What good are strike votes?

[ZapBrannigan]

Just the threat of a strike is enough to cause book away and cancellations. More bad press going into the summer for a company that recently ruined Christmas.

If the beancounters start seeing a hit to future bookings and revenue, it's adds pressure to move faster. Right now the company is only agreeing to meet every two weeks. That's not the timeline of an organization that is feeling any sense of urgency.

 

[roundout]

Our MEC even went so far as to buy search engine optimization so that if someone typed “XXX airlines” the autocomplete would suggest “Pilot strike” in an attempt to drive business away.

 

[derg]

Just the threat of a strike is enough to cause book away and cancellations. More bad press going into the summer for a company that recently ruined Christmas.

If the beancounters start seeing a hit to future bookings and revenue, it's adds pressure to move faster. Right now the company is only agreeing to meet every two weeks. That's not the timeline of an organization that is feeling any sense of urgency.

There's talk of a WestJet strike, which I have a pair of tickets on. I'm actively looking for a "Plan B" If I knew earlier, there'd be no way in hell I'd have booked those tickets.

 

[roundout]

There's talk of a WestJet strike, which I have a pair of tickets on. I'm actively looking for a "Plan B" If I knew earlier, there'd be no way in hell I'd have booked those tickets.

I can’t recall the details but Canadian law is far more sympathetic to the worker than to the company than we have in the Greatest Country on Earth.

 

[SlumTodd_Millionaire]

I can’t recall the details but Canadian law is far more sympathetic to the worker than to the company than we have in the Greatest Country on Earth.

And yet the average American airline pilot has a far better contract than the average Canadian airline pilot.

Pilots love to hate on the RLA, but it's created one of the most lucrative professions on earth.

 

[roundout]

And yet the average American airline pilot has a far better contract than the average Canadian airline pilot.

Pilots love to hate on the RLA, but it's created one of the most lucrative professions on earth.

Accurate

 

[JEP]

I think you should read Flying The Line, Vols. 1 & 2.

Hell, I dont even fly for a living and read them from a strict labor aspect. Very good educational read.

 

[BobDDuck]

I can’t recall the details but Canadian law is far more sympathetic to the worker than to the company than we have in the Greatest Country on Earth.

Not really. They are stuck with a very real possibility of baseball style arbitration at the end of the day.

 

[roundout]

Not really. They are stuck with a very real possibility of baseball style arbitration at the end of the day.

I have no idea about this. My recollection is that their ability to actually walk out on strike is much quicker than ours would be.

 

[derg]

Not really. They are stuck with a very real possibility of baseball style arbitration at the end of the day.

Eww.

Eww on anything that relates to sports outside of... sports.

 

[ClearedForOption]

Anecdotal evidence but after the strike vote at SJI I had several friends, neighbors, and acquaintances ask me if we were going on strike. Even had a random guy jogging around my subdivision come up to me as i was loading my bags into my car in uniform asking if we were going on strike. He was actually excited about it and said that we should. I believe the media campaign alone is worth it to put pressure on management since the average passenger has no idea about the RLA and immediately panics when they hear the word "strike" outside of a baseball game

My own Mom, who knows that I've done a bunch of volunteering and has listened to more than her fair share of Pilot-Labor Relations stories from me. Including about how I've attended a ton of info picketing events, a lot of technical stuff about comms because she was around playing with my kids during the writing and editing, and a whole bunch of other random things told me: "I don't want to buy a ticket on AA to visit you this summer because I think that AA is going on strike, there was a bunch of stuff on the news."

It moves the needle for sure.

(FYI, My shop still doesn't fly between 2 of the biggest/busiest cities in N.A. and hasn't since 2012/2013ish if I remember right. Very annoying from a family non-reving POV.)

 

[BobDDuck]

I have no idea about this. My recollection is that their ability to actually walk out on strike is much quicker than ours would be.

