Originally Posted by
ewrbasedpilot
I DO happen to have a lot of pride in CAL, but I don't buy into management as much as some would tend to think......so we won't be canceling each others vote out and you can relax.....
. I just don't think badmouthing management and the company is really that useful. I asked some of the guys in the training dept when I was down for my PC last year and they said the 10% figure was way high (more like 3-4%). That is where I got my information. I do recall hearing about the XJET CP that got hired and left. He sure left a bad taste when he pulled that and hurt the cause of trying to get more XJET pilots over to mainline. I'd find it hard to believe we had that many pilots bailing to go to other airlines, but maybe it is true. I know a few who left UAL, and AMR for CAL. I know a several FA's who left SWA, UAL and NWA, for CAL too. But hey, if they think the grass is greener they're free to leave...........just make sure the door doesn't hit them on the way out....
You know a lot of guys may WANT to leave, but when it comes down to it, CAL isn't such a bad place to work. Listen to a few other pilot groups talk and you'll see it's the same everywhere else too.
ewrbased:
As a former Major airline pilot and active pilot in the Air Guard, I speak with our contemporaries frequently. I've also served as the Chief of Scheduling for my unit, as a result of this I'm familiar with several airline contracts. My opinion is skewed to a degree because I was one of those guys that worked at a major, not CAL, prior to 9/11. I know that those contracts no longer exist, but I have nothing else to compare this POS that the CAL pilot group voted for, on the first vote no less. One of my problems with our pilot group is that guys tend to have the "CAL is not such a bad place to work" paradigm. I can remember the pride I felt knowing that my airline had the absolute best contract and was a great place to work. Operationally, I think CAL does the absolute best job of any major in moving people around the world. Our employees are dedicated and
senior management takes pride in running a great airline. Two factors make pilot employment here "not so bad", when it should be great. 1) The Lorenzo tainted management that exist between our senior vp of flight ops and our chief pilot offices. 2) The scab and scab mentality that exist in some of the pre-Bethune pilots that will do anything to help the company and screw their fellow pilot and employee. If it weren't for those two factors, we all would know the difference between a place being "not so bad" and being a great place to work. I'm glad to hear that we will be voting along the same lines for the next contract. I'll settle for nothing less than the best contract in the industry. If we get that, I'll share your befuddlement if 10% quit. It should be obvious that pilots would leave a job that's "not so bad" for another that's not so bad with a better contract and history of pilots who have achieved industry leading contracts. The "not so bad" bar needs to be raised.