SKYW ALPA convert

[HockleyPilot]

- On another note the company is awarding the backpay for the cancellation pay issue that was brought up, but they are not going to pay it that way in the future. They admitted they did it wrong (ie paying it back to the pilots) but are basically saying that they are going to continue to do it wrong in the future.

Hope that helps for those of you that don't have access to SWOL.

And with this, they are awarding the cnx pay to 57 PIC'S or so. That is nothing compared to the amount of PIC's that are on file due to cancellation pay. They admit they were wrong, yet won't reconcile ALL of them, and won't in the future. And who is the one creating the adversarial relationship?

 

[SkyNation]

yes, let's all rush out to vote in ALPA and infect our work environment the it's inherent animosities, distrust, and adversarial positions. that'll show 'em! right guys?! and then, and then we can be like, like.......ummm, let's see...scratching my head here, ummmmmmmmmmmmmmm.............


of course there are things at any company that go on that are undesirable to someone. you have to look at what we have overall, and compare it the industry. overall I feel we have it better. If you disagree and feel like you will force the companies hand by voting in ALPA and that we'll walk down some primrose path to better pay, benefits, etc., then I wish you luck. if that happens, then I'll mimic all the crybabies who currently shout 'where are you SAPA?' and 'what are you gonna do SAPA?', but obviously replace 'SAPA' with 'ALPA.'

be careful what you wish for. don't be too anxious to give up what we have at SkyWest for stickers, magazines, etc.

HATERS-LOAD UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I look forward to all the same tired arguments. I'm more interested in results.

 

[buscap]

yes, let's all rush out to vote in ALPA and infect our work environment the it's inherent animosities, distrust, and adversarial positions. that'll show 'em! right guys?! and then, and then we can be like, like.......ummm, let's see...scratching my head here, ummmmmmmmmmmmmmm.............


of course there are things at any company that go on that are undesirable to someone. you have to look at what we have overall, and compare it the industry. overall I feel we have it better. If you disagree and feel like you will force the companies hand by voting in ALPA and that we'll walk down some primrose path to better pay, benefits, etc., then I wish you luck. if that happens, then I'll mimic all the crybabies who currently shout 'where are you SAPA?' and 'what are you gonna do SAPA?', but obviously replace 'SAPA' with 'ALPA.'

be careful what you wish for. don't be too anxious to give up what we have at SkyWest for stickers, magazines, etc.

HATERS-LOAD UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I look forward to all the same tired arguments. I'm more interested in results.

Hey Dude,

Everyone in the industry knows why SKW doesn't have a union. You've been treated and compensated just well enough to keep a union off the property. However, we also know that level of compensation and QOL is based on that attained at union carriers. We also know the rising tide effect at SKW can only last so long.

I personally hope SKW joins ALPA as it would benefit the SKW pilots, ALPA, and all ALPA regional pilots. But I beleive the biggest winner of the three would be the SKW pilots.

Good luck with the union drive, but please don't vote against it just because you don't like stickers.

 

[Tarzan]

HATERS-LOAD UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I look forward to all the same tired arguments. I'm more interested in results.

I am not what you call an ALPA Kool-Aid consumer. Nor do I buy what the company presents either. However, when the company decides they will abide by an agreement even it is the wrong thing to do, how else do get them to abide? At the very least, the union presents an avenue to attain such results. Whereas now you have no real legal course of action to right a wrong.

If the SW group votes in a union, I believe it benefit us all now and in the future. Such a large pilot group helps reach the point where the plumbers and electricians held enough clout to get the job done properly with fair pay. Remember, these guys were the best at what they did. If you wanted something installed right, you got a union guy to come to it. In today's climate, take a look around. People what everything for nothing. Not there is anything wrong with wanting a free ride but there needs to be adequate compensation for the amount of effort put forward by pilots. Most folks don't know we climb into a sim twice a year and practice the worst case deals. The don't know we could lose our jobs at any point if your blood pressure comes back to high.

I am a free market believer..... To a point. If a free market runs wild, you eventually have a monopoly which leads to subrogation of the employee's. Nowhere else to go. It also leads to the consumer getting fleeced. The union has been the counterweight to this sort of stuff. It is not without its shortcomings but there is also much be gained.

