This past week was an eye-opener for us as to how things are done within the MEC. We would like to share with you what took place during our four days in Houston and what the plans are of the MEC as well as the company moving forward.
Management Briefing, Questions and Answers (90 minutes)
Due to uncontrollable circumstances, Mr. Holt and Mr. Sheehan were the only management personnel that were in attendance on Tuesday to brief the MEC. There was no formal presentation. Mr. Holt briefed the MEC and those pilots in attendance on the economic stability of ExpressJet. After that, he opened it up to questions and answers. The MEC asked what the future plan is for ExpressJet. Being in Texas, the answer Mr. Holt gave reminded us of the Texas longhorn. A point here, a point there, and a lot of bull in-between. It is our belief that there is no clear plan for the future of ExpressJet.
Mr. Holt continued to regurgitate the same message he has said for the past four years. He blamed line pilots for the vast majority of the problems affecting the operational aspect of the company (i.e., sick calls and the inability to get a hold of pilots). Mr. Holt spoke out against your MEC, saying that we have continued to delay the JCBA process. It is our belief that Mr. Holt is incapable of accepting constructive criticism, nor is he willing to take responsibility for his failed management practices.
Condescending Comments
When discussing management’s inability to properly manage this airline, Mr. Holt replied with “pilots are not nearly as smart as they think they are.” In regards to our question of why pilots should take more of a concession when they are currently under a concessionary contract, his remark was, “Well, you should get another job.” Mr. Holt’s condescending remarks to your representatives and to others on the MEC continue to increase the communication barrier between the pilot group and management. A leader accepts responsibility for mistakes and takes the actions required to fix them. Unfortunately to everyone in attendance, that was not the case.
Positive Changes
Over the past couple months (April and May), we have seen some positive changes. It is our belief that many of these changes are in large part because of Mr. Sheehan. While there certainly is room to improve, we feel that our Scheduling Department has come a long way since January and February. When discussing the company’s operational challenges, we found that Mr. Sheehan was more willing to work with the pilot group in not only maintaining the integrity of the operation, but he was also open to discussing ways to fix and prepare for the next IROP.
PBS
Preferential bidding system is, no doubt, a hot topic item. Throughout this week, there was a lot of time spent discussing which (if any) system to move forward with. A lot of us have a sour taste in our mouths when discussing the implementation of PBS, mainly because of Continental’s horrific experience with it. PBS software are great programs used to increase the productivity of crew assignments, lower operational costs, and increase pilots’ quality of life. After thoroughly discussing line-building, FlightLine, SmartPref, and the company’s financial situation, now is the right time to work toward implementing PBS to include Phase 1 bidding.
There are always doubts when using a new system. We feel the same way. We, like you, will have to live under whatever system we choose, but you will have the final vote. This week, your representatives voted in favor to move toward parallel bidding with SmartPref. What does this mean? It means that the MEC has asked the Negotiating Committee to negotiate with management on work rules associated with the pilot group accepting PBS. After negotiations are completed, you will get a chance to parallel bid with SmartPref for an undecided number of months (possibly six to nine). After the parallel bid testing phase is over, you will have the ability to vote on whether or not you want SmartPref. We are not giving anything away for free. In fact by negotiating the new work rules under a PBS system prior to its parallel running, we as line pilots will get to compare our current line building versus what SmartPref with new work rules would do to our quality of life. This will let us know exactly what we can expect in the future and allow us to make a more educated decision either for or against PBS. We have faith that the Negotiating Committee will return with work rules that will cause an increase in the quality of life for our all pilots. Again, you will have the final vote in deciding on whether or not to choose SmartPref as our primary means of bidding for a schedule.
MEC
As we met and worked with the rest of the MEC members this week, we have come to the conclusion that ExpressJet has an MEC that we can have faith in. There have been significant changes within the MEC since the beginning of the year. We have five new representatives that sit on the MEC. Each member brings their own strengths to the table. After carefully listening to all the members, we have confidence in this new MEC and would like to pass that along to you.
Conclusion
In closing, as your new reps, we would like to thank our CLE and MCI pilots for giving us the opportunity to represent you all. At the end of the day, our duty is to represent the wishes of our pilots, and we intend to do so in every instance. We will make every effort to keep a clear line of communication open with you all and to give you the facts as we learn them. By doing this, we will be able to keep the pilot group informed and allow you to make any decisions going forward.
Feel free to contact us with any questions you might have regarding last week’s MEC meeting.
