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Skywest, It's time to unify

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Someone wispered in my ear that SKYW folks recently made a trip out to visit ALPA National. They wanted to keep a low profile until a high percentage was on board by word of mouth before cards were sent out (and hopefully returned en masse), so Captains: talk to your FO's, and FO's talk to your Captains...
 
Splert said:
A CBA will fix it "that fast".

The 401K test will need to be applied to only those covered by a CBA. No negotiations needed. The fact that we would be covered by a CBA is all that is required for seperating 401K plans.

SAPA will never tell us that.... :rolleyes:

Good Day...
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Does the CBA have to be ratified before the plans could be seperated?
 
amcnd said:
Going union will also drive the cost of health care up for us. SkyWest gets a break on there insurance because they do not have any unions. Who do you think will bare the cost of this? The pilot group! Im not for ALPA and also not pro company, but you need to think of the other thing's a union brings on the company.
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Do you even believe what you just wrote?

The rest of the industry is unionized. Is your health insurance less expensive and better than everyone else in the industry?

SkyWest purchases group insurance like everyone else. If the insurance companies charge more for unionized workers then there could be one heck of a discrimination lawsuit. One advantage of ALPA is you can purchase supplemental insurance that will protect your financial future if you were to lose your medical. You also have access to the best aeromedical experts in the industry that can give you definitive answers when you need them most. I can tell you from personal experience that's something I'd be willing to pay for.
 
Homie,

The pay cuts at Alaska were imposed by the company and a judge in violation of their CBA. ALPA has already begun the process of righting that wrong. The resources that ALPA National has available are pretty large.

Of course, this is part of what you get when there is an extreme pro-business administration in charge. Maximize profits, on the backs of the people that put them there. Think about it.

Rekks

PS-The second paragraph is just a general statement, no offense meant. Its more for general consumption.
 
amcnd said:
Going union will also drive the cost of health care up for us. SkyWest gets a break on there insurance because they do not have any unions. Who do you think will bare the cost of this? The pilot group! Im not for ALPA and also not pro company, but you need to think of the other thing's a union brings on the company.
Click to expand...

Drinkin' the koolaid and got brain freeze? If you have been here(SKYW), your health care costs have skyrocketed while corp profits have skyrocketed(total amounts), wake up and smell the poo
PBR
 
Have seen a lot of responses from xjt folks; it is true that they have recently signed a superior CBA, and although they did have a strategic preparedness (strike) committee up and running, they did not come close to a release or a release date. Why? A solid mec, strike committee, and a management team that must have been receptive to quality of life issues and how they impact the bottom line and the operation as a whole.

At xj, our mgmt. stonewalled right up to a deadline, and then only signed after we let pay and other issues go. They effectively used a whipsaw airline to force us to make scope our biggest priority, for which we sacrificed many goals. Our mec and negotiators took a lot of heat for not calling the strike(they kept talking for a day, shutting the airline down without a strike...) but have recently been vindicated by refusing to accept concessions for growth. And we (recently) got the growth anyway. SUrprise, surprise...
These accountant/attorney/management types are rewarded for squeezing performance and low costs out of their employees, and they have no problem with you giving up family life, career goals, and compensation to help them.

ALPA has a lot of problems, but would I want to be working for mesaba, or nwa without them, NO WAY. The legal representation, medical and insurance resources are invaluable. As long as the relationship between alpa and mgmt. is constructive, it is a win-win. The alpa committee structure saves mgmt. from many problems, if the membership gets involved. And that is the final word, your union's effectiveness is only as good as the commitment from the pilots YOU elect to represent you, and your willingness to invest time and effort to get involved. Good Luck! When winter here lasts for 5 months, i still wish I had tried harder to get on at Skywest!
 
homie said:
How did ALPA help the pilots of Alaska Airlines regarding their recent pay cuts?
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What happened to the Alaska pilots happened after years of ALPA national warning them about the evils of binding arbitration. I'm told that national even refused to sign the contract because it had binding arbitration in it. Alaska pilots were happy to ride the coattails of other major pilots when they got raises, but when huge paycuts rolled around, Alaska pilots were destined to get those cuts as well.

