SKYW Opening CRJ ATL (Lineholder)Base

What blows my mind, is the the thickness of the Kool-Aid at Skywest. We have no work rules. I've never been this badly raped at any job in my life. And some of my buddies here keep telling me how great Skywest is. I still am amazed sometimes at how excited FO's are to be flying the riddle jet 99.9 hours a month and to live out of a crashpad with 8 other doods eating ramen.

I have a few guys I know that went to SkyW and told me that I was an idiot for going to OH. How do the SkyW guys/gals operate without a union? If the company tells you to do something, do you just have to do it? I'm sure you have a pilot contract, but who is there to enforce it? What happens to someone who gets fired? Do they just suck it up and say "Oh well!"

P.S.
Seggy, what is the overall feeling about getting a union in there amongst the pilot group? I have a 2 friends there, (down in IAH) but they are really new. One is just off IOE and the other is two months fresh off of IOE. So they really are just getting into this airline biz.
 
Great. I'm so damn disgusted with SKW right now. Absolutely AMAZING.

I can't complain about the new base.

Of course not. It's no longer your job on the line, it's someone else's.

But an ASA guy might.

It is about us as a pilot group as a whole. If we get pilots at different companies on the same page, we would raise the bar for this profession.

Seggy,

But you see, the SKW pilot group. . .the whole group. . .is yet to be truly WITH US. They are not ALPA - yet.

And well you know what, I don't think it'll happen over there. So much kool-aid floating around, and must we forget it is Utah. The culture in that state is so anti-labor that it is amazing. But hey, worth a shot, I just won't be surprised if it doesn't work out.

What blows my mind, is the the thickness of the Kool-Aid at Skywest. We have no work rules. I've never been this badly raped at any job in my life. And some of my buddies here keep telling me how great Skywest is. I still am amazed sometimes at how excited FO's are to be flying the riddle jet 99.9 hours a month and to live out of a crashpad with 8 other doods eating ramen.

Perhaps a stern neck grab, and set their asses straight is needed.
 
Seggy, what is the overall feeling about getting a union in there amongst the pilot group? I have a 2 friends there, (down in IAH) but they are really new. One is just off IOE and the other is two months fresh off of IOE. So they really are just getting into this airline biz.


The organizing drive is going REALLY well. I can't tell the numbers we have but things are moving quickly for a vote by the NMB. We need more cards to make it a 'strong majority' for ALPA to go to the NMB.

Did your friends send their cards back? Do they have any questions about the drive?
 
Max, there is no question that corporations should pay a fair and livable wage. I am a huge advocate of that. What I am not an advocate of is when people complain that company A lost "their" flying to company B. My whole point is, that is business.

Do shareholders deserve a six figure check? Well, let me ask you this. If I started a company and came to you when your're a millionaire and asked you for $2M to start my company. Would you expect me to pay you back and some?

My comments in this thread are about competition. That is business my friend. Business ethics is another thread.

I'll make this clear. My issues isn't with who stole who's flying, or underbidding. It is with whipsawing one group against another and union busting tactics. Skywest and ASA though operating under different certs are still one company.

ASA pilots are holding out for a decent contract but SKYW management is playing highschool type games, which is in effect tantamount to union busting! And that is what I have a problem with.
 
:yeahthat:

And. . .to boot, I only know of ONE SKW pilot who is very unhappy about this latest news, because of the whipsawing.

But this is one family friend, is only one person, out of I'm sure 500 who are happy about it.
 
How do the SkyW guys/gals operate without a union? If the company tells you to do something, do you just have to do it? I'm sure you have a pilot contract, but who is there to enforce it? What happens to someone who gets fired? Do they just suck it up and say "Oh well!"

Pretty much. Everyone is scared of management because they can just pick us off, and fire us one by one.
 
Well, here is another SKYW pilot who is not happy about this news. Things are not looking up for ASA. For sure it is time for all of us to unite and take a stand.

Who knows where this will go!? Certainly not me. All I know is, I don't blame XYZ pilot at XYZ company for anything. Management needs to act responsibly and the only way that is seemingly going to happen is a joint effort on our part. Time for a new labor movement!
 
Really? Already? Dang.

