The list was a short history of many carriers that Mesa bought all of or a large precentage of assets from, to the detriment of the original pilot group and the advantage of the Mesa pilots. Allegheny was included in that list due to the events of 1994, that had Mesa buying half of ALG, causing the furlough of half of the ALG pilot list. All becuase Mesa was "willing to do it cheaper".
The "deal with the devil" the Mesa pilot group has maintained until recently was to give management a poor contract in return for fast upgrades and (in the recent years) jet equipment. As long as the "primary" pilot group at mesa was willing to work for less, they were rewarded by being placed either above the other pilots or just plain assumed all of the additional flying for themselves.
This was the classic Mesa stategy, to come in, purchase another regional airline, and then create cost reductions by replacing the entire work force or at least the working agreements that had been in place. This was accomplished by shifting flying to some "new" airline, or firing eveyone only to interview and "rehire" those they wanted to retain the next day, to just tacking them at the bottom of Mesa's list.
Through all of this the mesa pilot group could act "innocent", claiming that it was their management that was responsible, while they sat back and reaped the windfall of growth. They felt no real need to try and elevate their own pay or working conditions because it would mean they could no longer take advantage of other pilot groups. The typical Mesa pilot's defense was "Hey, I ain't planning to be in the commuters any longer than I have to so what do I care about how bad it is now, or who I have to step over...?"
But today things have changed somewhat, as plentiful mainline jobs are nowhere to be found, and most mesa pilots will have to remain at Mesa for much longer than they might have expected. It's one thing to put up with all of the fun and games for low pay when you are 20-something, zipping around in your B-1900, but reality starts to set in when you still fly 15-20 Million dollar jet equipment for low pay and sad work rules. Having to foot the bill for a house payment and diapers in ytour 30's alters your perception of that kind of work enviorment. Regardless of this change, this new agreement WILL pass at Mesa. Too many of their pilots will look at things with the same viewpoint as their mesa predesessors and will vote yes to obtain a quick upgrade and jet time. That is their decision to make, and really does not effect the wholly owneds anymore. even though some smarter individuals at Mesa have awoken to the new reality facing them, the majority will have to discover what awaits them in the next few years after their new agreement is voted in.
But that is their problem to deal with and not the wholly owned pilots. We instead chose to retain our work rules and give on the pay scales, thus making it much easier time to regain our losses down the line (negotiating for pay equal to other airlines is much easier than obtaining premium pay or a retirment plan). We chose to further our career growth into our mainline operation via a flow thru rather than settle for low pay in large Canadairs as our goal.
I do not hold any animosity towards any specific mesa pilot, just to towards the actions/decisions of their pilot group. I would show (and expect in return) professional courtesy and have the same expectation of safe and capable flying towards/from a Mesa, CHQ, TSA, Colgan, or Shuttle America pilot that I would any wholly owned pilot. But I draw the lline at sympathy for their situation.
But then all of this is just my humble opinion, right...?
