Skywest, Sapa and pressuring pilots to fly

[say again]

No one has brought up this point. The scheduler released the pilot from duty and then later reassigned the pilot back to the trip.

I mentioned that on page 1. This is the 2nd reason not to do the trip, the 1st one being the fatigue issue.

 

[Soverytired]

If you want on site staff experts then how much in dues are you willing to pay? 5%? 10%

I would happily pay 10% if the union was effective and got a decent contract. If you get paid more with a good contract and work rules, it's worth it, right?

ALPA at Mesa negotiated a CONCESSIONARY contract in the middle of record profits and massive expansion. The national president of ALPA (DW) signed off on it . . . not a mere fomality as the pilots of CCAir could attest to if they still existed (DW would not sign their contract and into the airline dustbin of airline "also rans" went CCAir).

And yes, there were numerous reasons/excuses, but the bottom line is they did a very, very poor job. The leadership didn't even push for a strike . . . and they were given a tailor-made situation to push the pilot group into it.

ALPA has had 2 chances to get a decent contract at Mesa. They are now working on their 3rd, and I haven't heard JACK SQUAT going on yet, so I fully expect more of the same. By any measure, ALPA has failed the Mesa pilot group for more than a decade.

 

[labbats]

If you ask me, the original schedule of 7 legs and 13:46 duty sounded pretty tiring. That's a piss poor schedule right there and the FAA should put that front and center if they really cared about safety.

 

[DashTrash400]

the FAA should put that front and center if they really cared about safety.

And if my aunt had a d!ck she'd be my uncle.

 

[Gr82Aviate]

I would happily pay 10% if the union was effective and got a decent contract. If you get paid more with a good contract and work rules, it's worth it, right?

ALPA at Mesa negotiated a CONCESSIONARY contract in the middle of record profits and massive expansion. The national president of ALPA (DW) signed off on it . . . not a mere fomality as the pilots of CCAir could attest to if they still existed (DW would not sign their contract and into the airline dustbin of airline "also rans" went CCAir).

And yes, there were numerous reasons/excuses, but the bottom line is they did a very, very poor job. The leadership didn't even push for a strike . . . and they were given a tailor-made situation to push the pilot group into it.

ALPA has had 2 chances to get a decent contract at Mesa. They are now working on their 3rd, and I haven't heard JACK SQUAT going on yet, so I fully expect more of the same. By any measure, ALPA has failed the Mesa pilot group for more than a decade.

I think the bottom line is not that ALPA is bad, but that working for a POS like JO is not a good idea...

 

[difete]

Holy crap, Difete, you are a real captain! I like your biceps, I definetely would like to date you. You are so hot as a stud muffin!!!....

Mookie

No thanks Mookey. Im straight. LOL

 

[difete]

In going back to the main subject here, there is a difference between "scheduled" and "actual" in duty time.

They cannot "schedule" you over 14 hours without your permission. But then you can go upto 16 hours max with no "ifs" or "buts" after that.

(Example: My chief called me to verify if I was ok with a 15 hour duty day because the main carrier made last minute changes to the schedule, the pay was good, so I said sure)

Now if you "actually" went over 14 hours because of delays (weather, flow, ground stops...), that is not scheduled, you can keep on going up to 16 hours, and then thats it. No more flying.

But fatigue is a whole different animal. When you or your crew are fatigued, thats it, you must set your foot down and not fly.

Unfortunately, you must justify why you or your crew was fatigued during a "legally" scheduled day. And without proper representation, or defense, it would be your word vs theirs.

I have had a good expirience so far with that, but there is nothing to protect your job here if someone decides to take your "fatigue" as a cause for termination.

Hope this helps, anyway,
Fly safe and good luck.

 

[yellowfever]

I would happily pay 10% if the union was effective and got a decent contract. If you get paid more with a good contract and work rules, it's worth it, right?

ALPA at Mesa negotiated a CONCESSIONARY contract in the middle of record profits and massive expansion. The national president of ALPA (DW) signed off on it . . . not a mere fomality as the pilots of CCAir could attest to if they still existed (DW would not sign their contract and into the airline dustbin of airline "also rans" went CCAir).

And yes, there were numerous reasons/excuses, but the bottom line is they did a very, very poor job. The leadership didn't even push for a strike . . . and they were given a tailor-made situation to push the pilot group into it.

ALPA has had 2 chances to get a decent contract at Mesa. They are now working on their 3rd, and I haven't heard JACK SQUAT going on yet, so I fully expect more of the same. By any measure, ALPA has failed the Mesa pilot group for more than a decade.

You guys voted for the MEC right? Who did you vote for???

 

[Soverytired]

You guys voted for the MEC right? Who did you vote for???

No, the membership does NOT vote for the MEC (Master executive council). They are elected by the various LEC's (local executive councils).

The LEC's lend themselves to cronyism by a percentage based voting system. The bigger the base, the "more" a LEC members vote counts. And here's the kicker . . .they can "split" their vote, i.e. 60% of their vote for one guy, 30% for another, 10% for one more. This way they can look "impartial" and still let their bud of 15 years stay in the MEC chair.

It took about 2 years and the unswerving efforts of some extremely dedicated pilots to recall, or threaten to recall, their LEC reps if they didn't displace the MEC chair to get rid of the MEC chair. This was far, far, far too late to make any difference, of course.

 

[Soverytired]

I think the bottom line is not that ALPA is bad, but that working for a POS like JO is not a good idea...

ALPA IS bad at Mesa, so yes, you shouldn't work at Mesa and expect them to do anything other than take your money and tell you they can't do anything about your crummy airline.

Your airline ALPA experience may differ. You won't actually know until you've signed your paycheck away and see how it goes for a few years. And god help you if you spearhead a union decertification drive.

So tread carefully.