Originally Posted by TheDashRocks

Pilotpip said; "Let's see why you guys are referred to as bottom feeders:"

"Average Block" New TA will be block or better.

"Lowest time off in the industry" TA is 11/11. The airline profiles on APC that have info on this were all 12/11. Does not mean that some other airlines are not lower.

"Lowest pay rates in the industry" Not true based on APC profiles.

"Junior Manning" Changed in the TA. Occurs at other airlines.

"Infamous stand up overnights on the airplane (understand that doesn't happen now)" Yeah, no longer happens, remove from your list.

"Freedom A list" Before my time, the Mesa MEC fought pitched battles to eliminate this non-union alter ego. They had to swallow some bitter pills at the bargaining table to get this done. Strategically, I think it was the right decision. MAG pilots would be in a much worse position today if the MEC had not held firm then.

"Pay For Training (Mesa Pilot Development)" This is a straw man. MPD is not the only way into the MAG hiring pool. It is an ab initio program similiar to affiliations that other regionals have had with colleges and large flight training facilities. MPD provides the training and experience pilots need to meet MAG hiring qualifications. Mesa pilots do not pay for their Mesa training. They are paid at the jet FO rate and are provided single-occupancy rooms.

"...they should not be rewarded for their stupidity (China, GO!) etc."

I am not sure they have been rewarded. Stock price is down and the cash reserves have evaporated. The company is in trouble. Who hurts the most when bad business decisions are made, the execs, the shareholders, or the laid-off employees?

"JO has been quoted as saying that as long as pilots show up to training he's paying too much. How much would his quality of life go down if they took a few million out of his payroll and spread it around to the other employees?"

Another CEO making an outrageous, anti-employee statement. Despite facing this attitude at the bargaining table, our MEC has delivered a TA that insures pay parity with other carriers. I have no idea what JO makes as compared to other airline executives so I cannot answer your question.

"To say that a no vote wouldn't protect those items from happening in the future is pure ignorance. You have a chance to drastically improve the working conditions there by voting no for a contract that doesn't even compete with most other regionals out there with pilots working on years-old CBAs. Your negotiating committee has the opportunity to get specific language that prevents those items you brought up from happening again and your pilot group has a chance to let management know that they aren't going to put up with it any more."

I feel that the TA does address important issues and improves working conditions. It contains pay and time off improvements that are decent considering the state of the industry.

"Consider this: If mesa was such a great company to work for they would not have lost 700+ pilots last year and there's no way you would have gotten a direct entry captain position because there would be more than enough pilots there meeting the requirements to be a captain"

Mesa has had trouble keeping pilots. Many left last year because Mesa is not the best place to work and many left because the majors were doing a lot of hiring. I was not a direct entry captain. I chose Mesa over a "good regional" because I wanted my seniority to improve quickly, the Dash bases are reasonable commutes to my home, and for the possibility of a quick upgrade.

The Dash Whisperer