Originally Posted by
captnate702
I just can't believe that management and the union are still lightyears apart. the rumors I got from the union on the latest pay proposal was better than alaska's at certain ranges. Management even proposed a staffing model and an unstack percentage - how does that equate to lightyears apart? my source said that the staffing model and unstack percentage were less than Delta's but wouldn't give any specifics when i asked how they compared to other airlines, only that it was less than what Delta has - honestly not sure what to make of it?
From the people I have talked to the company has not proposed a staffing model, so once again, whoever you are getting your information from is an idiot. Not sure about an unstacking percentage, but I find that hard to believe also when the company blew up negotiations years ago after the union agreed to an unstacking percentage in SmartPref, but people outside of the negotiation wanted 100%. The same people are still in charge in upper management and there has been no indication that those people have changed their minds about wanting 100% control. (not to mention, without a staff model, unstacking is a chump's play anyway.)
Now the real question... you asked how can we be lightyears apart. For me... No LTD = No Vote. For me, that is the Grand Canyon. Throw in: no block or better by leg, no protection for day trips (or alternately TAFB rig which I have heard the company balked at), continued reduced day off months, no day off protection (i.e. moving days off), continued involuntary TDY. I believe THAT is how we are lightyears apart. Individually, any of these things (except LTD) are probably negotiable, but together they equal a chasm that isn't close to being bridged.
I just wish that people on here would try to see both sides of what is going on. I have spoken to people on both sides of this, if you ask the right person in management, you'll see that what the union is putting out is much more accurate than the positive spin that certain management/instructors have put on this from the company side (most of which have no idea of what is actually happening in the room). The devil is always in the details. (For example, Issue X, has five items. When comparing to the industry standard, if Item One is higher by 1% and Items Two through Five are lower by 50%, is Issue X higher or standard?) The company has a way of "telling the truth" that is not always the truth you think. Remember during COVID they told us that we needed to take pay cuts because the government was only giving them 70% of payroll. True, but it was 70% of 2019 payroll when the average pilot credited 85 hours, which more than covered our payroll for min hours, ETO, etc. Take everything (from both sides) with a grain of salt.
No matter what any of us think about what is going on, I guarantee you (100%) that logic is not what is being used to solve this problem. As stated above, Pilots look at this as a pilot issue and see the pilot hiring environment. Nobody knows what M's plan is (JR made his plans known in SFB). The company has a long-term plan, pilots may not be a part of it. Uncle M was on TV this weekend for 20+ minutes in an interview prior to the NASCAR race. He looked pretty happy there. When was the last time he was happy with the airline? Unless you are Uncle M, JR, or SS, you probably have no idea where this train is headed. Plan accordingly.
For those of you in group 2, I'll see you on the picket line.
[Fun poll: how many bases will we have in September 2023?]