For Those About to Vote/Not Vote ALPA At SkyWest...
This information was compiled circa 2003/2004. Is Sapa more/less or the same in effectiveness now as they were then? Has anything changed for the better or worst since the issues being discussed here?
These are excerpts from official Sapa Meeting minutes over the past nineteen months. Please review the outcome of each issue and see if you notice any sort of pattern in the way that Sapa negotiates. How often do you see them come away with any real victories? How often do they come away with anything of added value when giving something up? What do they do when management disagrees with their position or if it’s an issue that the company “is not willing to consider at this time”?
We all realize that many of these issue will not be accomplished overnight and that good policy and contract negotiations take time. But what happens when many of the same issues never seem to get any closer to being resolved? What happens when victories continually appear one sided? Is overturning a policy such as proficiency flying considered a victory? Is it still a victory if a similar policy with a different name is put into place not long after? Take a close look at the issues that have been voted on or that pilots bring up repeatedly, like that of a commuter policy or Appendix D or chronically poor schedules. What has been done about any of these? How was your schedule last month? Six months ago? Next month? Is it good enough to have a scheduling symposium and say we are working on it when a year later we are still surrounded by the same poor schedules?
What does it say when Sapa votes amongst themselves to dissolve an issue that the pilots have indicated is very important to them and that the majority seem to support? How well does Sapa communicate? How well do they do what they say they are going to do with respect to communications? Why does Dave Cain and some of the other Sapa reps come out of hiding to dance all over this board and then distance Sapa from the relevance of the board that shares its same name? Why do some Sapa reps only come out of their caves and start communicating when there is an active Union drive? These are some of the issues at hand when we talk about the relevance of Sapa. In most cases I use Sapa’s own words in answering what the outcome of each issue below was. Periodically I have added a few of my own thought (Blue Italics) to clarify where most pilots stand on a particular issue (sighting polls, discussions etc.) While reading, please ask yourself if this organization and leadership are acting in accordance with what its constituents have asked it to do? Is it getting that job done? Is it representing your quality of life and compensation issues as a pilot or does it seem to quickly sway another direction? Why do reps so quickly go on attack mode when you ask for accountability? Why no transparency as to what reps (names) are voting for? Why does there seem to be a trend of so many Sapa reps defending company interpretations against the line pilot instead of the other way around, once elected? What is causing so much frustration and apathy to seep into the ranks of pilots at Skywest. Read and decide for yourself: