Originally Posted by
PassportPlump
I used to work at AWAC. Your comment indicates that Air Wisconsin going on strike is impossible due to the fact that they are so big. That is not the case. If Spirit was released a few years ago, Air Wisconsin could be released as well.
Is the NMB going to release United? No. Could they release Air Wisconsin? Absolutely. If this TA is voted down, that union structure there must be pulled down and replaced piece by piece. If the TA passes, welcome to the regional pit of misery! Dilly Dilly!
The size of Air Wis may not be an issue, but this is a completely different NMB and administration than the fairly labor-friendly Obama administration that released Spirit in 2010. It would be reasonable to assume that ALPA national has had a chance to feel out the new administration pretty well by now and they would of course share their impressions with any pilot group in late stage and stagnant negotiations about the likelihood of being released into self-help.
We are not privy to that information, nor are we privy to the negotiating survey results, but the MEC was when they approved the TA. There are significant drawbacks for a FFD pilot group (especially one in AWA's situation) going on strike and it is very possible that the survey results showed that there would not be majority support for labor action. With most pilots just looking to move on to a major as quickly as possible there is not much upside and a ton of potential downside to striking. I'm sure that the MEC spent a great deal of time analyzing and debating this option before approving the TA and if they concluded that it isn't a viable option then they must have good reason to believe so.