I guess my 4on 2off 6on 2off 4on off 4on 2off 4on 2off 5on uncommutable schedule is starting to make me a lil cranky. I gee golly hope I don't get fired for calling in fatigued next week. Im just halfway through this stretch and I can barely see or stand up straight, I can't solid sleep anymore and I'm losing weight due to lack of nutrition.
 
If you're losing weight man, you're going to have to start wearing a ballast belt to avoid blowing away in the wind.

Hmm, the capitalist in me says, "How about writing a book called 'The Regional Diet'" for us tubby mainline guys.
 
If you're losing weight man, you're going to have to start wearing a ballast belt to avoid blowing away in the wind.

Hmm, the capitalist in me says, "How about writing a book called 'The Regional Diet'" for us tubby mainline guys.


Well, I could give JC'ers a lil sneek peak.

The secret is to give up any food with any sort of nutritional value.
This means making sure to get 5am shows no matter the timezone so that even if the hotel has a breakfast with fruit it wont be showing up until you are long gone. All fruit should be consumed in dry form or in cans of OJ. Vegetables should always be served with a healthy amount of salt, so drink lots of V8. Have 24 minute turns so you will be able to get the crew "salty box meal" snack. Enjoy endless amounts of crackers and synthetic cheese, cookies, and chips. If you want to go nuts perhaps eat tuna for the 5000th time or perhaps another PB sandwhich. On the way to your 10 hour layover of somewhere in between an airport appreciation sit you could go and spend 10% of your daily regional FO income on a modest quizzo's sandwhich. etc. etc. :)
 
Can you hold Brasilia captain yet?

If so, get on it, build 1000 PIC turbine and get cracking! :)

Don't be like that one guy who was on the cusp of 1000 PIC and took a big hunk of time out because he wanted to fly a jet!

Text message in 8...7...6...5...
 
Yeah that guy's got shiny jet syndrome like nobody I've ever seen!

Hootie that's really crappy man! Honestly from a big picture perspective my only 2 real complaints are pay (BIG complaint) and utilization during a trip. 3hr turns and 19hr layovers after a single leg are not my thing. Pay will go up (and it better, soon) and senority may take care of the second issue.
 
$30 mil per quarter isn't "making money?" It's more than SW pulls in. And our last "pay vote" (which is a joke because it's not binding in anyway shape or form) netted 65% of the company tangible 1% raise!

Yeah, I see the goodness of their hearts just oozing all over us.


No management team will give anyone a raise unless the majority of their competitors are also giving up some money. During the last couple of years, we've seen Comair and Mesaba give concessions and the airlines being downsized. We've seen numerous others with long-time stagnation in contract talks. With only 2 exceptions (ExpressJet and Horizon), there really aren't too many pilot groups getting raises or more flying, etc. etc.

Because of that, any management group (regardless of the company's performance) will use the state of the industry to keep the money in the bank earning interest. Now, in the next 5 years with the prospect of relative health in the industry, we'll see both majors and regionals making more money. At some point, the majority of pilot groups will start seeing raises and closing contract negotiations. When that starts happening, the management teams will start to give in and open their pockets a little more....but it won't happen until a majority starts seeing the increases. This kind of thing happens every 7 or 8 years or so....we'll see it again in 2015 or so......
 
A lot of people are commenting on how SkyWest could fire you for what ever reason they want, but im curious as to how many people have actually been terminated without just cause? Airlines spend thousands of dollars training you; they loose out on their investment if they terminate you. The guys that ran the jet off the end of the runway in Wisconsin into the grass field didnt get fired.

Just playing devil's advocate though.
 
A lot of people are commenting on how SkyWest could fire you for what ever reason they want, but im curious as to how many people have actually been terminated without just cause? Airlines spend thousands of dollars training you; they loose out on their investment if they terminate you. The guys that ran the jet off the end of the runway in Wisconsin into the grass field didnt get fired.

Just playing devil's advocate though.


Ask a Skywest guy about the 'handwriting experts' and there is your answer!
 
Ask a Skywest guy about the 'handwriting experts' and there is your answer!

Yep, but that is the only one I have heard of. Overall we are treated fairly decent and no one is out to 'get us'. I am in full support of our union drive and also confident in our company's overall leadership. There are a few I'm not to sure of, but this is not the place...
 
Back
Top