August 4, 2016 MEC NewsBlast
08-04-2016, 07:14 AM
UPDATE FROM YOUR MEC
ORD Crew Room Visit and PUB Event
There will be an ORD crew room visit from 1100-1500 on Monday, August 15th in the ORD crew room. Following that, an ORD Pilot Unity Building (PUB) event will be held that evening. The PUB event will be at D'Agostino’s Pizza at 742 West Higgins Road in Park Ridge, IL from 1800-2000. If you plan on attending, please RSVP here! Food and beverages will be provided at both events.
MEC Meeting Review
The MEC met for a special meeting Friday July 22, 2016. Of note, the MEC would like to congratulate our new Retirement and Insurance Chairman Todd Roehm. Todd was already a volunteer on the Committee and was a natural choice to assume the chairmanship. Thank you for your volunteerism Todd.
The MEC also discussed other general housekeeping matters and received an update from the Negotiating Committee. Much of that conversation was held in executive session, however our negotiators have many ideas, both in theory and on paper, on how to improve this airline and make us competitive moving forward. Your MEC has directed the negotiators to pursue any and all avenues to improve the lives of our pilots. We hope the Company will work with us in earnest to make these improvements sooner than later.
Embraer 145s Return Home
Envoy recently announced the return of some 145s back to Envoy in early 2017. It remains to be seen how this may impact Envoy as Piedmont simultaneously announced additional 145s to their growing jet program. If these aircraft represent temporary growth, or if Envoy remains hull neutral as these aircraft arrive while others leave, AAG’s shuffle of shells amongst carriers will create no value for Envoy or our pilots. Worse, there are indications that Envoy has not adequately prepared for the training bubble this might bring about, further straining aircrews and indeed all employees.
Having a steady supply of new-hire pilots is key, and these staffing challenges are likely to continue unless AAG allows Envoy management to take drastic action. Management may find Chairman Sam Pool and the MEC’s persistence on this matter irritating, but we believe undivided attention and industry leading changes are paramount. Sadly, we continue to witness the inaction of AAG management in the face of what is, without question, a rapidly changing model at the regional airline level.
We will continue to remind all levels of management that Envoy is no longer competitive to many new-hires; and for us to attract, recruit, and retain pilots in adequate (and sustained) quantities – drastic changes must be made.