Thread: Eagle
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Old 09-12-2007, 10:46 AM
  #1  
Noleone
Line Holder
 
Joined APC: Sep 2007
Posts: 65
Default Eagle

I didn't write this, I just found it on the net:

http://www.aepa.org/FullArticle.aspx...on=News&ID=122

What have you won?

I have always considered the American Eagle pilots to be intelligent and a cut above the rest but a recent reported show of ire by the American Eagle pilots has left me scratching my head.

On Tuesday, August 28 the American Eagle pilots were asked, by the entire ALPA Eagle Master Executive Council (MEC) to, and I quote,” that you please contact Eagle's senior management and convey to them that we are out of time and that they must work with the your elected leadership to find realistic solutions to a problem which must be eliminated.”

The realistic solution to a problem that the MEC needed to be eliminated was a solution to the “staffing crisis” at American Eagle.

On Thursday, August 30, two (2) days later, the American Eagle pilots were sent a message from Captain Richard Krutenat, Eagle ALPA Communications Chairman titled:

“Urgent: Immediate Stop – Email Campaign”

The reason for the urgent immediate stop to the email campaign was, according to Captain Krutenat, and I quote:

“The message has been sent loud and clear. Our pilots have told Eagle management that the only acceptable way to significantly address the
staffing problem is to restore a career expectation for Eagle pilots at American Airlines. It is the reason many of us chose to work at
American Eagle. It is now time to deliver.


What?

You want me to believe that in two (2) days the American Eagle pilots had management quivering in their boots with a email campaign?

Pull my other leg – it has bells on it.

I was forwarded a stream of emails from some or other forum board or chat room containing postings of Eagle pilots slapping each other on the cyberspace back in congratulatory euphoria and claiming “we have won”.

What did you win?

After years of the pilots tolerating management abuse - abuse which was negotiated and ratified by the current MEC and sanctioned by ALPA (i.e. reserve turn back, meaningless reserve proffering as opposed to reserve trip bidding, unlimited line holder turn back before a reserve pilot call out, line holder turn back before using a ready reserve pilot and the “pièce de résistance” - a line holder being on reserve for 4 hours after the cancellation of the last turn of a sequence, to mention just a few of the great “ALPA 2004 contract enhancements”. All of which management needed to conceal a pilot shortage caused by inept pilot hiring, and you and ALPA want me to believe that a two (2) day email campaign really socked it to management.

You have left me scratching my head and anything else that is within easy reach.

If I am reading the “Urgent: Immediate Stop – Email Campaign” ALPA communication correctly, the way to solve the pilot shortage, which every other regional carrier is experiencing at the moment, “is to restore a career expectation for Eagle pilots at American Airlines”.

Has ALPA found a new religion, and if so, when and why?

In a letter dated February 15, 2007, Herb Mark, ALPA Eagle MEC Chairman stated the following (see the article “Cevin Kehm responds” on the Back Page of this website):

“Pursuant to this provision all American Eagle pilots who have completed CJ Captain IOE and are awaiting AA seniority numbers would receive those numbers in order of their American Eagle seniority when and if AA conducts new hire training classes prior to the expiration of Letter 3”.

Letter 3 expires on May 1, 2008. That is in less than eight (8) months.

How is ALPA going “to significantly address the staffing problem” by restoring “the career expectations for Eagle pilots at American Airlines” in less than eight (8) months?

How many Eagle pilots is ALPA talking about restoring their career expectations at American Airlines – all two thousand nine hundred or just some?

If, as MEC Chairman Herb Mark stated in his letter, only Eagle CJ Captains who receive their AA seniority number prior to the expiration of Letter 3, will eventually transfer to AA, how many AA seniority numbers will be issued in the next eight (8) months?

Remember, Herb Mark and MEC Vice Chairman Dave Ryter have also publicly stated that when Letter 3 expires even Eagle pilots with AA seniority numbers will lose the opportunity to transfer to AA.

Furthermore, what happened to the “Bain Initiative” or as it eventually became known as “The Plan to Win Project”?

What happened to the ‘Pilot Placement Program” that was “coordinated” by Val Jester? Remember that stupid management and ALPA endeavor to rid American Eagle of experienced pilots in the hopes of saving a nickel. When I claimed that Val Jester was a member of management the response from ALPA was that Val Jester was a staunch union pilot and not a member of management and was only on “special assignment” for ALPA while trying to rid American Eagle of safe, reliable, experienced and senior pilots.

ALPA supporters were running around calling the “Pilot Placement Project” a “win – win” solution.

Well, what happened to the “win – win” solution?

It is as dead as a dodo.

ALPA has ardently supported all of the above failed moronic initiatives which were supposed to resolve the pilot staffing crisis.

None of the above failed initiatives included the transfer of pilots to American Airlines. The airlines management and ALPA mentioned in their correspondence and news releases were Southwest, Alaska, Jet Blue, Delta. UPS and FedEx.

Now ALPA suddenly decides that restoring the career expectation for Eagle pilots at American Airlines is the answer to significantly address the staffing problem.

Duh! What took them so long?

Do you honestly believe that ALPA has a comprehensive long term plan to address the problems facing the American Eagle pilots? I doubt it but what I do suggest is that the American Eagle pilots not allow ALPA to use them as pawns and to be very suspicious that the “urgent email campaign” was terminated after only two (2) days because management got the message.

What was the urgency to stop the campaign? What would the consequences have been if the American Eagle pilots had continued to send email messages to management? Management requires a “pipeline debrief” for every little incident on the line so why would sending emails to management requesting that the staffing problem on the line be remedied need to be urgently and immediately stopped.

ALPA was complicit in trying to remove senior pilots from American Eagle and for ALPA to now wag a finger at management and mutter about staffing is duplicitous and deceitful.

In conclusion, and just a news flash for ALPA - going to American Airlines at first year AA FO pay is not restoring the career expectations for American Eagle pilots.
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