Binding arbitration is management's best friend. If every company had it, pay would never increase because everyone would be paid "market based pay" (straight average). It is embarassing to me that I work for a company that wasn't attempting to achieve the leap-frog pay increases that are the only way pilots can get ahead in this industry.
 
amcnd said:
Going union will also drive the cost of health care up for us. SkyWest gets a break on there insurance because they do not have any unions. Who do you think will bare the cost of this? The pilot group! Im not for ALPA and also not pro company, but you need to think of the other thing's a union brings on the company.
Click to expand...

You..do not have a f..king clue as to what you are talking about.
 
How would a union affect health care cost? Ours at XJT is not in the contract; it only states that we will receive the same coverage as other employees of the company. I hardly think that puts them in a bind.
 
The last thing I want to see at SkyWest is an adversarial relationship between the pilots, and management. I think the fact that SkyWest Mgmt has kept a union at bay for so long is a sign that they have been generally good to their pilots. The last thing I want is a militant bunch of "representatives" that cripple the management of the company. We need for SkyWest to remain competitive.
It appears though, that the times are a changing. When one side of the relationship starts taking advantage of the other, fractures start to surface. We are seeing that here. Too many interpretations go against us. Where is my Ace? My medical insurance costs more, and pays out less than it used to.
I came from a union airline to SkyWest. That said, I am not a pro-union flag waver. Having union representation will not solve all of our problems. Voting in a Union will not cripple the company as some would have you believe. I think it is not a question of if, it is a question of when. The decision to unionize will have consequences, good and bad. SkyWest hs been hiring lots of guys with previous 121 exp. Mostly from union carriers. I think most of them ill see it my way. These are not all blinded by the shiny new jet CFI's.
Now, where is that card? I am ready to sign......
 
rtmcfi said:
The last thing I want to see at SkyWest is an adversarial relationship between the pilots, and management. I think the fact that SkyWest Mgmt has kept a union at bay for so long is a sign that they have been generally good to their pilots. The last thing I want is a militant bunch of "representatives" that cripple the management of the company. We need for SkyWest to remain competitive........ Now, where is that card? I am ready to sign......
Click to expand...

Cool. Just make sure you all elect some reps that aren't crazy burn the house down types and you should be okay.
 
rtmcfi said:
The last thing I want to see at SkyWest is an adversarial relationship between the pilots, and management.
Click to expand...

This is a common misconception out there that if a group unionized that "relations" will go down the **CENSORED****CENSORED****CENSORED****CENSORED**ter. I heard this a lot at Commutair when ALPA was trying to organize them. Also at Chicago Express. Plain and simple, it just ain't so!

Even after both of those pilot groups voted AGAINST organizing their managment/pilot relations took a dive.

At Express Jet we have a pretty good relationship with our managment team. In fact we had a Security Conference today and almost half of the attendees were managment representatives. ALPA Committees are involved in day-to-day ops at the airline all the time (scheduling, compliance, safety, security, hotel, etc.....)

It's been said in the previous posts, your MEC is what determines the strength of your union, and it's both your MEC and your management team that determine the working relationship.

SkyWest joining ALPA will only serve to strengthen the profession and the union. I would suggest that if this picks up steam have your organizing committee get very close with the MECs at the other "feeder" carriers.

Good luck to you guys in whatever you decide.
 
surplus1 said:
The bottom line is: it would also be better for you.

Best wishes.
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There's the union mentality again. It's always about what is best for me and not the company. Great, so you put a few extra dollars in your pocket and increase your QOL for a while. Next thing you know, the airline is strapped for cash because the wages have increased and the profits have decreased. Remember, that DLC and United connection are negotiated pay rates based on completion. If Skywest is making too much they can switch to another airline at the expiration of the contract or much sooner if the legacy carrier files bankruptcy and voids the contract.

"You have had several opportunities to organize and rejected them all, so there is no one to blame for the things you are complaining about other than yourselves."

Don't you think that a statement has already been made. The pilot group was obviously anti-union as of the last vote and with all of the new hires in the past 2 years the new guys are most likely fine without a union. They don't want to rock the boat or maybe, just maybe they are actually happy to have a job and enjoy what they do. There's my $.02. Enjoy
 

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