As usual..........

 

I've always noticed the tone of the IBT emails and meetups to be pretty negative. This is likely some combination of the people involved and negotiation tactics and I wouldn't worry about it.

The company emails have changed drastically since the law firm stopped writing them, but they tend to be parabolic - sometimes overly optimistic, and other times completely negative. It is good to see progress being made in the scheduling section, which is currently sub-standard even by low end regional standards. At the end of the day I think the company is being forced to finish this thing up by market forces... They could probably string things along for another two years without getting called out by the NMB, but it would fatally harm the company in the long run with attrition and hiring.

 

Poor choice of words by JB - "passed scope/union security" makes it sound like a TA when he meant "passed up"....

 

I am happy to see a lot of main people head to Chicago to negotiate.

I just wish they would change the obvious direction of it all.

Sloooowly agree to all except dues checkoff. Then act like the only thing standing in the way of a contract is that darn Union and its stubborn refusal to negotiate on dues checkoff.

The problem lies in the fact that management has already said in front of a judge that they had no intention of following our work rules when they signed them originally. Hard to convince us to defund the union when it will be the only thing that could enforce what is written.

Almost all of us have already worked for another carrier. We have all seen the need for a union. I wish management would see that and simply accept dues check off. There is simply no reason not to unless it is in the hopes that all of us seasoned pilots will cut out the union and agree to the rest. To say that is unlikely is the understatement of the year.

 

"Always"? Not to be confrontational or "pretty negative", but how long have you been here?

Are you aware of the openly contemptuous tactics and extreme disregard that have taken place, even long before the union was even here? Disregard of work rules, alienation and isolation of the pilot group (months without communication) pushing pilots, w-2 cuts, inability to PTO due to mission mode abuse, removal of crew rooms, boarding decisions removed, fuel discretion challenged, ...that your brothers and sisters were deployed for up to a year and a half, away from their families without the ability to commute?? These are previously unheard of measures taken by a hostile management team and a small sample of who we are dealing with.

Are you attending the negotiations to know whether your statement is accurate? Were you in the courtroom during the contempt and cover ups?....when our previous representation was labeled a 'kabuki dance'?

Were you here during the legendary stall period when the ops vp flatly lied in an open letter to the pilots, claiming our negotiators were late and unprepared when in fact it was his lawyer that had quit (3rd one) and needed time to get up to speed? Were you here when low-level 'place-keepers' were sent, period after period, to fill the square?

Just curious.

 

What motivation does mgmnt. really have to "Get a Contract"?..... are they cancelling flights due to lack of crews? Engaging sub-service contractors to help fly the schedule? Doesn't appear to be the case. Allegiant are in a similar position to Doug Parker at America West US Airways: Enjoying a huge competitive advantage with little motivation to end the party. Parker could have stepped in & put an end to USAPA's skulduggery. MG/JB can have a T/A tommorow. In each case the status quo adds millions to the bottom line each quarter & you can count on management to continue kicking the can.

 

My comment was not meant in a negative way. There are lots of reasons to tamper expectations or express progress in a certain way, and I'm sure it's done for a reason. Some of that could simply be bargaining.

 

Just out of curiosity, where did the last batch of new hires end up with base assignments? Whats the split between Airbus and MD-80? Anyone still being hired into the 757? When is that type going away?

 

May class is all Airbus. Supposedly, the rest of the classes this year are all bus.

 

I don't know what's going on in your base, but SFB cancelled a fair number of flights recently due to lack of crews. They're regularly burning reserves there & running out of them often! This base would be in a world more shiite if the special few would stop picking up the dang Mission Modes!!