Originally Posted by
FirstClass
I'll agree with that at the mainline level, but I believe at the regional bottom floor level the company itself needs a union or an organization to keep all the pawns inline. Imagine 3000 pilots at a given regional doing whatever the heck they wanted. Show up for work, don't show up for work. Show up on time, don't show up on time. No organization to sue in an unsanctioned work action. Pure supply and demand. Chaos. The union is nothing more than the companies disciplinary arm but nobody sees it from that angle. They negotiate double secret probation when you screw up.
Yeah, it sounds like something else other than a union pilot shop. In fact, at a non-union pilot shop, the pilot is an at-will employee. In other words, the non-union pilot has a probation period that last the entire time he is a non-union pilot, ie. double secret probation when you screw up.
For example, at my union pilot shop, I have a written agreement of how often I can use my commuter clause, unlimited, if I follow the couple of steps in the agreement. I can call in fatigue unlimited, get paid (not out of my sick bank) and be protected from disciplinary action. I can call in sick unlimited with a doctor's note and be protected from disciplinary action. And even if I do have a legitimate attendance event (missed trip, out of position, unable to contact, etc) I have a written policy of how many of those I can have in a certain amount of time and each step of disciplinary action that will be administered for each step. Everything is written down so neither party has any question of what is expected. And even after all that, I have a written grievance process which if I decide to use, the union pays all legal and administrative fees, including a neutral third party arbitration to resolve the issue fairly for both sides.