From two weeks ago... The union isn’t done apparently.


10 January 2020

Over the past year since the purchase of ExpressJet, your MEC has increasingly had to fill the role of fact checker as management tries its hardest to paint a rosy picture of our airline that does not always reflect reality. In light of yesterday's "domicile disruption" announcement and update from the company, your MEC again needs to expand on some of this news and correct inaccuracies in the company's story.
As stated in yesterday's company update, our CLE and EWR flying will begin to shrink as we move toward the Summer months and captain displacements from CLE and EWR will begin in System Bid 20-01, which was just announced. In addition, the future of our CLE base does notlook bright as United continues to reduce our departures there. While your MEC is not aware that an official decision has been made with respect to CLE's future, we will continue to provide our honest assessment of the future of our base structure as we receive more information from the company.
Also in yesterday's company update, management claimed that we "have a great story to tell about our growth." Your MEC is notaware of what that great story is. While management enjoys throwing around the "growth" buzzword and the recruiting department has become increasingly adept at spinning that word into a fantastic (and often fictional) narrative, the company continues to purposely refrain from disclosing the facts, as those facts simply don't support their claims.
In the latest WAR report, management claims 756 pilots accepted conditional job offers (CJOs) in 2019. While this is likely true, what they don't point out is that, of those who accepted, only464 (61%) actually started class in 2019, and 77 of those new hires either were notsuccessful in training or resigned after completing IOE. A total of 423 pilots left ExpressJet in 2019, and lengthy backups in the training center meant we closed out 2019 with199 fewer pilots flying the line than at the beginning of the year.
A management rebuttal to these facts may very well be that some of the CJOs they offered will become new hires in 2020. If that is the case, it should be communicated that way. Management recently posted that they have a goal of hiring 840 pilots this year; however, they have notindicated any upcoming change to our operation (except pilot displacements, a "reassessment" of our need for a base in CLE, and the need for concessions from a pilot group that, apparently, hasn't given enough already) that will attract such a laughably high number of pilots.
Management acknowledged that high attrition next year will be a challenge, but offered no clues as to how they plan to combat that. Delta Air Lines alone plans to hire more pilots in 2020 than we currently have flying the line at ExpressJet, and all other major carriers are forecasting increased hiring needs in 2020. Barring any investment in the pilot group (a pilot group that is working diligently to produce the stellar performance numbers the company has been touting lately), your MEC simply does not see any way this airline will grow in 2020 without a more competent leadership team in place. While the company seems to be rebuilding management ranks from the decimation of talent during the SkyWest years, your MEC does not expect to see the decisive actions needed to turn this company into a strong and growing airline.
Next week, the leaders of your MEC will meet at ALPA National headquarters with the best team of negotiating, legal, communications and resource experts that ALPA can assemble in order to begin setting in place our plans for more strongly pushing management to fix the problems that must be fixed at this airline. Our obstinate and short-sighted leadership team has pushed us to a point that your MEC feels is closer and closer to being unrecoverable, and we cannot sit back and watch this downward spiral progress. In the meantime, remember that the US airline industry is in the best financial situation it has ever been in with the worst pilot shortage it has ever faced. Your craft is highly sought after, and there is no reason to work for a company that does not respect the airline piloting profession.

The Deal is Still Not Done!