Originally Posted by
MatchPoint
Originally Posted by
Nevets
Also, they can't start an alter ego airline because that was part if the deal when they bought us. That is protection you guys are getting for free as you didn't have it before. But it's no secret, as you admitted, that they have been whipsawing us against the non-union side. Like I said, they have learned from the scorched earth past of Lorenzo and are smarter about how to go around using that leverage against us at XJT. Maybe it's an unfair comparison on the means to the same end, but you can make a reasonable argument on the end result.
I wasn't talking about the restrictions within your contract; I was talking about prior to your acquisition when we had no language. SkyWest could have started an alter-ego carrier much like TSA / GoJet or Mesa / Freedom but chose the path of its employees.
When we first acquired ASA there was a lot of opposition but over time we saw a change in the majority over there. Today we call them brothers and we are hoping for the same for you. I truly feel that Jerry wants to make you all part of the family but in the end he must make some very hard decision for the betterment of the company. And yes I do favor a merger with an in-house union but I understand why SkyWest wants the whipsaw. In this industry everyone is being whipsawed against each other by mainline and this 2 airline setup assist Inc. in keeping cost in check. Don’t blame SkyWest; blame the thumb that holds the industry down. Just remember that mainline pays “pie” and if cost exceed “pie” we simply can’t pass the increase on to our customer like mainline can. We must eat the losses and possibly face losing our contracts over time or go the way of Mesa and 9E (bankruptcy).
Regardless Nevets, you seem like a bright individual and I wish you the best. Maybe one day we’ll meet and I’ll buy the first round.
I don't have a problem with buying rounds with any Skywest pilot. But don't expect me to say anything different than what I'm saying here.
But what is sounds to me is that you are saying that justifying and rationalizing Skywest's treatment of only a certain employee group just because we have exercised our constitutional right to create a union.
It's one thing for a company like UAL to whipsaw two or more separate independent companies against each other. It's ENTIRELY DIFFERENT thing to say that it's okay for a corporation to whipsaw two or more companies they own, control, and operate from the top down! If JA TRULY wanted to make us part of the family, he would have merged all three airlines. He doesn't because he is paid to do what's best for the shareholders only, not about family. That's not to say that the calculation couldn't change where a better business case could be made that what's better for the shareholder is to merge all the airlines. One group being non-union does NOT help that business case and it is perceived that you guys would rather have every other unionized group collectively work and fight for the things that you get for free in order to keep the balance of that equation in keeping you from exercising your constitutional rights.
As for alter ego airlines, like I have said multiple times already, they are smarter than that. That F&H play book has been used enough times now that it would be counter productive. We are not dealing with simple Lorenzo tactics here. There is a whole psychological strategy at play here that your supposed benevolent management pays high consultation/retainer fees. We may be getting out played by them but at least we are aware of what they are trying to do and trying to fight that battle tooth and nail while not being helped out by our fellow brothers, as opposed to being ignorant or conveniently looking the other way while drinking the kool aid.
PS. Doesn't it bother you that while your management is crying poor (which they are purposely overplaying, at best), their expense is partly paying for TWO SEPARATE MANAGEMENT doing exactly the same thing. You want to save them $6 million by not taking a $2/hr raise yet they spend way more than that on duplicating everything it takes to run one airline? This is the kool aid I'm talking about. We here do not tolerate any talk of no pay raises when they spend way more money in order to not give us pay raises. Do you not see what they are doing to both groups?! This on top of all the other issues I've mentioned on this thread starting from the first buyout attempt. So I ask again, are you management or just not aware?