Originally Posted by
DC8DRIVER
Not sure what you consider " obviously bogus info - originating from management - about great things coming" ...
If the pentagon says " the enemy recruited more troops and built more bombers" That's not helping the enemy. That's simply reporting what is going on (or at least what the enemy SAYS is going on).
When Atlas makes an announcement and the union repeats it to the pilot group, (again, I'm not sure exactly to what you are referring) It is generally to point out that the claims will be difficult to support or are untrue. If the company announces a new hire class of 18 or 24, the union will make a welcoming announcement for the 3 or 4 or 12 that actually showed up for class (and haven't yet resigned).
If the company announces more planes, the union will point out that they will be unable to staff those planes.
Without a specific reference to what you are troubled by, it's impossible to examine your claim.
If somehow you think that our union is enabling the company in some way by repeating the lies and falsehoods published by Atlas management, you're not paying attention to the whole message.
As to why we're not in Section 6 negotiations, read up on the past 3 years events regarding the lawsuits and the actions of our negotiating committee. Not going to hold your hand and walk you through the history one line at a time. If you've actually made it to the front seat of an Atlas jet, you have the resources to find out all by yourself.
I do not agree that the union should be reporting to the pilots the BS claims by management of massive fleet expansion even if the union adds in the caveat that we can't staff those planes. When pilots hear of a massive fleet expansion followed by "not enough crew" they think, "well hot damn there must be a new contract just around the corner!".
Follow that up with the union saying they're optimistic about our position in negotiations because of said expansion and the end result is a bunch of optimistic pilots sticking around just a bit longer and a bunch of optimistic new hires all thinking that a new contract is just around the corner. The union is literally working in concert with the company to spread this message among the pilot group.
Whether this is being done intentionally or unintentionally by the union is irrelevant to the point that they are furthering the goals of management by doing this.