. ALPA will roll over as usual. Why do you think they "negotiated" regional lift at AirTran. Pathetic.
I am willing to bet ALPA won't be there when ATN pilots need it most.
We fought hard for scope
improvements in this contract, and we achieved them. We are receiving all of the help we could ever possibly ask for from ALPA.
I'm about done with ALPA since they made a clerical error and asked me to pay 30% more dues for the year.
So a "clerical error" is unforgivable in your book? Make sure you point that out to your assistant chief pilot the next time you make a simple mistake on the job.
I'm not unhappy with the structure in place with our local council (though electing a guy to MEC Chair that the DTW pilots successfully recalled blows my mind).
Recalled? I think you mean "wasn't re-elected." Big difference.
Why aren't you appalled that a new scope sale occurred and the ATN MEC endorsed it?
Have you even read our scope section? Have you read the old contract's scope section?
National should never sign contracts that have cutthroat pay scales and/or scope problems that allow whipsaw at any level. Where are NATIONAL CRJ200 rates? Or 50 seat rates? All 50 seat operators should pay the same.
Those are nice thoughts, but not really achievable in the real world. We have to work within the confines of the Railway Labor Act.
I am going to attend LEC meetings to get my next item on the agenda: MEC positions should be voted on by the pilots. In fact, National positions should be voted on by the dues-payers. I don't trust the political system to properly sort out who needs to be in charge without my direct input. You know as well as I do that many Reps look toward the ultimate ALPA position. Tough to get if you don't play the politics. Those positions are too important to have LEC/MEC/National politics influence them.
The AirTran pilots got rid of our in-house union, and one of the major problems with it was the fact that the executive officers (the same as MEC Officers) were elected directly by the pilots. It is contradictory to say that the executive officers need to carry out the will of the BOD (or MEC) when they are directly elected by the membership. We had problems with executive officers claiming that they didn't need to follow BOD direction, because they were elected by the pilots, and they were going to carry out what they personally believed was the will of the pilots. It was a nightmare. The APA has gone through the same problems. It is a structure that doesn't work.
My dad told me that Herb (who's no longer involved in the day to day operations) personally flew to Atlanta to tell the AirTran pilots that if they didn't get on board with a deal he would furlough all of them and sell off their assets. Which is harsh but understandable when you build a company based on happy employees.
Not true.
Southwest bought Airtran therefore they can do what they like with the assets. Put up or shutup.
Not the way it works.
I still don't know why AirTran pilot's would care about seats or bases or seniority if they're making 30% more. The only reason I go to work is to make money, otherwise I stay home and do things I actually find enjoyable.
Ask your dad if he would be willing to downgrade to FO if it paid $10,000 more. Let me know when he stops laughing. It's not always about money, and as the Train pointed out, money is fleeting, seniority is forever.
From my understanding they did ask for DOH. Todd can you clarify?
Many proposals have been made over the past few months, some better than DOH, some less.
And in that sense, I strongly feel based on WN's prior actions, they will show no mercy in transfering all flying plane by plane to WN from FL if things get nasty.......IF. When I read this in the agreement the ALPA made with WN I could not believe they agreed to that. Does anyone else see the significance of this in the event it goes down the wrong path?
I'm not sure what agreement you're talking about, but our contract does not allow what you're contemplating. No more than 8% of our system block hours, or the assets that generate them, can be transferred. (some of that scope improvement that cencal apparently isn't up to speed on)
Do contracts at Airtran still stay when SW buys them?
Yes.
When the certificates merge, are the pilot groups still able to be under separate contracts? If it is possible, what will happen to that ATN Holding Company scope keeping the pilots from getting dropped?
Our holding company side letter is binding on all successors, so the obligations transferred to Southwest.
