Originally Posted by
FlipTheDolphin
I sometimes wonder what is more damaging to our pilot group... Indigo's stalling and unwillingness to negotiate, or attitudes such as this. Advocating, and negotiating in public, that you feel we are worth less than other pilots flying the same equipment with more passengers... often with fewer resources and more challenging schedules. Nearly a year of negotiating with little to no progress is not status-quo.
Take a look in this very thread. New hires are talking about how to uber to and from ground school everyday. How to negotiate a good cash-only deal at a hotel so they can afford to attend training. For this they will receive $39/hr and sign a training contract. We should all be so proud of what Frontier has become. Collectively we can change this. See you on April 19th.
A very good point, however . . .
At some future date, the negotiations will eventually produce a TA. It will probably occur when we get real close to striking or actually do for a couple of days. The company's offer (maybe it's the first offer or one down the road) will get sent out w/ modest but certainly not industry leading wages. And, it will be the choice of each and every one of us to accept or reject.
One of two possibilities will happen.
Option 1
We all vote and it passes. Maybe by 55%. Maybe 70%. Maybe more. No matter how close it is, of course, EVERYONE will be talking about how bad the contract is that we just accepted and how they voted no. F9 cockpits for the next 2-3 years will be full of discussion and the so-called "hard liners" will be touting their prowess of how we should've held out for more or industry leading wages. Meanwhile, the company will be kicking themselves because any vote greater than 50.1% gave too much...
In all honesty, that's what I bet is going to happen. That's what always happens.
But, let's just say, for arguments sake, that that doesn't happen and the "hard liners" on here get their way.
Option 2
We show solidarity and vote no. The company counters with slightly more $ and/or slightly better work rules. Still no. TA after TA: no, no, no. The process continues for years (FedEx was 9 years wasn't it) but in the meantime, the mantra of getting industry leading wages or bust is now believed by the GO. In which case, the company now has a decision to make. And that decision is how likely are they to accept the increase to what we want vs. just find new pilots.
I mean, if it were simply a matter us demanding legacy carrier work rules and rates + $1 more then striking and holding out for however long it takes to get them, it would seem that strategy would've already been employed, by every labor group, all the time. But that's not the case. I have very little experience w/ airline labor negotiations but the info I've read/researched does discuss one alternative the company might consider IF they deem the cost increase too high. The company does have a recourse. It will be in the form of making some sort of offer (probably very little increase or standing by their final one offered) and going out and hiring scabs (trust, there WILL be Frontier pilots that cross the picket line) and reducing the flight schedule until enough scabs/new hires can replace the remaining labor. Those that remain on strike for the long haul will stay on strike forever. In this scenario, the financial hit the company takes is short term and one that they find to be less costly than the labor raise in the long run. This happened to Continental pilots (somewhat) in 1983-85. Do you really think THIS management team and owner won't take the short term hit for a slightly increased but still well below average labor contract and retool the pilot labor from the ground up? I can only imagine how many regional pilots there are out there that will gladly fly an A-320 especially when the upgrade time is 6 months due to the strike.
Of course, nobody knows how much is the company REALLY willing to pay before saying "F*&k it" and exercising plan B. One thing is for sure. It's very noble to talk tough in a digital forum (while still receiving a paycheck) but it's another thing entirely to not have prepared adequately for the possibility of an unwanted career change w/ bills stacking up and the spouse complaining. It will be interesting to see, when our day of decision comes, how many pilots will put on their uniform, pick up a sign and walk the pavement in Denver, Orlando and Chicago holding out for industry-leading wages. How many F9 pilots are prepared to absorb a month long strike or longer?
Personally, I don't expect it to come down to that. Why? Well, for me, pay rates in a vacuum mean nothing and I know that not every F9 pilot is a "hard liner."
The language in that TA, whatever it is, will come down to a personal decision for each and every one of us. Obviously for some, it will be enough. For others, it won't be. I have no idea how I'm going to vote because I have no idea what that TA looks like yet. But, frankly, if the work rules are worded correctly and my QoL is sky high, pay rates don't really matter as much as I'll be able to "work the system" to get the pay that I want (hopefully). Of course, I'm not going to accept what I consider substandard pay and rules but I'm also not looking for $280/hr 12 yr CA pay if we go to PBS, the reserve rules get worse, min duty day reduces, 0% deadhead pay, no trip cancellation pay, etc. Plus, the longer it takes to get a contract, the longer I receive current pay.
Quite frankly, I trust the negotiators and the collective sentiment of all our pilots. If a majority of us like an offer, I may not like it personally but I'm not going to complain later. I'll be a big boy and either accept it or go sell insurance for the next 20.