Skywest Union Vote

[Splert]

To this day SkyWest has better trip rigs, minimum pay guarantees, deadhead pay, and vacation policies than many other carriers.

SkyWest does not have a trip rig.

If SkyWest had a trip rig then the minimum pay guarantee would be meaningless for 95% of the trips that we do. Minimum daily pay is great for locals but locals are becoming a thing of the past at SkyWest. Our great out station domiciles are flying 320-360 hours away from base. A daily guarantee is worthless compared to a trip rig.

Deadhead pay…wow we can eat for a year on the difference between 100% dead head pay and 50% deadhead pay especially with our great utilization where our pay check is mostly the 1 for 2 duty time guarantee and not block. Great, we get paid 100% of 55 minutes of DH, then we sit for 5 hours during the day and they add 55 minutes of 100% DH pay to our block time for the day and then pay us the higher of our block or our 1 for 2 duty time guarantee. Super meaningless. Looks good on paper but it is worthless. Especially, with a 1 for 3.5 or 3.75 TAFB TRIP RIG which we don’t have. You might find one or two cases where a 100% DH work out but for the majority of the flying we do a TAFB TRIP RIG takes care of all this issues.

Vacation accrual: Your kidding yourself if you think ours is better or the best.

Look back and leg cancellation: Is no big deal if a 1 for 3.5 or 3.75 TAFB TRIP RIG is in place. 95% of our flying are trips, not locals. Cancel day 2 of a four day trip, I don't care, I'm still away from my base.

I'll take a trip rig over all those other illusionary guarantees SkyWest and SAPA are so proud to misrepresent.

 

[ExFokkerFlyer]

:Hey guys, those of you not here at Skywest probably misconstrue the meaning of recent events. Although I honestly don't speak for anybody but myself, I think I can clarify at least in a small part the recent events here.

Nobody is saying we're better. We aren't. We do have some things other's don't in our 'contract', we are missing some things we would like that others have. That really wasn't the issue with this last union drive.

To those who say we don't have a contract currently, you are right! We have an agreement. Could management change is anytime they wish? Sure! Have they in the history of the airline? Not really. Middle managers have changed their interpretations on some things, however for the most part, we can rectify most of those situations in a timely manner. Other's may take longer, but for the most part they get done. Management will not simply, overtly change our agreement to their liking therefore hosing the pilots. If they did there would be a revolt, and probably ALPA. Not a regional pilots best friend, but were we would probably go in revenge. They know that, so they won't go there.

To those who disagree, I realize I am oversimplfying some of these points, but only to get to the main point. I am as anti union as they come. But even I realize that Skywest will eventually will become a union airline. It will happen, no doubt about it.

My problem with this last union effort is lack of organization. Now i know it's a HUGE deal to organize an inhouse union. But this effort came off to me, haphazard at best. Many ideas were flawed or simply illegal from the beginning, not instilling confidence at all. And though anti-union, I did honestly look into it with open eyes because I was frustrated at what we had. In the end I realized that at least with what I had seen, I would be better off with the two evils I do know, management and SAPA, than with another unkown.

Simply, this was a vote of no confidence with the organizers. We know we have problems, most of us choose to fight the fight with the tools we have, rather than those we haven't figured out how to pay for yet.

 

[sstearns2]

I know you guys hate hearing this, but I'll say it anyway:

The next time a bill introducing cabatoge, or increasing duty limits, or criminalizing accidents, or installing cameras in cockpits is defeated on Capitol Hill ..........

....... thank a dues-paying ALPA pilot.


Cheers!

I was under the impression that ALPA's PAC is not supported by general membership dues, but by other donations. I can't imagine that there is much money left over for ALPA national at the regional level anyhow.

Scott

 

[Rez O. Lewshun]

I was under the impression that ALPA's PAC is not supported by general membership dues, but by other donations. I can't imagine that there is much money left over for ALPA national at the regional level anyhow.

Scott

ALPA National has the audience of congress on particular issues that deal w/ the airline industry. In addition, when 9/11 occured ALPA Prez was on the conference call with all the transportation leaders. At one point it was declared "well, there goes jumpseating" ALPA Prez DW said hold on... So it went from no jumpseating to keeping on line jumpseating. (the Skywest pilots benifited from that, don't you think?)

The regionals can benefit from the majors big salaries. That is one of the reasons to be in ALPA. The same reason why 50 states are part of the USA. When one state has a natural disaster, there is money and resources from the other 49. (hint hint, Skywest)

As far as ALPA-PAC, that is voluntary and the ALPA membership avg contribution rate is a low 18%. The problem with ALPA-PAC contributions is, pilots think thier money goes to non pilot issues...(like abortion or welfare or liberal issues, for example) (it doesn't). So they don't give. Or they think they are getting ripped off at 1.95% and god forbid if they give ALPA (read themselves) one more damm cent.

Unless there is another professional airline pilot PAC, in theory Southwest, jetblue, and all pilots should give to ALPA-PAC. (or create a non ALPA pilot PAC. The AMR/APA dudes have thier own PAC) Why? Because SWA and jB are using the money that thier pilots help generate and give to the airline management PAC, known as the ATA.

Management has the Air Transport Association (created in 1936 in part to counter ALPA's effectiveness on Capital Hill) and pilots have ALPA.

Right now, airline management gives more in millions than pilots do to thier repsective PACs. Money talks, something else walks. Who do you think is going to get the legislation they want? Do you think management is interested in protecting Pilot careers or do they just want hourly labor?

Well, thats my shameless Sat. morn spin zone.

Give to the PAC cause the career you save may be your own! (c'mon, what is five freakin dollars? Have one less beer on an overnight per year!)

Here, I'll even help....

