Originally Posted by
pilotstats
Post of the day.
Scenario: The MSP representatives are upset that reps in bases with co-terminal airports desire paid cab fare for pilots when rotations originate at the "less desirable" airports (i.e. EWR). The MSP reps feel that the MEC should seek gains for ALL Delta Pilots and not be subject to direction that is pure pork-barrel. However, the "cab fare seeking reps" have promised support to other bases who have parochial issues, and therefore gained a majority for their purposes.
In this instance, MSP reps have a right to be upset. They do not have the right to blame the NC; the NC takes its instruction from the MEC as a whole, and are bound to follow that majority position. What they do not have the right to do is air dirty laundry to everyone and undercut the unified voice of us to management. That hurts us all and takes money out of your future paychecks.
What C1 wrote and published was petulant, childish, destructive, and does not contribute to a positive outcome for Delta Pilots. This is a sad day for ALPA when it's 1st Local behaves like this. Not the kind of history they will want to be known for; history aside I hope the damage to our collective checking accounts can be mitigated.
This doesn't pass the smell test. Cab fares to EWR are 100% fair because even considering EWR part of a "New York City base" is laughable and a huge longstanding concession to the company already. Many current and former pilots living in MSP know this very well, as do pilots from every base.
But something like that wouldn't generate any significant level of contention anyway. The cost is relatively low (unless we're talking about fll reimbursement for walk up Yellow Cabs, and even then its still not that expensive for the company in the grand scheme of things.
We're about to see a TA with numerous layered and embedded concessions, some of them deep. It will obviously contain a pay raise, probably aprtially paid for with concessions, and will probably contain a few QOL increases to help offset some of the negatives. TVM and speed will be used to push it as not only a win, but the only alternative to the NC quitting and the NMB chewing us up for 3-5+ years, maybe forever. IOW fear. We can't afford not to take these concessions.
I would hope that any rep, in any base, would be against all but the most minor and borderline meaningless concessions in an economic environment such as this, but it appears that ship has sailed, at least for the initial TA.