Originally Posted by
Bucking Bar
Compass operates the largest and most capable outsourced "regional" jet that has unique limits specific to Compass. ... and yes, we would absolutely have to delete that scope exception which allowed their operation and adjusted the permitted types number accordingly.
IMHO current Compass book would have been fine, with the limit at the current fleet number. Aircraft #37 would require the company to open the contract. Flying the thing at current book would have been worth it for unity.
Bringing Compass on board would have provided a model for recapturing flying that set the precedent for a staple seniority order that benefits ALPA members from both carriers. It would have made our union more relevant. It would have increased Delta pilot jobs.
What could have been
But all that still wouldn't have stopped the company from outsourcing just as many 70-76 seaters as they are presently allowed to anyway. CRJ900's versus EMB175's is just splitting hairs. What if we upped the limit to 500 76 seaters, with the stipulation that we could flow and/or all the new positions had to somehow be on or linked to our list? What would that really fix? It would be a bandaid on a self inflicted hatchet wound.
The number of "large RJ's" allowed to be outsourced as well as the seat limit of what is allowed to be outsourced both need to be significantly reduced. Offering an increase in either (or trying to make lemonaid out of the lemons of previous outsourcing mistakes when said limits were raised) really does nothing. What is "allowed" has to be reversed. That is the only way to fix it.
Now if recapturing that flying takes "current book" and that is somehow the only way, then it is what we must do. If that comes with a staple of a particular amount or group of pilots proportional to the recaptured flying...provided the limits in number and aircraft size allowed to be outsourced, are significantly reduced, then fine.
But we can staple, integrate, flow, scatter, smother and cover as many seniority lists into ours as we want, all day long, and it won't matter one bit without significant reductions in what can be outsourced. Capping the E175 to 36 airframes while preserving the company's ability to outsource the same number of 76 seaters does nothing. The nice tube of the 175 is just not a significant premium or penalty when it comes to the managerial temptation of pilot jobs being outsourced by whatever means necessary.