Why Doesn't ALPA Use the Leverage THEY Obviously Have?

[Voice Of Reason]

http://money.cnn.com/2016/02/24/news/economy/trash-workers-high-pay/?sr=moneyaol022416trash1100story

The $100,000 job: Garbage workers

"
Not only do they earn a good salary, their wages are growing faster than the average too. Nationwide, wages for trash workers have grown 18%, which is a lot faster than the 14% average for all workers since the recession ended in June 2009.
That's because it's not easy to find workers in the business. Employers can't find qualified truck drivers, landfill operators or mechanics.
David Antonacci says he got 50 applications when he advertised for a truck driver's job. Only four applicants had a commercial drivers license and all four had penalties on their licenses. So Antonacci couldn't hire any of them.


That lack of available talent is one key reason why Antonacci and others in the industry have given out raises at a faster pace than the national average.
It's the same story in other parts of the country. Kathy Morris runs a waste management facility in Davenport, Iowa, and she's raised wages to retain employees."

 

[Freebrd]

Easy! Pilots will work for peanuts to fly. Well, I have to suffer some at a regional, but boy when I get to the big leagues it'll all be worth it. About right?

 

[Voice Of Reason]

Easy! Pilots will work for peanuts to fly. Well, I have to suffer some at a regional, but boy when I get to the big leagues it'll all be worth it. About right?

'Better' pay than at a regional, but still not acceptable in today's market (esp with garbage men making what they do, and they haven't one iota the leverage pilots do yet unions don't use)

 

[xjhawk]

well when pay does go up, these companies seem to use laws written by their attorneys to do such things as declare bankruptcy to reset the wages and work rules. This has happened so many times in the past, the script is almost already written on what will happen to the pilots at Republic. See Comair-shut down because their wages were too livable. Mesaba-They wanted to reset those wages, then the Pinnacle (Mesaba-Colgan) bankruptcy, again, they needed not only to reset wages, but cancel a profitable contract on the 141 CRJ 200's that Delta wanted to park because they were not making enough money on them.

All the while our Union says their hands are tied by the laws but the laws are never changed and National does not care to protect any job held by a regional pilot. All because the low wages by a regional pilots were and are helping the profits at the majors and subsequently the higher pay and bonus''s the majors. Its a 2 class system that ALPA national does not seem to want to address. Look at Endeavor Air. At one point, the union even allowed pilots who held Seniority numbers at Delta to continue working at Endeavor while they were "held back". why? Because Delta did not want to lose staffing at Endeavor and knew training them later would save them money. Delta does payroll, IT, all upper management is Delta people, our manuals have been Delta "ized" and our union goes down to Atlanta to negotiate directly with Delta-but we are not Delta even though we are told "one level of service" etc etc. We have a 7 year bankruptcy contract we are operating under and people seem to be happy because we get a 23K retention bonus even though our pay still falls short for those who will not be moving on. Not to mention what the future holds when the bankruptcy contract is up.

 

[Freebrd]

'Better' pay than at a regional, but still not acceptable in today's market (esp with garbage men making what they do, and they haven't one iota the leverage pilots do yet unions don't use)

They (garbage men) have a better, rather actual, union and aren't afraid to walk off the job. Whereas ALPA, more of an association of umpteen local associations divided into two classes, majors and regionals. Now 4 out of 5 last ALPA Presidents pay and bennies (like a pension) are at the top at national. Look at what, what 4 out the last 5 Presidents, are doing now. They're not working for labor (us). Worth and Moak are two excellent examples, and that other guy, Babbit, now in management at SWA..

 

[maru657]

Freebird nailed it, ALPA is an association, not a union and they will represent the majors faithfully because that's were the money is. I've always wondered why the regional pilots would want to share an association with them. ALPA will never risk alienating the pilots at a major when there is a conflict with a regional. The majors are populated with ex-military pilots with only a fraction of the experience most regional pilots have. Guess that leaves them feeling vulnerable. If I were a pilot representative at say, Delta Express, I'd trot up to company headquarters and tell them I'll fly that large jet for 25% less. I'm guessing ALPA would scream like a baby.

 

[filejw]

They (garbage men) have a better, rather actual, union and aren't afraid to walk off the job. Whereas ALPA, more of an association of umpteen local associations divided into two classes, majors and regionals. Now 4 out of 5 last ALPA Presidents pay and bennies (like a pension) are at the top at national. Look at what, what 4 out the last 5 Presidents, are doing now. They're not working for labor (us). Worth and Moak are two excellent examples, and that other guy, Babbit, now in management at SWA..

Not to defended ALPA but when your hands are tied by the Railway Labor Act you are prevented from being a real union like the garbage men. If you want a union ALPA should follow we should be looking at the longshoreman's union. If ALPA wanted to make real progress they would be using what ever political pressure they had to get the RLA out of the airline business. Read the history of the RLA and you would see that it a law written in 1880/1920 that was meant to protect towns that would suffer from losing rail service completely because of a strike. An airline these days would never come close to that kind of disruption..

 

[RJLoser]

Because they are paid off.

 

[fletch717]

Pilots are to blame not alpa. There is no unity anymore, just a bunch of individual contractors that would sell their first born for a premium pay trip. We stab each other in the back for a few extra dollars. We carry picket signs on our day off and think that management cares. We are self centered and greedy it's why management always wins.

 

[Freebrd]

Not to defended ALPA but when your hands are tied by the Railway Labor Act you are prevented from being a real union like the garbage men...

Agree 100%!