Time For SkyWest Pilots To Step Up

[Tomct]

While it is true that the union does not do everything great, it is absolutely needed in this business. Without it you are just waiting to die on your sword! I would like to see the OO guys/gals get a union....any union, so that things will get better for all. Whipsawing us all would not help ANYONE!!

 

[Yank McCobb]

Nor would a union prevent the whipsawing. Look around. It is a fact of life in this business. To borrow a cliche from the sports world..."You can't stop it, you can only hope to contain it".

 

[skywestdrvr]

Imagine this, ASA pilots continue to fight for a better contract, but SkyWest management does not want to give it to them. ASA starts to make some ruckus, what do you think would happen? Thats right, SW mgmt will give the flying to SW and the SW pilots cant do anything about without a scope clause in a contract. So think about who is screwing who. If the SW pilots had a contract with scope or some merger/aquisition language, it would prevent SW mgmt from whipsawing one pilot group against the other. This would obviously lower the bar for everyone. And if I hear one more SW pilot tell me their pay and QOL is equal to or as good as anybody out there, Im going to puke. Pay might be almost on par in some areas, but QOL is far from airlines with unions.

Please please SW pilots, we are all in this industry together, we all need to watch out for each other. We all need to feed our families and being non-union hurts this fraternity of pilots. Step up to the plate and start the union drive. Do it for your new co-workers.

Just read the bold print Big Hangar. You have your big finger pointed right in our faces telling us to step up to the plate. That phrase alone says it all. I am all about working with ASA Pilots, and all ASA employees for that matter, to increase the QOL here at SkyWest. I don't work for a union carrier so I don't know what your quality of life is all about. Don't go assuming yours is better than mine. I usually get what I want from crew support because I treat them like human beings. I here people talking to them on the phone sometimes and I want to ask them if they knew that there was a human being on the other end that controls their QOL.

We all read about the way people are treated even at union carriers. The grass is just as green your side of the fence as ours. I have been at SKW for 4 yrs in case you are wondering.

 

[BigHangar]

This is a perfect example of one group not even related by profession looking out for labor. It's a great lesson for all of us, and a classy act. The least we could do as fellow pilots is make sure we're all trying to take care of each other the best we can.

bizjournals.com
UPS pilots refuse to haul Northwest Airlines struck goods
Tuesday August 16, 2:01 pm ET

The Independent Pilots Association, the Louisville-based union that represents United Parcel Service Inc. pilots, has told UPS that they will not fly Northwest Airlines struck goods.

The association informed UPS of its position in anticipation of a possible strike by the mechanics at Northwest, which could occur as early as this Friday, according to a news release.

"The Independent Pilots Association is strongly committed to the principle of solidarity with our fellow transportation industry workers," said Capt. Tom Nicholson, president of the association, in the release. "As such, we will refuse to fly any struck goods should a strike or lock-out occur at Northwest Airlines involving their airline mechanics.

Northwest Airlines "has an extensive cargo operation and is now actively in the market attempting to line up aircraft and carriers to provide airlift to dodge the effects of a strike. ... UPS pilots have the contractual right to refuse to move airplanes containing struck goods. We will simply set the parking brakes on any UPS plane containing (Northwest Airlines) struck goods."

Because of the labor dispute at Northwest, Independent Pilots Association crewmembers have refused to be transported on Northwest Airlines since Aug. 5, the release said. As a result, UPS has rescheduled its pilots to other commercial carriers.

Atlanta-based UPS (NYSE: UPS - News) employs more than 17,000 people in Louisville. Its Worldport facility, located at Louisville International Airport, is the company's largest air transportation hub.

Published August 16, 2005 by Business First

 

[skywestdrvr]

I couldn't agree with you more big hangar. I think we are talking apples and oranges as far as the other stuff though. I do feel that the SkyWest pilot and ASA pilots will work together to get the best QOL and pay as we can get from SkyWest Inc.

 

[Spinplate]

I think Im going to make a dictionary soley for the use of pilots that include the previously mentioned gay terms: Whipsaw, Scab, Staple, SJS aka Shiny Jet Syndrome, "Lowering the Bar", QOL, bottom feeder, etc. Im gonna be RICH BIATCH!!!!

 

[Goose Egg]

I think Im going to make a dictionary soley for the use of pilots that include the previously mentioned gay terms: Whipsaw, Scab, Staple, SJS aka Shiny Jet Syndrome, "Lowering the Bar", QOL, bottom feeder, etc. Im gonna be RICH BIATCH!!!!

Don't forget "race to the bottom."

