) LCCs, while being the result of a capitalist system, are to the aviation industry what outsourcing jobs to India is to corporate America. They take folks who are willing to fly for less cash, work a harder schedule, and have nil long term benefits and pass that savings on to the custormer. It's the Walmart in the sky. The facts of life are that there are plenty of pilots willing to do this(especially with the current state of the industry), so it is the future. That's a glass-half-empty approach, but it's how it is. Working for a LCC is like having all your cash in a 5% CD. When the market is booming, you're kicking yourself for having such a crappy investment...but when things suck, like now, you walk with your head high thinking, 'hey man, I'm getting 5%.' We'll see over the next few years as the economy turns north if it goes back to the old way...don't hold your breath. Again, this is the way of the free market system and we need to get used to it, or find a way to get the industry to put the $$ back in the pensions on a real-time basis, which will drive ticket prices up, which will drive total pax down, which will make for fewer pilot jobs out there.

2) Second issue, and the real problem as I see it, is new carriers that never make any money. Someone refresh my memory, but was it Vanguard who boomed on the scene in MCI, selling tickets for nothing, never making a dime...all the while, sucking customers from other airlines(including the LCCs) and 'wasting' revenue that could have helped a UAL, DAL or USAirways. I guess it doesn't really matter who it was, there are too many of these wanna-be, fly-by-credit airlines trying to carve a niche into the bedrock of an industry that can't even support the mainstay corporate structure


Talk amongst yourselves...

 

[CSY Mon]

Hmm, interesting post Mr. FNG.

Yup, Vanguard was the one that sold cheap tickets for a while.
It was a good training school, guys got their 121 / jet time there, then applied to other carriers and jumped ship.

Made some $ on Vanguard stock for a while, it went up and down fairly regulary, so a few hundred could easily double next week...Or disappear.

 

[Mr.B]

Very good post FNG.

 

[AA717driver]

His letter is excellent. He is a product of his environment. I know a lot of guys who got hired in the 60's have the same committment to our profession.

It's those that came after him who brought us to this point. The pilot groups at the "big 5" in the 90's salivated over other carrier's financial or labor troubles as an opportunity to improve their own positions.

They cheered and pulled for the "weak sisters" to go out of business so they could move up a seat or get to a widebody.

So many of us are willing to go to a non-union LCC and "cut our own deal" because we saw where 17 years of ALPA membership and "Unity" with our "brothers" got us.

Funny, I seem to have lost the drive to fall on my sword so someone else can have a great career... TC

 

[canyonblue]

Two issues here:

1) LCCs, while being the result of a capitalist system, are to the aviation industry what outsourcing jobs to India is to corporate America. They take folks who are willing to fly for less cash, work a harder schedule, and have nil long term benefits and pass that savings on to the custormer. It's the Walmart in the sky. The facts of life are that there are plenty of pilots willing to do this(especially with the current state of the industry), so it is the future. That's a glass-half-empty approach, but it's how it is. Working for a LCC is like having all your cash in a 5% CD. When the market is booming, you're kicking yourself for having such a crappy investment...but when things suck, like now, you walk with your head high thinking, 'hey man, I'm getting 5%.' We'll see over the next few years as the economy turns north if it goes back to the old way...don't hold your breath. Again, this is the way of the free market system and we need to get used to it, or find a way to get the industry to put the $$ back in the pensions on a real-time basis, which will drive ticket prices up, which will drive total pax down, which will make for fewer pilot jobs out there.

Man you really are a FNG. Let me help you catch up. First the earth cooled, then the dinosaurs came, and then management at various Legacy airlines plundered and pillaged what they could from their airlines and telling their employees that the losses incurred were not because they mismanaged the place, but rather the competition is fierce. Don't help keep these sham managements afloat by spreading their propaganda. They are the reason they are losing money, not the employees, and not another airline.

 

[Rez O. Lewshun]

Man you really are a FNG. Let me help you catch up. First the earth cooled, then the dinosaurs came, and then management at various Legacy airlines plundered and pillaged what they could from their airlines and telling their employees that the losses incurred were not because they mismanaged the place, but rather the competition is fierce. Don't help keep these sham managements afloat by spreading their propaganda. They are the reason they are losing money, not the employees, and not another airline.

Agreed. It is one thing to stand up to Dick Ferris. One problem, one goal. It is another to have an entire industry redefined.

So when the maritime industry no longer provided US jobs, it was the merchant marines fault?

Instead of blaming your fellow pilots with customized self aggrandizement (i.e. the open letter), tell us what the solutions are. What do the current pilots have to do? It is easy to talk trash. That is for the troops. Solutions are for leaders.

 

[FNG_that's me]

Perhaps the aire of the first half of my post came off differently than I wanted. It isn't a slam on LCCs, the guys/gals who work there (I would have taken a job at SWA/JB in a second.) It's just the way our economy has developed. Anyway CB, you are right about management being the biggest reason most big guys are belly up.

My post isn't meant to bring up touchy(and overdone) jabs about LCCs, or any company for that matter...except point two, which is supposed to be a finger in the chest of companies(and really the management there) who milk dollars out of the consumer, which should be going to companies that have a chance of surviving. Fair enough to say that USAir is now in this catagory. 150 bucks R/T coast to coast...somebody shoot this lame horse.

Flame on fellas!

 

[FNG_that's me]

Let me even go one step further in not offending the LCC guys. It was those carriers that had the vision to realize one thing...There is a huge component of pleasure travelers who only care about one thing. That thing is the cost of the ticket. These folks don't care about first class upgrades, fancy food or even assigned seats. Again, this isn't a slam on LCC service, it is friendly and positive. I'm just pointing out that these folks who just want to get the clan to granma and granpa's house for cheap would gladly stand up for 5 hours if it saved them 15 bucks a ticket. This is a market that doesn't flux nearly as much as the business traveler's market does with the economy. A brilliant move to tap into these customers.

