Airline Pilot Central Forums - View Single Post

06-17-2009, 11:38 PM

#5

CAL EWR

Gets Weekends Off

Joined APC: Nov 2006

Posts: 258

Our IACP leaders then called Gordon Bethune and threatened labor unrest if a Delta deal was done without adequate seniority and merger protection for the Continental Pilots. Gordon and the Continental pilots were married that day. Gordon needed an excuse to help persuade Mr. Bonderman to turn down the Delta acquisition and go with the NWA codeshare. Gordon and many of his friends, like his buddy C.D. McClean, were going to be out of a job if the Delta deal came to fruition; it was clearly going to be Leo Mullins’s company. And that is exactly what happened—Bonderman was persuaded to cut the deal with NWA and we got to finish negotiating Contract ‘97. Contract ’97 brought the Continental pilots into the ball park with our peers for the first time since the certification of the IACP— the contract also included a real scope clause.

That following Tuesday in the Wall Street Journal, there appeared a full-page article that very accurately detailed the events of Super Bowl Sunday—including the now-famous quote from Delta CEO Leo Mullins: “You mean this deal fell through because of labor?”

I remember Mike Loftus telling John Prater after the event: “That was great! Just like Mission Impossible! In my next union life, I want to come back as a member of the Strike Committee!”

Mike Loftus tragically lost his beautiful and very talented daughter Madeline in last February’s Colgan 3407 crash near Buffalo, New York. Madeline was just beginning her very promising adult life when this catastrophic accident occurred. Last week, Mike testified on behalf of the families of Colgan flight 3407 before the Congressional Transportation and Infrastructure Sub-Committee hearing. I am proud of Captain Loftus and was honored to watch his very courageous and eloquent testimony. I strongly encourage you to view Mike’s heartfelt presentation by clicking on the link below and then again on the link for viewing the hearing; it’s located about half way down the page. Then, scroll ahead to about the two hour and fifty three minute mark.

http://transportation.house.gov/hearings/hearingDetail.aspx?NewsID=932

I also ask you to watch and listen carefully to some of the Congressmen’s remarks with regards to the respect we deserve in our positions as professional aviators.

There are also comments and some outrage by members of the Congressional Committee directed toward Gulfstream Airlines. If you unaware, Gulfstream is a Continental Connection carrier in Florida; it’s also well-known as a “pilot mill”. The right seat at Gulfstream is for sale to anyone who can come up with the cash. It is literally flown by student pilots—student pilots flying Continental passengers. In my opinion, Gulfstream is an unsafe airline—they have had numerous safety violations over the years—and an airline I would never allow my family to fly on. I often wonder how our senior management can live with themselves. It must be the muscle of money triumphing over the small urge to do what is right. As long as there are no “incidents”, they rationalize it like they do all safety at Continental Airlines: safety within feasibility!

Remember, we, as pilots, stand in the gap between management greed and the safe and comfortable operation our passengers deserve. We deserve a contact that recognizes this.

As we close this week, please remember our 147 hostages and their families.

“Most recently, a FAA investigation accused Florida-based Gulfstream Airlines of overworking their pilots and breaking aircraft maintenance rules. Former pilots reported seeing parts fall off of the planes and that records were changed or erased. - Congresswoman Louise Slaughter before the House Aviation Subcommittee on Regional Air Carriers and Pilot Workforce Issues, June 11, 2009

Captain Jayson Baron, EWR Council 170 Chairman
[email protected]

First Officer Tara Cook, EWR Council 170 Vice Chairman
[email protected]

Captain Kaye Riggs, EWR Council 170 Secretary-Treasurer
[email protected]

Reply