-Goose

 

[Black Water Dog]

This toolbox is a perfect example of why we can't get a union on board, it thinks that growth is the answer, what happens when the growth stops? The same toolboxes that said "I will get mine when I upgrade" are gonna whine like puppies pulled off of the teat! Well BWD, if and when the music stops you can swing my gear until the music starts again. I am already far enough up the ladder,unless the company fails, I GOTS MINE, you? I am slowly becoming weary talking to these moron talking heads spouting, "I'm gonna take the quick upgrade, so I can get 1000PIC and move on to LUV, FedEx, ect"
Stupid, Stupid, Stupid
PBR
P.S. The only thing weak at your previous carrier was you!

Wow PBR, you've won my heart and mind! I'm voting UNION.

If you really do have the PIC and you're such a damn unhappy wage slave, you should have the manly orbs to go on to the next level. But then again, you do not appear to be so equipped.

 

[Black Water Dog]

Drop the koolaid.................and wait. You'll see how clear cut it is.

Maybe so, all things change.

 

[outtahere]

There are many significant benefits to being ALPA aside from the basic pay/contract stuff that people bring up here routinely. I think you'll see an ALPA drive at SkyWest in the near future and I'm thinking it could pass, but as mentioned above, I don't think it'll help with the ASA acquisition much. It'll take years before we have a contract and the first one is generally pretty pathetic.

For better or worse, I think ASA is in for a little taste of what it's like to work for SkyWest: They may treat you great, they may not, but there's not a whole lot you can do about it.

Oh yes there is, as a Union we say and determine how we are treated. It may take time, but that is how the game is played. As for now they are required by law to honor our CBA.

 

[PBRstreetgang]

Wow PBR, you've won my heart and mind! I'm voting UNION.

If you really do have the PIC and you're such a dang unhappy wage slave, you should have the manly orbs to go on to the next level. But then again, you do not appear to be so equipped.

Well,
BvD, I do not expect to convince you of anything, if you do not have the intellectual capacity to determine the reality of our situation, well you just might deserve whatever comes your way, enjoy the forced CR7 bid, regular transition hosing, maybe the new and improved bucket system, or even the previously never airline used, PBS system. It's not that I am an "unhappy wage slave", I just do not like working without a net. I have spent a lot of time and worked for too little $. I now have a position that allows me to sit back and watch, but I choose not to. Manly orbs? like you have anything remotely resembling a pair? Why dont you grow some frontal lobes instead of thinking with your under developed genitalia.Go ahead and lick those mini-nuts bwDOG.
PBR

 

[Black Water Dog]

If you think ALPA is going to give you some kind of safety net and a workers paradise, you sir are the delusional one. (Apparently ALPA has a Koolaide recipe too.)

Perhaps you have never worked at another regional to see what real abuse is. As the ASA or Trans States folks (and probably many others) know all too well a company can violate at will (or even terminate pilots) and work the grievance process. A year later, you may even win. Oh, and ask the next Water Skiier you see about Alter Ego clauses.

Bottom line is ALPA still has a lot of selling to do to the regional pilots.

 

[hoover]

As for the union thing, they are only as good as your elected leaders. ALPA national clearly doesn't look out for the best interest of regional pilots (arguably any pilots) but the concept of a collective bargaining agreement that is agreed upon by both parties is certainly a huge plus.

I disagree. A union is only as good as the management it works with. Look at companies like Trans States and Mesa. They have unions and their people are miserable. This is because their management has no willingness to work with their people to make things better for everyone. It's their way or the highway, regardless of whether or not their way is better. They view labor unions as roadblocks, as obstacles to be overcome. Mesa is a good example of this. They would never let something like an AGREEMENT stop them from getting what they wanted.

On the other hand you have managements like SWA and AWAC, who signed agreements in good faith with their unions and do what they can to honor their agreements (as an honorable man does). If a union contract is contrary to what they want or need to do, they work with the union to find a solution, rather than trying to do an end run around the contract.

As a group, the SKW pilots feel they do not need a union, at least up to this point. Who are we to tell them what they should do?

 

[J32driver]

If you think ALPA is going to give you some kind of safety net...

As the ASA or Trans States folks (and probably many others) know all too well a company can violate at will (or even terminate pilots) and work the grievance process. A year later, you may even win.

Funny. "Safety Net" is exactly what I would call ALPA.

...and if the greivance is a valid one, the affected pilot will be made whole by the company. Take a year off, go do something else, then get awarded back pay and damages if thats the way management wants to treat you. I know of a handful of guys that have been through this process at some of the less desireable carriers.

What would a SkyWest pilot do if manegement decided to make an example out of you and fired you for something trivial? Stomp his feet real loud and start applying to other airlines?

 

[DrewBlows]

After SKW gets unionized, what would prevent management from creating an AlterEgo airline?

Scope. It's the first section in any well written agreement.