Here's the warning. The secret is out and there is a mad scramble amongst the old carriers(sorry, I don't like the word legacy) to get into this market. Song, Ted, and even the mainlines changing fare schedules to not account for a Saturday night stay are the march towards the homogenous market which will mirror the orig LCCs(they could eventually be called legacy LCCs). How many LCCs can the market support? I dunno. I thought that Prince Charles started to wear Lady Di's clothes before the dinosaurs got too big and fat and died off. I've heard so-called 'experts' compare this metamorphasis to the steel and auto industry. Three major US companies in those markets. I would venture to guess that UAL, DAL, AA, SWA, JB, ATA, AWA, USAir, CO are too many.

All in all, I support every swingin' John Thomas's venture to get a flying job...just be smart about where you go and what you demand when you get there.

I should really get some sleep.

 

[canyonblue]

I thought that Prince Charles started to wear Lady Di's clothes before the dinosaurs got too big and fat and died off.

Nice catch! And good post.

 

[SWA/FO]

exactly..... Sounds like a new chapter in hard landings.

 

[Publishers]

The old captain can say these things because his personal stand was successful.
What about Eastern, National, Braniff, Pan American, TWA, etc.... once proud airlines brought to their knees. The top 5 legacies of today are here because these above failed and they were just a bit sharper, just a bit better positioned, just a bit quicker to get yield management, just a bit quicker to a/b scale, etc.
They kept going but in the end they may all fail just like the ones above. Same disease, they were just healthier to start.

 

[skykid]

Blaming it all on mgt is a little too easy, and comparing the LCCs to the "legacies" is an apples to oranges deal. The blame game and my airline is the greatest is getting a little tired.

Back to the letter, the retired pilot doesn't offer any solutions. I feel bad for him, but what is plan B? If and when competing exit plans are allowed, I'll bet none include going forward with pensions. Not going to happen because potential equity investors or financial institutions know no plan will work that includes pensions. Is it a moral victory to walk off the job, say we showed you, and have no pension OR job?

Here's what I see as the reality without emotion or judgement. I don't believe CAL, or Delta, or American, or Northwest, or United will survive without strong domestic feed - not going to do it international alone. Over the next 5 or so years, none of these companies will compete against the LCCs and keep their pensions, regardless of any liquidations that take place. Defined pensions AND good 401K type plans may have been the standard, but this is not sustainable when competitors aren't funding pensions and the insurance that goes with it. I hope I'm wrong. The interesting thing is going to be whether the government is going to allow dumping pensions without Ch11. I don't see that happening.

The other interesting thing is going to be watching how low we can go. Except for SWA, narrowbody pay in my opinion is lousy across the board. Having said that, why would VUSA or whatever is coming next not chop 40K off typical captain pay and make you pay for training? They'd still have thousands of applications.

At some point you reach the threshold of what the job is worth to you. My plan was to save like crazy for 10 years and be ready to get out and rely on my other 2 part time jobs - almost made it.

 

[yaks]

The fact is, it is our own fault (with help from the likes of Kit Darby). We were sold on the pilot shortage and the hiring boom etc. and now there are too many pilots. There weren't enough military slots to go around and so the CFI's became the commuter pilots who were treated so poorly that they would go anywhere to escape the commuter life. When the crash hit we were ripe for the plucking. So the LCC's offered crappy jobs and we lined up at the door for interviews because anything was better than being stuck at Mesaba, Eagle, Trans-States etc. Now that they are undercutting the "legacy" carriers, the AA's, DAL's, NWA's etc. are losing their shirts and the LCC jobs will be the ones we are ultimately stuck with.

 

[Jim Smyth]

This is a sad state of affairs to say the least. My father worked for American Airlines for 46 years. He passed on in 1999 but I would love to have a conversation with him now to see what his views would be since he had a long ride at American and had alot of good advice to always give me.

We all are in the same boat and sometimes unfortunately we are tied to our Airline and Managements decisions that are not always the best for the employees. ALPA also has its good and bad moments too. For a while it was a great ride with each new airline contract raising the bar for all of us, constantly spiraling upwards. Our current contract pay rates and working conditions to a certain extent at SWA is because of the American/Delta/United pay rates they had recently negociated before the whole industry started imploding. We always compared ourselves with there contracts during negociations and always managed to squeak out about 70 percent of what they got. Now that has all been turned upside down.

IMO there is only one way out of this for us "all". That is either gas has to come down to a reasonable dollor amount per barrel so we can all enjoy a profit and a decent job or the fairs have to go up to compansate for the gas increase. There is no other way. We made a profit in the fourth quarter only because of fuel hedgeing or we would have joined the group of others bleeding red. I hope someone smarter than me figures out how to do this since I have teenagers that are coming up and I would like them to become third generation Pilots.

 

[Peanut gallery]

History in other industries may have a lesson or two

As I see it our industry is being effected by the Wal-martization of our entire culture. People want to pay the min for everything with no understanding of the long term effects to the workforce. The inevitable decline of the middle class is directly related related to the ability of everyday jobs to sustain the lifestyle. The decline is on and we as consumers are demaning it to be that way. The answer is demanding actual quality and being willing to pay for it. This pertains to our industry as well as a bunch of others especially service related industries.
I can truely feel for the author of the original letter that started this thread but I would be willing to bet that even he is participating full force in this cultural event especially with the loss of the retirement that he was counting on.


Just my .02