It is. If they enter mediation (called Conciliation up there), they get 60 days of talks, and then they go straight to a 21 day cooling off period. There is a CIRB (like our PEB, but not political) that can mandate how much an airline can actually strike, to protect essential air service.

 

[SlumTodd_Millionaire]

Not really. They are stuck with a very real possibility of baseball style arbitration at the end of the day.

Ahhh, yes, good old baseball style arbitration. Hey @MikeD, you want another opportunity to trash talk John McCain? He tried to force this on airline unions about twenty years ago.

 

[derg]

Arizonans weren't REALLY that into John McCain during the 2008 election cycle. He didn't win by much more than 8%.

 

[MikeD]

Ahhh, yes, good old baseball style arbitration. Hey @MikeD, you want another opportunity to trash talk John McCain? He tried to force this on airline unions about twenty years ago.

Arizonans weren't REALLY that into John McCain during the 2008 election cycle. He didn't win by much more than 8%.

That was another interesting dichotomy of the man. Given his aviation background, combined with his political side‘s liking of big business, he did not seem to have an overarching interest in general aviation or the airlines. Neither the managerial side nor the labor side, even though he received campaign donations from the airlines. There were some good things he did when he was chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee, primarily when it came to helping hometown America West, which he owned stock in with wife Cindy, gain slots at ORD, and gain direct flights from DCA to PHX, but also to support financial assistance to some airlines post-9/11. Yet he was against the proposed UAL/US Airways merger, but for the America West/USAirways one. And, as @derg mentioned, essentially told him to pound sand on an airline concern mailed to him. Definitely a complicated politician.

 

[Richman]

I can’t recall the details but Canadian law is far more sympathetic to the worker than to the company than we have in the Greatest Country on Earth.

Well, that might be true for the Canadians and the Europeans, but strangely enough, both groups trail US pilots by orders of magnitude.

Specifically, the European market for pilots is a flaming dumpster of HAZMAT on derailing train.

The RLA is like a dance contest where pairs ballroom dancing is the contest, but the two partners are competing against each other, and are trying to screw the other partner up.

The good news is if you can get the company to screw up their dance enough, you get to boogie solo. You have to be really good, and they need to really suck, but that’s the game.

 

[roundout]

Well, that might be true for the Canadians and the Europeans, but strangely enough, both groups trail US pilots by orders of magnitude.

Specifically, the European market for pilots is a flaming dumpster of HAZMAT on derailing train.

The RLA is like a dance contest where pairs ballroom dancing is the contest, but the two partners are competing against each other, and are trying to screw the other partner up.

The good news is if you can get the company to screw up their dance enough, you get to boogie solo. You have to be really good, and they need to really suck, but that’s the game.

I appreciate the perspective. We have it good compared to the rest of the world.

 

[Autothrust Blue]

That was another interesting dichotomy of the man. Given his aviation background, combined with his political side‘s liking of big business, he did not seem to have an overarching interest in general aviation or the airlines. Neither the managerial side nor the labor side, even though he received campaign donations from the airlines. There were some good things he did when he was chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee, primarily when it came to helping hometown America West, which he owned stock in with wife Cindy, gain slots at ORD, and gain direct flights from DCA to PHX, but also to support financial assistance to some airlines post-9/11. Yet he was against the proposed UAL/US Airways merger, but for the America West/USAirways one. And, as @derg mentioned, essentially told him to pound sand on an airline concern mailed to him. Definitely a complicated politician.

The mishap record might have something to do with that.

 

[Cherokee_Cruiser]

What is the realistic chance of any of the Big 4 being released to strike; and if released, being allowed to strike without being ordered back to work or some other intervention that prevents a strike?

The big 4 are what, 84% of the capacity of this country?

Today's big 4 actual probability of a strike being allowed to happen? 0.00%

 

[CoffeeIcePapers]

Got my APA strike badge in. The giant STRIKE is visible under my name tag. Definitely attention grabbing.