Skywest: Confessions Of A Kool-Aid Drinker

[bayoubandit]

Short answer... It would give SKW pilots a say in the sen. integration when it happens.

 

[pilotbrain]

Does this mean that if we wanted, ASA would be stapled?? I think this would be wrong but I believe a lot of us, at skywest could lose our seniority. This seems like it would be a big ugly mess.

 

[737 Pylt]

Does this mean that if we wanted, ASA would be stapled?? I think this would be wrong but I believe a lot of us, at skywest could lose our seniority. This seems like it would be a big ugly mess.

Don't you work for ho jets??

737

 

[pilotbrain]

737 pilot,

No I dont...seem to have to keep answering this Q.....I have friends at GJ and I have no problem with them.....really dont want to get into the bashing and name calling anymore.

 

[737 Pylt]

737 pilot,

No I dont...seem to have to keep answering this Q.....I have friends at GJ and I have no problem with them.....really dont want to get into the bashing and name calling anymore.

Fair enough, it was just a question! But I wouldn't admit on a public forum that you have "friends" at ho jets!

737

 

[bayoubandit]

Does this mean that if we wanted, ASA would be stapled?? I think this would be wrong but I believe a lot of us, at skywest could lose our seniority. This seems like it would be a big ugly mess.

Well would you rather SGU dictate what they think is best. It's going to be a mess anyways. And no, it would not mean they would be stapled.

 

[pilotbrain]

No, I wouldn't....but I am happy with my little niche in the world and would hate to think I could end up commuting because I lose seniority....guess Im being selfish and shouldn't be concerned with such things.

 

[bayoubandit]

That's just the reality of the airline biz. The guys in Yuma were happy in their little world too, but reality set in. I'm sure the ASA DFW guys were happy too. Working for any airline, especially a contract airline is going to have unpleasantries.

 

[bobbyice]

I think auspac summed up the feelings of the majority of SKW pilots in his eloquent post. I've only been here just over 2 years, so I don't know much, admittedly, but I have yet to hear an argument that puts me over the top (except for mckpickle, with his persuasive points). I will say this however...stories of management doing everything in their power to save the careers of pilots who make mistakes are true. Hell, I know a guy who failed a drug test and still has a job here (after giving up his seniority). The bottom line for me is...what's going to happen if our friends at ACEY strike? Will they try to force us to fly struck work? I live in Atlanta. I'd LOVE to be based here, but not at the expense of ASA pilots.

 

[rtmcfi]

If JA wants to sell the company to JO tomorrow, i have no control over that. It may happen tomorrow, it may never happen at all.I believe this airline treats their employees, customers, vendors much better than the JO's little project.

Should JA do the unthinkable, would OOs current agreement be in force? A real contract would be....

 

[Gr82Aviate]

No, I wouldn't....but I am happy with my little niche in the world and would hate to think I could end up commuting because I lose seniority....guess Im being selfish and shouldn't be concerned with such things.

I hate to burst your bubble but we had lots of crewmembers happy with their "little niche in the world" in Paso Robles, Bakersfield, Yuma, Pocatello, and even St. George before those domiciles were all closed...you should be concerned with such things!

 

[bender]

Should JA do the unthinkable, would OOs current agreement be in force? A real contract would be....

We can take all of ALPAs fear-based scenarios to an extreme here. Instead of thinking of all the worst case scenarios without a contract, you should look at the 34 year history of how SKW treats its employees. Make your decision based on current facts and past history...

Have you ever noticed that every single person in management save one has put in 20+ years at the company?

 

[atrdriver]

Have you ever noticed that every single person in management save one has put in 20+ years at the company?

So how much longer before they retire and new management come into being? JA won't be there forever, no matter how much you wish for it.

 

[bayoubandit]

We can take all of ALPAs fear-based scenarios to an extreme here. Instead of thinking of all the worst case scenarios without a contract, you should look at the 34 year history of how SKW treats its employees. Make your decision based on current facts and past history...

Have you ever noticed that every single person in management save one has put in 20+ years at the company?

Just look at the change in the last 4 years. It's not the same airline as it was and it will not be the same as it is now in the future. Mgmt. has protected themselves nicely. Why are the pilots so afraid to stand up for themselves?

 

[Weasil]

As a new guy at SkyW I was at the Candlewood the other day. Interestingly enough those guys/gals talking about how great ALPA is had to change the subject when i asked them how ALPA helped Mesaba pilots with company declaring Ch.11 even though Mesaba was profitable.

Release #06.MSA9
October 3, 2006
Mesaba Employees Propose Plan to Save Airline
Pilots, Flight Attendants and Mechanics Present Joint Proposal to Management; Only Remaining Issue is Level of Profitability
MINNEAPOLIS – Labor unions representing pilots, flight attendants, and mechanics at bankrupt Mesaba Airlines today presented airline management with an unprecedented joint offer to save their airline, their jobs, and their contracts.
“Mesaba has over sixty years of pride as a ‘Hometown Airline,’ with great people, great service, and an impeccable safety and performance record. By attacking labor, and using the court system to impose unnecessarily severe cuts in wages and benefits, management is destroying Mesaba,” states Capt. Tom Wychor, chairman of the Mesaba unit of the Air Line Pilots Association, International. “The employees built this airline, and we are doing our best to save it.”
The Mesaba Labor Coalition has offered wage, work rule and benefit concessions that will cut labor costs by 15% for the next three years. Because airline contracts do not terminate, the savings will continue well beyond that term. If Mesaba agrees to the proposal, the unions would begin a ratification process immediately.
Mesaba will not only be able to reorganize and exit successfully from bankruptcy with the level of cuts offered by the unions, but it would also achieve profit margins that substantially exceed those of previous years. Mesaba proposes to cut labor costs so that it can achieve an 8% profit margin. The coalition plan will enable Mesaba to produce at least a 6% margin. In recent years, profit margins have dwindled to just 2-3%.
“We are not talking about the difference between Mesaba being in the red or the black anymore,” said Nathan Winch, a mechanic and Mesaba Airline Representative for the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association. “The Coalition’s proposal guarantees that labor is giving enough to make Mesaba profitable. We say a 6% profit margin is sufficient, and if management is going to liquidate over another point or two on the margin, there is nothing we can do.”

If Mesaba elects to throw out the labor contracts, the unions intend to strike, which would end service to cities that rely on Mesaba as their only airline transportation. The unions may strike when Mesaba stops adhering to the terms of their contracts. In the wake of Mesaba’s announcement that it intends to impose new terms on October 15, the unions strongly urge the traveling public to take steps to avoid travel on Northwest Airlink on and after that date.
“Going on strike is the last resort,” said Tim Evenson, President of the Association of Flight Attendants unit at Mesaba, “because we would rather provide the same exceptional service that Mesaba is known for day in and day out. But, we will not work for wages that qualify our members for food stamps. Mesaba should not be permitted to exploit the bankruptcy process to require the government to supplement our earnings. No citizen of this country should have to bear that burden, especially while our holding company harbors millions of dollars in profits earned by Mesaba in previous years.”

Those who use Southwest as a pro-ALPA argument are not 100% correct either because Southwest was built on great employee/employer relationships. The union didn't take part on something that they already had.

Southwest is NOT ALPA.