Globemaster2827

Yes. The company wanted to Amalgamate contracts in early 2016 meaning you'd have a retirement of 2.5%, 19 days on the road, no business class international travel, about $190 for a 12 year 747 Captain, 15 day "Vacation Lines"... etc.

Because the union said no to the Amalgamation and held out the company was forced to either bring Southern up to Atlas's standards in mid 2018 or fold Southern because nobody was willing to work there anymore. So that's what you won. You "won" your current contract being the same old terrible contract instead of it being even worse after having it averaged with Southern's old bankruptcy contract.

You probably have already been told this but just want to hate on your own union. Poetic justice would be to give you your precious 1% back but force you to live on what an Amalgamated contract would've looked like.

RyeMex

Um.. Crazy Canuck hasn't been at atlas for quite a while. Easy there, Shirley.

WhipWhitaker

Just like Alaska and Virgin right? Oh wait, no that’s not how it worked during their arbitration or any other arbitration... “Amalgamation” and “averaging of the contracts” was never going to happen and anyone who actually believes it was a possibility probably believes that BOOT was actually about being on time. Just another shady tactic by the least professional union in the airline industry.

Globemaster2827

JD and BF run Alaska and Virgin?

RyeMex

The only thing that the company ever planned on “amalgamating” through this process is Scope. Something which is very much on the table. Bringing up Southern to the Atlas CBA was good for them, but it hasn’t done anything to address what this fight is actually all about.

Globemaster2827

So you're saying you trust them and take them at their word...

Personally I think they'd have been thrilled to turn your airline into a Regional Staffing model in 2016. From their perspective during that time frame this pilot shortage was never going to hit. Middle management was quoted as stating that they had a stack of resumes that was 10,000 pilots thick. In 2017 and 2018 that changed as those pilots all got hired at real jobs combined with attrition spiking.

Paying you less while working you more would've meant more turnover which is actually good for them so long as they're getting qualified applicants. They clearly thought that was going to be the case.

RyeMex

I don’t believe that we ever had the pleasure of meeting, Globe. But, with the way that you try to put words into my mouth, you’d make me think that you’d have been a member of our ExCo.

WhipWhitaker

If you don’t subscribe to their exact, militant, burn-it-down line of thinking, you’re a management stooge.

DC8DRIVER

Not quite ...

First, the union does not want to burn down the company. Apply pressure, sure. EXCO members, negotiating team, and most union members simply want a decent job with industry standard work rules and so we are willing to fight for those improvements. Conversely, you are willing to do what? Bad mouth the EXCO? That'll help...

So if you continue to trash our union, where does that put you? If there are three sides in this fight then the union has to waste valuable resources answering to the few that continuously bad mouth Teamsters and our EXCO. It's not exactly like you're hurting the company with the divisive rants. You obviously know from being an airline pilot for many years that we operate under a two party system: Union and company. When pilots start drifting away from the union, they fracture the unity and begin to drag the group into a situation where we all end up being independent contractors. I have seen that movie and it sucks. You know this to be true, too. If you need to change the direction the union has taken then run for office and get yourself elected. If you can't (or more likely, won't), then you have the choice. So, which is it? Are you Union, company, or ... what, exactly?

WhipWhitaker

You just said exactly what I said, just with 500 more words and in a much more roundabout way.