ENY133 LEC
Update 5-17-14
Chicago pilots,
I hope everyone has had a chance to read the latest message from the MEC chairman. I want to expand on this and talk about the events of the last couple weeks. There has been a lot of misinformation and rumors circulating and I hope to set some things straight. This is a critical time for us and I want everyone informed and up to date.
Back on May 5th, the MEC had a teleconference in which we discussed ways that we could provide assistance for those pilots looking to move elsewhere in the industry. As mentioned in previous MEC blasts, we are working on getting the contracts finalized for a logbook service as well as access to a job posting website and a well-known aviation career counselor. I have been pushing hard for ALPA to move faster in providing these services, but due to the amount of money being spent there is a certain amount of red tape to cut through. I think the final contracts should be complete early next week and these programs implemented shortly thereafter.
On May 6th we received word from Pedro that he would entertain a “reasonable” proposal from the MEC. He wanted us to present him with something that the MEC could fully support and would pass pilot ratification. Pedro also floated the idea of giving Envoy pilots AA seniority numbers and wanted to know if we would support the failed AIP if it had AA seniority numbers. We told him we couldn’t blindly support that without discussing the details. We continued to discuss the proposal and decided to have another teleconference on May 7th. We got on the phone with the negotiating committee and gave them direction on what a proposal should look like and brainstormed ideas. For the next few days we debated the content but ultimately we were never given the opportunity to present anything to the company.
May 12th came around and we got word from the company that any kind of proposal from us would not be accepted. Everyone on the MEC had worked hard to try to come up with something we could support, the pilots could support and management could accept but they wanted to hear none of it. I was disappointed that the company would go back on their offer but as we’ve seen before…this is not unprecedented behavior for them.
In the company’s recent communication they stated, “ALPA now contends we recently told them an offer from the union for a new TA would be “summarily rejected.” This is not accurate.” Actually, this is accurate. We did not work on a proposal independently. Pedro said the company was willing to look at an offer on May 6th and then by May 12th they had completely reversed their position.
The worst part about the company’s email on Friday, beyond the inaccuracies, is the clear intent to pit work groups against each other. We know the facts, and can relate them to you as I am doing now, but the flight attendants and ground crews will not hear our side of the story. This is classic maneuvering from management, and is another poke in our collective eyes.
Everyone who has been at Eagle/Envoy for more than a year knows the golden rule: don’t lie. This is so vital because the second you start lying, you lose all credibility. Pedro has lost all credibility in my eyes. It’s sad to see the state of the airline come to this. I have so much respect for the employees here at Envoy, we deserve better leadership than this.
Fraternally,
Z & Z