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Hayduke · 09-25-2007, 12:14 PM

Since there's no way to determine whether those voting are SKW folks, it doesn't mean much...although I hope the actual vote goes similarly.

I've been at SKW for a little over a year, 121 for about 2yrs (prior ALPA carrier). I'll be voting yes without a doubt, but I'm not one of these radically pro-ALPA guys who thinks that SKW management is evil and always out to get us.

In fact, I don't even really believe that at this exact moment ALPA is absolutely necessary here. Our work rules and pay are (for the most part) better than the majority of the industry and pilots are not being constantly fired or disciplined for mistakes or bogus reasons. Overall, I'm extremely happy here as is almost everybody I know.

That being said, I fully recognize the fact that this all could change at any moment. What we have now--pay scales, work rules, the fact that guys aren't getting fired for running planes off runways--is all totally at the whim of our management. Certain other airlines have shown that that there are plenty of pilots who will fly under much crappier conditions than we do, and I really have respect for our management for not screwing us more than they do. But the company is growing rapidly, and to expect that the mutual respect between pilots and management is going to stay intact enough to sustain the benefits we already have as we get up over 3000 pilots is fantasy. It's already started--our pay has been effectively getting cut the last few years, we're flying bigger jets for almost identical pay, and there's been a couple isolated incidents of rougue managers firing people for bogus reasons. This is our chance to protect ourselves, because even though things are pretty much fine and dandy now there are absolutely no guarantees that they'll continue that way.

If ALPA is voted in, I really hope that we elect folks who will still respect the airline. I hated the fact at my previous carrier that I wouldn't even have known who the CEO was if his name hadn't been written on the bathroom wall next to the words "blows goats". I hope we can follow what I hear is Expressjet's model and maintain a decent working relationship with management and a level of respect for the company.

09-25-2007, 12:14 PM	#5 (permalink)
Hayduke Line Holder Joined APC: Nov 2006 Posts: 74	Since there's no way to determine whether those voting are SKW folks, it doesn't mean much...although I hope the actual vote goes similarly. I've been at SKW for a little over a year, 121 for about 2yrs (prior ALPA carrier). I'll be voting yes without a doubt, but I'm not one of these radically pro-ALPA guys who thinks that SKW management is evil and always out to get us. In fact, I don't even really believe that at this exact moment ALPA is absolutely necessary here. Our work rules and pay are (for the most part) better than the majority of the industry and pilots are not being constantly fired or disciplined for mistakes or bogus reasons. Overall, I'm extremely happy here as is almost everybody I know. That being said, I fully recognize the fact that this all could change at any moment. What we have now--pay scales, work rules, the fact that guys aren't getting fired for running planes off runways--is all totally at the whim of our management. Certain other airlines have shown that that there are plenty of pilots who will fly under much crappier conditions than we do, and I really have respect for our management for not screwing us more than they do. But the company is growing rapidly, and to expect that the mutual respect between pilots and management is going to stay intact enough to sustain the benefits we already have as we get up over 3000 pilots is fantasy. It's already started--our pay has been effectively getting cut the last few years, we're flying bigger jets for almost identical pay, and there's been a couple isolated incidents of rougue managers firing people for bogus reasons. This is our chance to protect ourselves, because even though things are pretty much fine and dandy now there are absolutely no guarantees that they'll continue that way. If ALPA is voted in, I really hope that we elect folks who will still respect the airline. I hated the fact at my previous carrier that I wouldn't even have known who the CEO was if his name hadn't been written on the bathroom wall next to the words "blows goats". I hope we can follow what I hear is Expressjet's model and maintain a decent working relationship with management and a level of respect for the company.