What Has ALPA Done for X-Jet?

[I Hate Freight]

The airline turned a profit of $168 million in the last 18 months and yet they won't give up a nickel to pilots. What has ALPA done for these pilots besides put an ad in the paper? Is union membership worth the piece of paper it's written on? All those dues and first year f/o's still making below poverty wages.

Release #04.CAL3
July 26, 2004

Continental Express Pilots to Picket Over the Failure to Reach a New Contract
​

HOUSTON---Uniformed pilots of ExpressJet Airlines will conduct informational picketing at Continental Airlines’ hub airports in Houston, Cleveland and Newark on Monday, July 26, 2004, to protest management’s unwillingness to address key compensation, job security and work rule issues satisfactorily in negotiations.

The pilots will picket on Monday, July 26, in Houston from 8am to 6pm at Terminals B and D; Newark from 8am to 6pm at Terminal C, and Cleveland from 8am to 6pm.Pilot media spokespersons will be on-site to talk with reporters.

Collective bargaining with ExpressJet began in July 2002. Pilots agreed to management’s request to delay the start of bargaining for six months to accommodate airline industry disruption after September 11, 2001.

"On ExpressJet’s second quarter earnings call last week, ExpressJet’s CEO told financial analysts that real progress was being made in pilot negotiations. Our pilots disagree. Management’s unwillingness to move the negotiating process to a conclusion has caused Continental Express pilots to be without a new contract for almost two years. There is no reason for collective bargaining to continue this long," said Capt. Jay Panarello, chairman of the Master Executive Council of Continental and Continental Express pilots, a unit of the Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l (ALPA).

Thanks to the efforts of its pilots and other employees, ExpressJet Airlines (dba Continental Express), was voted Regional Airline of the Year in 2003. ExpressJet earned over $108M profit in 2003 and almost $60M in the first half of 2004 alone.

Over 2,500 Continental Express pilots safely transport more than 35,000 passengers to almost 140 destinations daily on over 235 state-of-the-art Embraer jets. These destinations are located in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and the Bahamas and range from St. Johns, Newfoundland, to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Continental Express, which operates 1300 daily flights for Continental Airlines, is the sole provider of small jet service for Continental Airlines in its Newark, Cleveland and Houston hubs, and is the largest small jet operator in the world.

 

[DoinTime]

Each carriers chapter of ALPA is a direct reflection on the people that make up that pilot group. If ALPA has truely been worthless to XJet that would mean that the pilots are all worthless themselves.

Get invovled and help make things better or shut up, pay your dues, and take what you get.

 

[Obi-Wan]

ALPA has given us the resources( Lawyers,advisors,etc...) as well as the support of thousands of other airline pilots if we ever need it. If you understood how a union works, you would have asked" what have the XJT pilots done for themselves". We are the union and we support for our elected leaders. They are working around the clock to get us a new contract. Meanwhile we are flying safe and by the book. We will have a contract sooner or later, these things take a little time.

 

[Obi-Wan]

ALPA has given us the resources( Lawyers,advisors,etc...) and will give us the support of thousands of other airline pilots if we ever need it. If you understood how a union works, you would have asked" what have the XJT pilots done for themselves". We are the union and we support for our elected leaders. They are working around the clock to get us a new contract. Meanwhile we are flying safe and by the book. We will have a contract sooner or later, these things take a little time. And yes, unity does pay.

 

[storminpilot]

Isn't part of the problem with CoEx is that you "share" your MEC with the mainline? You don't control your own destiny to some degree.

Management is going to delay as long as possible in this environment. The other question to ask is, will Continental look for feed elsewhere if the CoEx pilots fall off the reservation? (a.l.a Comair)

 

[MJG]

What has ALPA done for XJet ???

Well for starters they just gave us another two million US dollars to hopefully see this thing through to the end. I could go on and on but I won't. Main point is what has been stated above: all unions depend on their members.

Your question should be: What have the XJet pilots done for their union ??

 

[Vortilon]

I hate freight,

If you knew anything about Xjet you'd know its only their 1st contract to be negotiated with help from ALPA, and will only be their 3rd union contract at that. They've come along way since their first agreement in 1995 and hopefully all their hard work will pay off. Do you think they'd actually be better off without a union?

Name one carrier thats completed a full section 6 negotiation since 9/11 and come away with a non-concessionary agreement. It hasn't happened.

They are negotiating in a horrible environment right now and I, for one, wish them a lot of luck.

 

[vc10]

Name one carrier thats completed a full section 6 negotiation since 9/11 and come away with a non-concessionary agreement. It hasn't happened.

The Mesa, Mesaba and Chautauqua contracts all represented improvements relative to the previous agreement at each carrier. They weren't improvements relative to Comair, but it's still hard to define them as concessionary.

 

[Vortilon]

VC10,

Apparently I have selective amnesia...you are correct!

 

[walpaper]

The Mesa, Mesaba and Chautauqua contracts all represented improvements relative to the previous agreement at each carrier. They weren't improvements relative to Comair, but it's still hard to define them as concessionary.

When you polish a turd, you still have a turd....

 

[flap operator]

Just to nitpick... Again, everyone focuses on pay. We may not have bettered Comairs pay at Mesaba (except for 1st years) but we bettered Comair in other areas like, work rules. Training and testing, new hire training, some reserve rules etc... not to mention scope. Again, it's not all about pay!!

Point being though it's now EXTJTs turn to have a go in the contract arena post 9/11. Best of luck.


FO

 

[surplus1]

Just to nitpick... Again, everyone focuses on pay. We may not have bettered Comairs pay at Mesaba (except for 1st years) but we bettered Comair in other areas like, work rules. Training and testing, new hire training, some reserve rules etc... not to mention scope. Again, it's not all about pay!!

Point being though it's now EXTJTs turn to have a go in the contract arena post 9/11. Best of luck.
FO

Just to nitpick back - If you would send your new contract to airlinepilotcontracts.com (what's there now is your 1996 contract) we might be able to compare and see for ourselves exactly where you bettered what. I'm not saying you didn't, I'd just like to see it.

If you can't do that, any other direct link to your contract, that doesn't go through ALPA would be fine.

Thanks

 

[Obi-Wan]

Isn't part of the problem with CoEx is that you "share" your MEC with the mainline? You don't control your own destiny to some degree.

No, Although we have the same MEC we can not vote on each others contracts etc...They are also working on spliting the MEC. It wont make much of a diffrence for us. I believe this will put us on top of group B.

 

[flap operator]

Surplus1 -

Your wish is my command.

FO

 

[contract2002]

Screw the negotiating committee, my wife speaks for me!

 

[Rez O. Lewshun]

ALPA is not a service. It is a resource. ALPA (unions...) is the car, road map, mechanics, etc.... Now...who's gonna get in and drive?

In this current environment, don't focus on hourly rate. Hourly rate is what management takes to Wall Street......

Instead, as well as rate, focus on work rules, soft time and quality of life. These can enhance your W-2 greater than one-up-manship on another pilots group hourly rate...

Finally, what are YOU willing to do to fight for your career? If you don't sit down with yourself and your familiy and figure this out NOW, when game time comes, you won't have plan B, you'll be scared as hell and the line will become fuzzy..... don't cross it!!!!

Bring a gun to knife fight and know you got support!