Originally Posted by BeatNavy

Wasn't it the same guy answering who said "Skywest's stock price is cratering" and are facing huge imminent issues...yet the stock price is actually not far off a 2 year high? So you want me to believe him on the rest of his "facts" he uses to scare us into submission on why that's best for us? How many people have paid into the fund since its inception? How many will benefit from it when/if it is used? Answer: A fraction of those who pay into it. I say open up a vote for it and let the pilot group speak. But, it won't happen because ALPA reps know what is better for us than we do.

Sure they are volunteers and I thank them for it whenever I see or fly with them. But many get paid the same amount as they would flying to be home more with family...it's not the same as volunteering at the soup kitchen. I left my previous job to fly more, so I have no business volunteering to do this kind of work right. Otherwise I would.

Lastly re consolidation of regionals...it will happen. Do we need a merger fund to help out our seniority numbers? Maybe the lifers need it, but the majority of Mesa pilots aren't lifers and a merger won't really affect movement to a major for the majority of us. So again, this fund only affects a minority of the pilot group. Seniority for what is supposed to be a 3-5 year gig (that's using company numbers) doesn't really matter in the long run. This is apples to oranges when comparing it to DAL/NW, US/AW and other mainline mergers where relative seniority vs DOH affects people's QOL for a long time ((career airlines vs stepping stones). For regionals, with a high turnover rate, it isn't the same.

What should the union focus on? How about decent (livable) pay rates and QOL. Which is just about every section of our contract. How long have negotiations been going on? All areas can be improved upon. It is a fallacy that only a few things deserve attention because there is just to much. Oh there's no money left on the table at any of the regionals due to razor thin margins yet DAL just made 2.5bil profit in one quarter? Maybe the business model should change and FFD should go away. Maybe we should all be on the street applying to the majors who will need to recapture flying and take on CRJ9/EJET/C Series/etc., since we do the same job the majors do.

In a period of record profits by those who pay our companies' pay checks (applicable to all regionals), now is not the time to accept crappy contracts, especially with a pilot shortage. And our union should be jumping up and down echoing that sentiment and getting all ALPA regional pilot groups to echo the same. Why they aren't is beyond me. If there is no money to pay people what they are worth, change the business model. It is only because we accept it (by filling classes and not quitting) that we are paid these wages. We only accept it because it is supposed to be temporary and there are few other viable means to the end. And then temporary stepping stone jobs turn to a career job in which people are underpaid for a career, not just a few years.