ASA PBS vote food for thought

You're reading far too much into that communication from your MEC. I would draw one of two conclusions from that message:

1. The Association is worried that furloughs may be coming, and they want to make sure the pilot group isn't blind-sided by it; or

2. The Association expects that something may be coming that would justify the overstaffed situation (new airplanes, expanded block hours, etc.).

It turned out to be #1. Nothing in that communication indicates a desire by the MEC to see pilots furloughed. Again, just wacky conspiracy-theory garbage.
 
ATN_Pilot said:
You're reading far too much into that communication from your MEC. I would draw one of two conclusions from that message:

1. The Association is worried that furloughs may be coming, and they want to make sure the pilot group isn't blind-sided by it; or

2. The Association expects that something may be coming that would justify the overstaffed situation (new airplanes, expanded block hours, etc.).

It turned out to be #1. Nothing in that communication indicates a desire by the MEC to see pilots furloughed. Again, just wacky conspiracy-theory garbage.
Click to expand...


I'm sorry I disagree. Knowing what was going on at the time, was pretty obvious what was happening. The association was also sending emails, complaining about the line values being at 75hrs, telling people to budget etc. The month after furloughes, the average line value went from 75 to close to 90 with a lot of open time. There was much more than just that. Our MEC is not concerned about our pilot group as a whole. Just their "buddies"
 
ATN_Pilot said:
Since I know some of them very well, and work in the same office with them, I know that's a bunch of BS.
Click to expand...

Oh good, maybe you could let them know that MANY pilots feel that way. They sure don't respond to our concerns. PBS is an example of this.
 
mxflyer said:
Oh good, maybe you could let them know that MANY pilots feel that way. They sure don't respond to our concerns.
Click to expand...

Perhaps you should talk to them yourselves. I can give you directions to the office if you want to stop by.

PBS is an example of this.
Click to expand...

If you guys don't vote in favor of the PBS LOA that they've negotiated, then you're crazy. Industry-leading PBS, an additional pay raise, and expedited Section 6. Best deal I've seen negotiated in a long time.
 
Todd,

The same month that the above referenced communication came out I had a one on one with DN, ready and willing to offer my services.

Now, he didn't come out and tell me we were furloughing, but he made it perfectly clear that I need to be thinking about, if not already doing so, finding other employment.

Our MEC has some great guys, but in my opinion they are really lacking on the communication front as well as transparancy. Two things that I believe need to improve with the new MEC.

I'm opitmistic that this will happen, but I know Im not alone in thinking our pilot group is divided and that things better improve in terms of transparancy.
 
surreal1221 said:
Todd,

The same month that the above referenced communication came out I had a one on one with DN, ready and willing to offer my services.

Now, he didn't come out and tell me we were furloughing, but he made it perfectly clear that I need to be thinking about, if not already doing so, finding other employment.
Click to expand...

That's the exact same thing I would have told you. Sounds like he did his job well.

Our MEC has some great guys, but in my opinion they are really lacking on the communication front as well as transparancy. Two things that I believe need to improve with the new MEC.
Click to expand...

Most regional MECs struggle on this front. It's so difficult finding qualified communication volunteers out of a group of just 1300 pilots. The legacies have thousands of pilots, and you can usually find one guy out of that size of a group that has been a reporter, producer, publisher, etc. that gives him the expertise to do communications work. We're obviously a smaller group at ATN of only 1700 pilots, but we got lucky and had a former CNN producer in our pilot ranks, so he's done an amazing job on communications. If you can't find someone of that caliber, though, then it's really difficult to get a good communications infrastructure going.
 
ATN_Pilot said:
Perhaps you should talk to them yourselves. I can give you directions to the office if you want to stop by.


We shouldn't need directions to the Union office. They work for and represent us. Perhaps they should stop by OUR office once in a while! I can't ever remember them coming through the lounge. If you see one in there it's purely by accident.....
Click to expand...
 
This may shock you, but guess what? They actually have work to do! I know, amazing isn't it? But hey, I guess they could drop all of their work (that they do for your benefit) and come hang out at the airport just to make you feel better about it. :sarcasm:
 
ATN_Pilot said:
This may shock you, but guess what? They actually have work to do! I know, amazing isn't it? But hey, I guess they could drop all of their work (that they do for your benefit) and come hang out at the airport just to make you feel better about it. :sarcasm:
Click to expand...

I see my United States congressional representative frequently because he considers it part of his job to interact with his constituents and makes the time to do so. No elected representative, union or government, should lose sight of who they serve.
 
Av8trix said:
I would like to know why furlough protection was dropped from the PBS negotiations.
Click to expand...

What are you talking about? Everyone left is protected. The PBS LOA provides for no downgrades (due to PBS, although don't know how you'd prove it.) During negotiations, the union was trying to get everyone else protected and the talks stalled out. Then the company furloughed and came back to the table.
 
ATN_Pilot said:
This may shock you, but guess what? They actually have work to do! I know, amazing isn't it? But hey, I guess they could drop all of their work (that they do for your benefit) and come hang out at the airport just to make you feel better about it. :sarcasm:
Click to expand...

This is absolutely absurd that you are trying to defend this. The MEC should show up at the airport on a consistent basis, as this is where the entire pilot group is. You have made some good points on this thread, however this is complete BS. They could easily spend 1 day per month visiting the lounge, as we do pay their salary.
 
I don't know if some of these guys want to have dinner with the MEC every night before they deem that they have effective communication. I believe that the MEC is doing an excellent job communicating with the pilot group. I have never once felt out of the loop with what is going on and the emails are more than adequate.

Av8trix said:
I would like to know why furlough protection was dropped from the PBS negotiations.
Click to expand...
I am curious how you came to this conclusion?
 
Trip7 said:
I don't know if some of these guys want to have dinner with the MEC every night before they deem that they have effective communication. I believe that the MEC is doing an excellent job communicating with the pilot group. I have never once felt out of the loop with what is going on and the emails are more than adequate.
Click to expand...

Of course.

So there is no room to improve, at least in your mind. Thankfully you're not on the MEC, otherwise we would never move from the status quo.
 
Well, some ALPA Reps are just there to collect a paycheck and rise up the political ladder, rather than help their constituents. A great case study of ALPA would be to look at your Congress today. They're there for their longevity, not for the folks the serve.

PBS sucks! You'll hate it - unless you're junior and you can figure out secrets that those senior to you can't. You'll get what they want.

PBS does not honor seniority.
 
aevfo said:
What are you talking about?
Click to expand...


I was talking about the first-round list of things the union wanted. Initially, Furlough protection for some, or all of the remaining post-contract pilots was on the list of things the union was after. Makes sense though, if you drop that big requirement, there are many other things you can spend your bargaining capital on.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top