SWA TA Vote

[regionaltard]

Really? So how does banning UFlyMikes and buying thousands of crappy Telex headsets relate to costs and revenue? Why are they authorized at other carriers but not at SWA?

FWIW the feds seem to be prosecuting their TSO jihad everywhere. They're quite comfortable with the idea of fatigued crews flying around with a half a brain between them but this non-issue apparently has their full attention.

 

[DH2WN]

What happens when the union votes the TA down and the next day GK announces codesharing to BOS, LGA, MSP, etc... with Frontier, AirTran, etc..?

The pilot group will cry about headsets some more and GK will continue to laugh as he hands other carriers our flying and then proceeds to furlough 500 pilots out of spite because we voted it down.

Don't think he wouldn't do it.. I feel for the bottom of the rung guys who will be on the street begging for food because you didn't want to work a couple weekends.

 

[Herkdrv]

What happens when the union votes the TA down and the next day GK announces codesharing to BOS, LGA, MSP, etc... with Frontier, AirTran, etc..?

The pilot group will cry about headsets some more and GK will continue to laugh as he hands other carriers our flying and then proceeds to furlough 500 pilots out of spite because we voted it down.

Don't think he wouldn't do it.. I feel for the bottom of the rung guys who will be on the street begging for food because you didn't want to work a couple weekends.

You my friend have fallen for the oldest trick in the management playbook. Instill fear in order to get concessions. I will gladly take a furlough if it means preserving my QOL. Its OK to vote no!

 

[firstthird]

yes. It is funny how the YES voters sell the FEAR while the NO voters say that what we have isn't that bad, and, oh by the way, read the TA. It seems that every Yes voter I run into hasn't gotten around to reading the TA, instead they seem to be relying on the exec summary and the gains/gains pieces and the BOD recommendations. oh well. people get the gov't they deserve in a democracy and it looks like some SWA pilots think we deserve to have a contract that was written by and for schedulers rather than pilots.

 

[Cobra17]

I'm quite curious as to what the openers were on each side. I haven't seen negotiations this lopsided since Hatton/Pacquaio.

 

[Whataburger]

I loved the "Gains/Gains" booklet.

ie. This contract was written in English.

SWAPA - Gain.
SWA - No Gain.

ie. SWA will not pertend they are the Cuidad Juarez drug militia.

SWAPA - Gain
SWA - No Gain.

ie. SWA will abide by rules already stated in the United States Constitution, Railway Labor Act, and State and Federal Laws.

SWAPA - Gain
SWA - No gain.

It goes on and on.

 

[Mach 80]

>>>I will gladly take a furlough if it means preserving my QOL<<<

Umm, sorry, you can't have both.

I have been in the industry a long time. I have listened to pilots act real macho with such talk. Next thing you know their are in a deep depression as they endure their furlough and are looking for work to support their families.

I've heard similar when a guy says "If this airline goes under, that's it, I'm going to look for a non-flying job. I don't care if it does crater. I've had it". Two year later, AFTER his airline DOES go down, I run into him at the airport starting all over at the bottom of some new seniority list. "What happened to not going back to a non-flying job?"?" I asked. He says "I can't compete for other white collar work. All I have ever done is fly airplanes and I wasn't competitive for other work. I took a somewhat low paying job at xyz but man - 5 or 6 days a week with some guy breathing down your neck all the time. I couldn't take it anymore, so here I am. I wish my old place had stayed in business."

 

[Splert]

So what you are saying is you would work for 1/4 of what you make now with no work rules, benefits or retirement just to keep flying. No wonder this profession is no longer in the toliet. This profession is in the sewer and racing down hill to the treatment plant because pilots can only be pilots and $37,000 year is all a pilot can earn outside of aviation so he might as well settle for $35,000 a year.

 

[SELCAL checks]

Umm, sorry, you can't have both.

Actually, what I believe he's saying is he'd rather not vote for a concessionary TA that sells out our Brothers both at the company and in the industry. Assuming that a NO vote would trigger furloughs (which is a flawed argument anyway), he would prefer to take a stance that preserves YOUR present QOL and gives him something to look forward to when he's recalled.

I'm with him.

You keep mentioning that you've been around for a while. That means that you've benefited from the lance captain program by upgrading sooner and/or increased scheduling flexibility. Why rob the next generation of SWA pilots of the same opportunity?

Many of the NO voters also have been around for a while, Mach80, and they watched contractual deficiencies regarding Scope/Codeshare become exploited and erode their job security at previous employers.

We don't want to see these things happen here, that's why we came here. Good pay, schedule flexibility, no codeshare/scope eroding our job security. There's not one thing in this TA that I see enhancing my career at SWA. Well, except for the 401k increase.

 

[StopNTSing]

>>>I will gladly take a furlough if it means preserving my QOL<<<

Umm, sorry, you can't have both.

I have been in the industry a long time. I have listened to pilots act real macho with such talk. Next thing you know their are in a deep depression as they endure their furlough and are looking for work to support their families.

I've heard similar when a guy says "If this airline goes under, that's it, I'm going to look for a non-flying job. I don't care if it does crater. I've had it". Two year later, AFTER his airline DOES go down, I run into him at the airport starting all over at the bottom of some new seniority list. "What happened to not going back to a non-flying job?"?" I asked. He says "I can't compete for other white collar work. All I have ever done is fly airplanes and I wasn't competitive for other work. I took a somewhat low paying job at xyz but man - 5 or 6 days a week with some guy breathing down your neck all the time. I couldn't take it anymore, so here I am. I wish my old place had stayed in business."

Get over yourself, friend. If you really think our situation is anywhere close to being that dire, you are truly delusional. The health of SWA (or ANY airline) has never and will never be in the hands of the pilots; we're labor, not management, remember? I won't deny that we have a few 'burn the house down' types here, but they are a very vocal, very small minority. What I think you are seeing now is a pilot group that is finally growing a pair and no longer willing to swing at the first pitch. I would expect that is a troubling thing for a senior koolie like yourself to observe.