...But at least partially incorrect.

The problem is the Railway Labor Act.

We are covered by a peice of legislation, unique to airline and railway workers, that regards self-help as a criminal action. The provisions of the RLA are obsolete and creates a lot of stagnation and damage to our negotiating process.

Why do you think the starting pay of a 250h wonder in Europe is 2-3 times higher as compared to the U.S.? It's not because they have fewer applicants or higher regulatory minimums.
The major difference is that they aren’t held back by government regulations. Our inability to strike unless the company is in blatant disregard of their contract is a huge obstacle to union leverage.

Why do you think we have such a hard time negotiating a good contract? Because unlike the rest of the union-negotiated-contacts in the U.S. ours have no expiration dates as per the RLA. In comparison the NLRA states 3 years or as negotiated in the contract. Rules such as the “grieve it and fly later” is also an inbuilt roadblock to self help.

The outcome is this:

What happens if the pilots of the Scandinavian Airlines System are in strong disagreement with the company? They set the parking brake!

What happens if the pilots of a US carrier are in disagreement with their company?
The fly it and grieve it = nothing!


Remember, the company is always going to get their way under the RLA. All it takes is a good lawyer. Look at Republic. Their scope states that republic owned aircraft must be flown by republic pilots. But somehow that clause is going to be circumvented by selling off 51%. If the pilots at RAH weren't covered by the RLA they would have the opportunity to do as any violated labor group and say: no way, we set the brake until you [RAH] do what’s right!

We don't need scope clauses, commuter rules or other legal shields because they can be busted and circumvented in almost any case. What we need is the freedom that the rest of this country is taking granted, the freedom to stand up for ourselves and ensure fairness and decency is taking place. Changing this piece of regulation is not an act of agression towards the airlines, it levels the play field. The removal of the RLA will put the airlines with the worst working conditions at risk. This could assist the passing of such airlines and provide the better contestants with an opportunnity for growth.


Rant over...