SWAPA Info packet FEDEXed to all AirTran Pilots

[Lear70]

I'll let it rain cold hard facts in here. Anything that gets past our negotiators and goes to our pilots for a vote will pass. SWAPA doesn't have to convince us, our wives, families etc... All they have to do is slip just enough seniority into the talks to get it past our negotiators.

True statement.

 

[Lear70]

This is all a waste of time:

It's FlightInfo... what did you expect?

A negotiated settlement will be hammered out, voted on...the MC and NC are meeting with SWA management next week and I assume it will be a meeting designed to "incentivise" the NC/MC to reach an agreement in the next 4 weeks so that the memberships can vote and we can start the integration SOONER than LATER.

That's exactly what I think next week's meeting is... greasing the skids. I could be wrong, but I don't think the stick will come out.

GK has taken SWA down the road of "Growth through Acquisition"...his legacy is hanging on the success of this deal...I can think of many ways he can "grease the skids"...the main way is through pay protection...hypothetically speaking if a former AAI CP is pay protected and/or a senior SWA FO gets CP pay for being passed over for upgrade how can that be construed as unfair?...we are all going to have to give up something in this deal (it is not our fault, we can thank our CEOs, and it may be a brilliant play).

Best statement of the day. If *EVERYONE* realizes they have to give a little, within 5 years or so, we won't even realize it was an issue at all.

I view this package from SWAPA as info only and an informed AAI group is better than an uninformed group...

True. The issue is that it was information we already had from the round-up pamphlets and the timing of it makes it highly suspect. Back in the beginning we stated we were all "cautiously optimistic" about this deal and we still are. It will just take some time experiencing "good" management to get us out of our "battered wife syndrome".

Here comes the great unknown: If we don't reach a negotiated settlement and the ISL is determined via arbitration...At this point I do not know what GK will do because we do not know what the arbitrators decision will be...do we want to take that risk?

Most of us would prefer NOT to take that risk, so it just remains to be seen if something in the middle can be worked out.

 

[madjack]

Ty: Please you are a smart man you know perfectly well that if every AAI CP keeps his or her seat in a (I assume arbitrated) ISL than the SWA pilots will assume all the risk associated with growth. The AAI CPs will get the raise, keep the seat and eventually all the top SWA pilots on the MSL will be current AAI CPs. That it is a great deal for the AAI CPs and I understand your desire to achieve this result. But, what is in it for the SWA pilots? In exchange for the AAI CPs keeping all their seats and gaining seniority beyond what their longevity at a better run company would have allowed, the SWA pilots "should" welcome our AAI brothers/sisters onboard and quit being so "stuck up" and righteous...boy I admire the underdog spin on this whole integration put out by the brave and fearsome pilots of AAI but I ain't buying it...this is a money and seniority grab plain and simple and you cannot blame the SWA pilots for not rolling over...enjoy your weekend

 

[RLAblows]

I thought it was a nice welcome package. Some of the numbers were a little off, but I think it is nice to see what we can look forward to. I didn't feel that swapa or swa was trying to influence how I feel about the SLI. People need to relax. Our mc/nc are working together and will get things done one way or another. Remember we a going to be working together some day.

What Gumby said. I don't see this as propaganda.

 

[GoodTimes]

Madjack,

Good, reasoned posts. I'm finding it difficult to understand why the AAI group can't seem to get their mind around the idea that the SWA pilot group can, indeed, be negatively impacted through this acquisition. And that something will need to be done to address that fact.

 

[scoreboardII]

This pay protection talk is a dream, SWA doesn't pay for parking, you think they'll pay an FO at CA rates?

Lets wait and see what this meeting brings.

Everyone, back into the pool.

 

[madjack]

SWA pay protected the Morris CPs...there is a historical precedent and the NC/MC know it and GK knows it...

 

[Daddy]

I have never seen anyone more intent on throwing away a winning lottery ticket than this

 

[enigma]

I have no dog in this fight, and I don't have any comment on fair SLI's. But I have to say to my SWA friends, you guys bought a carrier with an RLA/NMB recognized, organized pilot group. The FedGov dictates the process, not the individual pilots of either carrier. Be nice to the AAI pilots, they are not able to control the situation. Additionally, they've fought the good fight for years and years against a management team that is 180 degrees opposite to yours. Think of it this way: if you adopt an abused dog from the animal shelter - you either have to accept that it has issues and treat it accordingly until it comes around, or you get bit. If you get bit, you blame the dog and put it to sleep, but did you really accomplish anything at the end of the day?

FWIW, hundreds of guys like me are still walking around wishing our employers treated us as well as SWA treats you. But you need to know that your good fortune is directly related to the largess of Herb, Colleen, and Gary, not to because your your individual "specialness". You are special and I'm still trying to join you, but SWA is special because your management decided to make it that way. Trannies should take note.

 

[jonjuan]

Perfectly said.