 

[mavdog]

- President was asked and refused to sign a confidentiality agreement with the company that would prohibit him from having open communication with the pilot group.

It is not uncommon for ALPA MECs to sign these agreements with management, so I wouldn't get too worked up over that point.

 

[Weasil]

the fact is the company showed their hand. They claimed in court that we had a "contract" under the RLA via our SAPA policy manual, and then in the same week they made a pen stroke change to the manual, even while they agreed that cancellation was paid in the past the way the PIC's said it was, they will no longer pay it that way. This is why we need an actual collective bargaining agreement! You can bet your boots that the guys who run the company have individual employment contracts. Why shouldn't the pilots have a contract? I don't understand why pilots would not want one.
I know there have been a lot of concessions with all airlines in recent history, and a lot of people blame ALPA for these, saying ALPA is not effective anymore, but I say - the pay/benefits that were given up would never have been gained without ALPA, and just imagine what would have been taken away were it not for ALPA.

 

[reno]

Visit www.skywestalpa.org for all of the litigation documents.

 

[bender]

...or instead you could just recall the good 'ole boys out of our student council.

 

[Ben Dover]

Two things:

They claimed in court that we had a "contract" under the RLA via our SAPA policy manual, and then in the same week they made a pen stroke change to the manual...

If the policy manual/"contract" says the company can unilaterally change anything in it at any time. How is that a breach of "contract"/manual?

Secondly, the only suprise about this latest message from Mark is that many of you didn't already know that such tom foolery has been standard fair within SAPA for years.

 

[Weasil]

If the policy manual/"contract" says the company can unilaterally change anything in it at any time. How is that a breach of "contract"/manual?
.

I guess that was kind of my point. The whole idea that our agreement meets the requirements of the RLA is a joke of an argument, just the mere fact that they can change it without our agreement should be enough for the judge. But who knows these days. I have seen many legal decisions go in favor of management vs labor lately that nothing surprises me anymore.

 

[Jmoney]

Get 'r Done.....

There are a lot of things I like about ALPA. I work for ASA, and have never regretted the fact that it is an ALPA carrier. Here are a few things I feel are important about having a union with ALPA's resources:

Medical-If you have a condition, or take some sort of medication, you can call up their Doc and get the straight answer right then and there-they don't charge a dime for this advice.

Legal-A couple of years ago we had a gear collapse on one of our RJs. Not the fault of the crew at all.... Anyhow, the crew did an excellent job, but had to evacuate the plane. There happened to be some paralegal on board who sprained her ankle getting out. This B-word sued everyone-I mean EVERY ONE in any way involved with the incident. Mechanics, Flight Attendants, Pilots, gate agents, skycaps-you get the picture. I am told that the pilots picked up the phone, called ALPA, and legal help was dispatched immediately-at no cost to the pilots. This sort of help can cost one hell of a lot if you have to pay out of pocket. Not many regional pilots have the kind of resources to defend against silly lawsuits like this, no matter if they have merit or not.


Compliance-Depending on who your management happens to have around, relations can be great (we at ASA had an entire year without a single grievance back when times were good.) Or they can be pure hell. I know that we had a couple of bad apples get into important management positions here a while back, and things got real bad. I firmly believe things would have gotten aeroflot bad without the union to keep these guys from going off the deep end.

After seeing what I have seen here, I will never work for any airline without a good union to keep things in balance.

BTW-When is SKYW going to vote on ALPA?
-Just curious

 

[No.W.]

Heard a rumor that the SAPA meeting canceled by MN(canceled evidentially because MN wanted to clarify the leadership status of SAPA) is back on per ME's instructions. Interesting, don't you think? This is dirty pool...and it needs to stop.

