Originally Posted by
Palmtree Pilot
Lew, I appreciate the info you have been putting out on RLA and your push for a world wide top airline contract. You keep saying there are signals and signs and info coming out that we are probably going to be disappointed because SWAPA is probably going to stoop short of the best we can get. Can you be more specific about these signs and signals for us that weren’t around for the last contract negotiations?
Concisely and quickly, because I don’t have time to write a lengthy explanation. And, I’m pretty sure I’ve addressed each of these points in detail before;
- Our long history of SWAPA 1.0 selling us out. We like to think that “this SWAPA” Is “SWAPA 2.0,” and therefore somewhat invulnerable to the same human motivations that corrupted SWAPA in earlier years. “SWAPA 2.0” still has a lot of SWAPA 1.0 DNA in it. Just do some research.
- The fact that many of the same people who signed a letter swearing they wouldn’t settle for less than Platform and then settled for >$1B less than Platform are now handling this set of negotiations. That exact same dynamic came into play with the recent gratitude MOU. Casey said we wouldn’t sign any more MOU’s unless they were tied to C2020 improvements. The gratitude MOU wasn’t. The willingness to compromise our stated principle at the sight of some loose change is clearly still alive and well. That’s highly concerning.
- The lack of real RLA education for years now. Why? There’s no real explanation besides rationalizations as lame as what some of the early ELITT’ing BOD reps provided last week. Why do I, some random line pilot, understand the RLA better than anyone I have heard from SWAPA who has written about it or discussed it? That’s sad. It’s not like I’m smarter or better than people in SWAPA. Something has to be able to explain that. The RLA isn’t rocket science. What explains it? They could understand it if they wanted to. Anyone could.
- The delayed filing for mediation. We waited ~30 mo’s to file for mediation from the opening of negotiations. Even given the pandemic beginning coincidentally at the same time as negotiations opening in Mar 2020, we still waited far too long to file for mediation - like ~ a year longer than necessary. Waiting longer than is necessary to file for mediation is like waving a giant red flag, signaling to management and FH that we don’t understand the RLA and we’re afraid to use the leverage it provides.
- The delayed SAV. Hand-in-hand with e delayed filing for mediation has come a delayed SAV, also by about a year.
- The apparent unwillingness to shoot for anything more than, at best, industry leading narrow body contractual features. And from what I’ve heard, we’re not even truly aiming for that. Don’t know if that’s true, but regardless the failure to shoot for a true industry leading contract, period, I believe, stems from a deep lack of understanding of the RLA’s requirement to “exert every reasonable effort to make and maintain agreements” and the duty to bargain “in good faith” that arises from that. Nothing about the RLA requires us to base our demands on what is perceived as industry standard nor narrow body nor anything else like that. The courts have repeatedly said that, essentially, whichever side has more economic leverage, as long as they show up and are open to hearing the other side’s POV, is what determines who prevails in a RLA bargaining environment. I don’t see ANY indication that SWAPA understands that. We have the leverage to demand way more than “market rates” and an industry leading narrow body contract.
- The delayed response to the BOD rep ELITT situation. Not a huge deal in the big scheme of things, but it’s very recent and a small example of SWAPA seeming to want to bury their heads in the sand and not address something that ****ed off quite a few people. Apparently, Casey said something on FB yesterday. Maybe he has said something today. Regardless, waiting as long as he did kinda defies, at least, my comprehension. What’s concerning is the seeming allegiance to the “bro code” of the “band of brothers” that SWAPA seems to perceive itself as, over and above, something that was generating lots of anger among at least some of our pilots. Some folks have been asking about a code of ethics within SWAPA. It seems like they do have one: an unpublished bro code that demands a wagon-circling response versus being proactively upfront with the pilot group.
- And now, the latest: the dinner with BoJo and AWatt. I found out about it via a casual mention OTOF from a BOD rep, not from any sort of official announcement before the fact. Harmless? Maybe. But, given the history around here, I’m skeptical. Also, like I said, interesting that the “A Shift” announcement came out shortly after the dinner.
Im sure I’ll think of more but that’s just kind of a stream of consciousness account of my thoughts. In short, I’m concerned.