Originally Posted by
TonyWilliams
Well, I guess I agree in practice. Even with the "union contracts", labor took it in the shorts since 9/11/2001. George Bush, Inc. hasn't helped, either.
There's been two regional failures in just the past two months.... no contract saved them. So, I guess you could argue, "why bother?"
What is wrong? That there's no home runs? Ok. Or that we'd be getting a pay raise today if ALPA had been voted in?
Unions took it in the shorts because of bankruptcy laws. Laws, by the way, that ALPA is currently working to change so this type of stuff is mitigated next time around.
If Skywest fails, as the two regionals did, not having a contract will not save them as well. But at least having a contract "locks" your pay rates unless your company files for bankruptcy. And even then it has to be proven to an independent judiciary that those cuts are necessary and that its in accordance with bankruptcy law. Without a union at those proceedings, you have no one other than management looking out for your wages.
No, of course there is no home runs. If it only took two months to get the raise you have now, it could have taken the same amount of time to get a larger raise (because of increased leverage). Nothing would have stopped management from negotiating at the same pace it does with SAPA. The difference is that once ratified, those wages are "locked."