Skywest, It's time to unify

[Rogue5]

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...

 

[GuppyPuppy]

So you are stating the drive at Jet Blue then

Well...I thought I'd start a union drive at LAB first!

GP

 

[Morning Wood]

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....

Good Day...

Does the CBA have to be ratified before the plans could be seperated?

 

[Dave Benjamin]

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.

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.

 

[Rekks Inbound]

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.

 

[PBRstreetgang]

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.

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

 

[saabservant]

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!

 

[Singlecoil]

How did ALPA help the pilots of Alaska Airlines regarding their recent pay cuts?

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.

 

[scangadah]

Had a Big Ass Beer (okay....a couple), a shot of Crown, and wrecked the flight attendant. How's that?



AF

Does the wifey know?

 

[scangadah]

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.

You..do not have a f..king clue as to what you are talking about.