For more information about ALPA-PAC, please contact the ALPA Government Affairs Department at (202) 797-4033 or via e-mail at [email protected].

 

[strega7]

(hint hint, Skywest)

Should that be (hint hint, Skywest and JetBlue)?

 

[SLOTH]

Ability to drop or swap just part of a trip
Ability to define vacation - not locked in to taking entire week

Dave B.

That's all nice and dandy if one could get any time off when they need it... not when the company has the staffing to allow it! In some other reply you mentioned flexibility, but it means squat if you can't even make use of it because of whatever is happening within the company (ie. not enough staffing). Many crews have decided that it is much easier to get the time off when they claim to be ill and that leaves the company the problem to fill the void without anyone being available.

Sloth

 

[Dave Benjamin]

Sloth,
I agree with you there. The main thing to realize is that this stuff runs in cycles. I've seen periods of time when they were begging people to take vacation or user time and other times when 20 vacation requests in a row get denied. I'd like to see the 3.5:1 or 3.75:1 trip rig but we need to be careful what we need to give up to get it. Right now schedules and QOL are impaired due to the schedules demanded by the codeshare partners. Not much the company can do about that. However in a few years the frequency may be restored and the existing gurantees we have will be more valuable.

Unfortunately a union would not necessarily solve the problem. In fact the same kind of stuff goes on at union airlines. There is no silver bullet.

 

[Caveman]

"To those who say we don't have a contract currently, you are right! We have an agreement. Could management change is anytime they wish? Sure! Have they in the history of the airline? Not really. Middle managers have changed their interpretations on some things, however for the most part, we can rectify most of those situations in a timely manner. Other's may take longer, but for the most part they get done. Management will not simply, overtly change our agreement to their liking therefore hosing the pilots. If they did there would be a revolt, and probably ALPA. Not a regional pilots best friend, but were we would probably go in revenge. They know that, so they won't go there."

Care to explain the situation when your management arbitrarily decided to stop paying new hires in training? Are you suggesting that you guys agreed to that? What will they decide to change next?

 

[SLOTH]

Unfortunately a union would not necessarily solve the problem. In fact the same kind of stuff goes on at union airlines. There is no silver bullet.

I agree, but in the end it is really the company that calls the shots. All we can say is that we would disagree with their decision, but we end up without any sort of system to "force" the hand of management. As far as "things run in cycles" is concerned. The problem is that we the workers don't have a say in when or where those cycles affect us. Upper management may not have complete control over those cycles either, but they do have a hand in the up front planning that takes place that ultimately determines how deep the cycles run. Why should we carry the burden for their lack of action/inaction? I don't remember being asked what we need to do regarding the staffing situation, so it isn't my responsibility.

Sloth

 

[nimtz]

Hey good job Skywest guys! Mmm, Mmm, that is some good d@mn koolaid they serve in Utah! At least you guys can look forward to a properous future in the growing 70 seat market. Look forward to an industry competitive 50 seat wage to fly an airplane that produces 29% more revenue! Congratulations, really I'm happy you are so happy having you're heads up your @sses.

 

[JBcrjca]

nimtz-

Well obviously the SkyWest pilot group isn't the most unified in the country...but I'm sure that all of the SW pilots on this board will agree with me on this point: shut your piehole. It's great that you seem to know what's best for the SW pilots, but really...you ExpressJet guys need to worry about ExpressJet, and the SW guys will worry about what goes on at SW. Every pilot group has to do what they have to do, with no need to answer to anyone else. I know this post is pointless, because the jabs will continue... and before you know it, mcpickle will be here accusing SW pilots of begging for his precious leftover meals.

btw, I voted for the un...oh, nevermind...I don't need to justify anything to you guys.

 

[AviatorTx]

Even Gulfstream is Union.

Suck Fkywest!

 

[GuppyPuppy]

Hey good job Skywest guys! Mmm, Mmm, that is some good d@mn koolaid they serve in Utah! At least you guys can look forward to a properous future in the growing 70 seat market. Look forward to an industry competitive 50 seat wage to fly an airplane that produces 29% more revenue! Congratulations, really I'm happy you are so happy having you're heads up your @sses.

Why don't you pull your own head out of your a$$, or whoever's a$$ you have your head in.

I didn't vote for the union because I didn't think UPA was up to the task of making things better at SKYW. By your logic I suppose any union is better than no union, eh? I believe that if you're going to do something, you need to do it correctly. I didn't want to waste my dues on a half-a$$ union. If I wanted to pay dues, I'd make sure it was on a full-a$$ union!!!

And by the way...if you are complaining about the whole 50/70 seat thing, why don't you complain about companies like North American, Ryan, Airborne, Omni, Polar or Atlas. Did you know that a SkyWest RJ captain makes more than a B767 captain at North American? Pilots at North American make the same if they fly the 757 or 767, just as SKYW piltos make the same for the RJ50 and RJ70. If we used North American's pay scale as a benchmark, then SKYW RJ pilots make too much!!! Who is to say which payscale is the benchmark?

GP

 

[Dave Benjamin]

Isn't that same pay for both 50 and 70 seat aircraft an 18 month TA expiring this year? Seems like we'll have to wait and see what the pay actually turns out to be. Right now SKYW only has a few 70 seaters anyway.

 

[GuppyPuppy]

WTF???

Why don't YOU get YOUR OWN head outta yer Arse!!

Let me guess, you're a SAPA guy too, right?

Apparently your computer is a model that still has the sarcasm filter installed.

Re-read the statement I made, dude.

I said, IF we used North American's pay scale as a benchmark, THEN SKYW CRJ pilots make too much. Thank God this industry doesn't use their pay scale as a benchmark.

Lighten up, Francis! And next time, don't take statements I make out of context!

GP