 

[Sedona16]

I can tell you that some of the folks on the executive board (VP and Secretary) are and have been self serving for some time now. When I first came to Skywest I was friends with the current VP, Jim B. Over the course of the next several years I would come to find out what type of person he really was. I watched him bounce around to any position he could get where he didnt fly (Interviewer....this is where he really became tight with management, Liason with the UVSC program until that position went away, Sapa, etc). Maybe this isnt the place to talk about this (I bring it up though because I feel a man of no character is more likely to sell out on his peers) but ultimately I was not impressed with his actions when it came to women, him being a married man. I no longer consider him a friend. The best way to describe Jim B. and frankly, David L, Dave A. is "oppertunist". Thats the truth. The secretary, Mike E. was a good guy. When he lost his medical his judgement became clouded. With his back against the wall (ironicaly if ALPA was already on the property and he had loss of license coverage he would have at least had something to live on....but he did not and instead of fighting to help someone in the future in his same position he aimed squarely to get his... acting, selling and doing whatever management who paid his daily living wanted to do.) he sold out. Sad, very sad. These are the facts and they are undisputed to those really familiar with them.

 

[Gr82Aviate]

Thats one mistake skyw will regret. That was by far the last straw for me, who do these clowns think they are, and what compensation did they get for stabbing the pilot group in the back? I know I probably wont be on property when the skyw pilot group gets its first contract, but this is no way to represent a pilot group.

Maybe now you're starting to see a small amount of the kind of sh!t that's been going on for far too long??? Those of us that have been around have seen much more...

 

[Guillotine007]

Posting in a legendary thread!

 

[Gr82Aviate]

yes, let's all rush out to vote in ALPA and infect our work environment the it's inherent animosities, distrust, and adversarial positions. that'll show 'em! right guys?! and then, and then we can be like, like.......ummm, let's see...scratching my head here, ummmmmmmmmmmmmmm.............


of course there are things at any company that go on that are undesirable to someone. you have to look at what we have overall, and compare it the industry. overall I feel we have it better. If you disagree and feel like you will force the companies hand by voting in ALPA and that we'll walk down some primrose path to better pay, benefits, etc., then I wish you luck. if that happens, then I'll mimic all the crybabies who currently shout 'where are you SAPA?' and 'what are you gonna do SAPA?', but obviously replace 'SAPA' with 'ALPA.'

be careful what you wish for. don't be too anxious to give up what we have at SkyWest for stickers, magazines, etc.

HATERS-LOAD UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I look forward to all the same tired arguments. I'm more interested in results.

You mean results like a whopping 0 or 1% increase for a period of 10 1/2 years with no COLA the whole time?

 

[Gr82Aviate]

I can tell you that some of the folks on the exucutive board (VP and Secretary) are and have been self serving for some time now. When I first came to Skywest I was friends with the current VP, Jim B. Over the course of the next several years I would come to find out what type of person he really was. I watched him bounce around to any position he could get where he didnt fly (Interviewer....this is where he really became tight with management, Liason with the UVSC program until that position went away, Sapa, etc). Maybe this isnt the place to talk about this (I bring it up though because I feel a man of no character is more likely to sell out on his peers) but ultimately I was not impressed with his actions when it came to women, him being a married man. I no longer consider him a friend. The best way to describe Jim B. and frankly, David L, Dave A. is "oppertunist". Thats the truth. The secretary, Mike E. was a good guy. When he lost his medical his judgement became clouded. With his back against the wall (ironicaly if ALPA was already on the property and he had loss of license coverage he would have at least had something to live on....but he did not and instead of fighting to help someone in the future in his same position he aimed squarely to get his... acting, selling and doing whatever management who paid his daily living wanted to do.) he sold out. Sad, very sad. These are the facts and they are undisputed to those really familiar with them.

It's really nice to see that at least some of this pilot group know what really goes on!

 

[Ponchus pilot]

It is not uncommon for ALPA MECs to sign these agreements with management, so I wouldn't get too worked up over that point.

Really, care to elaborate?

 

[Sedona16]

It's really nice to see that at least some of this pilot group know what really goes on!

Yeah, unfortunately theres always a 1000 new guys "just happy to be here". While we are on the topic of oppertunist lookin to work the system and fly his helicopters on the side, might as well mention Tony F. Him and Jim must have gone to the same sell out training camp.

 

[Gr82Aviate]

Yeah, unfortunately theres always a 1000 new guys "just happy to be here". While we are on the topic of oppertunist lookin to work the system and fly his helicopters on the side, might as well mention Tony F. Him and Jim must have gone to the same sell out training camp.

Yeah, sad but true!