I wouldn’t call it huge gains across the board. Most of this **** poor cba is just as poor as the VX rules. Get over yourself. We, the combined Alaska, are a bottom feeder!

DOH prevents a windfall? None of us will have any control over this.

 

Great points but I don't see how the two will be related when push comes to shove. The negotiator pilots at VX will be charged with getting the best integration they can for their guys. Without a mutual agreement, it will go to arbitration. I don't think the arbitrator will take the other aspects of the merger in to account. It's going to be an interesting few months.

 

A couple of worthwhile documents to review which would then result in more informed opinions on this topic.

Cheers.

ALPA Merger and Fragmentation Policy (2009)

http://www3.alpa.org/LinkClick.aspx?...%3D&tabid=3345

United/Continental ISL Award (2013)

http://ual.alpa.org/LinkClick.aspx?f...t=aW2PEPbXqsk=

 

Why not? Our contract was decided by a 3-panel arbitrator panel, one of those guys was Richard Bloch. He did Delta/Northwest SLI and Pinnacle/Mesaba/Colgan SLI. In the 3-way regional merger, his decision said:

"…carefully weigh all the equities inherent in their merger situation. In joint session, the merger representative should attempt to match equities to various methods of integration until a fair and equitable integrated seniority list is reached. Factors to be considered in constructing a fair and equitable seniority list, in no particular order and with no particular weight shall include but not be limited to the following: Career Expectations. Longevity. Status and Category"

and in the discussion part of his decision:

"The Mesaba CBA meaningfully influenced, and dramatically benefited, their merger colleagues. The wage gains for Colgan and Pinnacle, 37.5 percent and 24.1 percent, respectively, over the life of the agreement (3.1 percent for Mesaba pilots) reflect a compensation raft that rose in response to clear pressure from the Mesaba contract."

and

"The Pinnacle pilots, by contrast, had, at the time of the merger, been unsuccessful in renewing a contract and, while the PCL representatives suggest a new agreement would have been obtained in short order, this is speculative and ultimately not compelling when compared to the strong contractual framework brought by the Mesaba pilots, including the meaningful wage enhancements and more demanding staffing requirements that directly impacted the merged workforces’ security and job opportunities. The Colgan pilots arrived at the merger with no contract -- they had been operating under a management promulgated handbook."

and

"Mesaba pilots also brought a contract that, beyond its more lucrative wage rates, provided staffing ratios that were adopted as part of the new JCBA and that will serve well the combined pilot work forces. Both in terms of CRJ-900s and -200s Captains, Mesaba’s staffing rations were meaningfully better than Pinnacle’s."



So just relax and the let the process play itself out. If it goes to arbitration, all is not lost for AS. ALPA merger policy requires looking at longevity. And as contract/pay/staffing discussions show above my Richard Bloch in a previous SLI, that matters too.

 

Really... just look at the ALPA contract comparison Virgin was at the bottom of every category. Sounds like you need move on to Delta and leave us 20+ year Alaska farts in the dust. I believe ALPA merger policy states no windfalls also. What did Virgin just get? A paycut? No contract? I can go on and on. Good luck.

 

VX getting a bigger raise or better contract didn't hurt the AK pilots. I get what you are saying, this merger has been REALLY good for VX pilots, so we now need a more beneficial SLI result. UAL tried that with us, since both sides got pay raises, but at CAL we had basically no work rules, and all of a sudden we are on the United work rules. UAL had grossed over $1B in profit the year before the merger and CAL was losing money. Guess how much the arbitrators cared. None. I predict nobody moves that much from their relative position. Sorry I don't have a dog in the fight, I'm just telling you what I experienced.

 

Wanna compare W2s sometime...devil is in the details. Ask a 10 year VA guy what he made last year and how many days he had off a month doing it. The low pay-rate coupled with daily premium and highly efficient trips can go a long way to making up a 20 $ an hour pay differential with a schedule built from crap line bid 4 day non commutable trips with long sits rigged to 20 hours. We could all go on and on but it is pointless when you don't know what you are talking about.

Let the teams work and in the meanwhile get out there and learn about what was happening on each side. Only then can we craft a path forward.

 

Alright, let's compare W2s. At $216/hr (12 year CA), we have line pilots at Alaskan make $300K with 12-14 days off on an average. This figure includes the PBP. Of course, this isn't your average pilot but they are just line pilots. At $251/hr, it can be high as $348K or more. How about 401k? Did VX have greater than 13.5%? Do you think that you would have ever negotiated $251/hr with VX management? Most of y'all are going to get 15% (2010 hires and later). Hate to sound like puzzle palace but was your total compensation better than Alaskan pilots? I would venture to guess not. A huge windfall for all y'all, for sure.

 

I stopped reading at 12 days off....

 

If I had 12-14 days off on average I would shoot myself in the face. Especially if it was to make only 300K including PBP. You should probably ask around a little just to get an accurate picture of where things stand.

As to the windfall, I beg to differ. There's more to it than payrates and let's face it...your trips suck, I've seen 'em. We can chat over a Seattle's Best latte sometime. It has been an eyeopener for many VA folks too over the last year talking to AS peeps. On my commutes I have been have stunned to learn just how hard it is to make money on your side without killing yourself. But I like to take it easy, me. Maybe some folks like flying 17 days a month.

How bout we focus on the important thing which is both sides have some really good stuff and bring a lot to the table. Time to focus on the future and finding a way to work as one to bring in a tide that lifts all the boats, eh?