Crusoe

The caveat of course, is that agreeing to TA sections with a looming arbitrator at the end of the tunnel is not the same as TA’ing sections of a CBA going through regular negotiations. Your leverage (or threats of leverage - voting & possible strike) are just not there - and you are playing a game of Russian Roulette by handing anything over to an arbitrator. Arbitrators tend to be very corporate friendly and so what would otherwise be your normal negotiation strategies are severely tainted & hobbled by all these things. The RLA is terrible as it is - but forced arbitration / forced amalgamation is orders of magnitude worse. AAWW has & will go to any length & pay any price to not allow the pilots to vote. You could spend an entire career here and never get to vote on a contract.

Turbine1

A 747/767/777 crew can be tasked to operate to one of 400+ airports in 82 countries with only 10 hrs notice at AAWH. For that level of responsibility a maxed out 12yr 747 Captain will gross 160K a year. All other seats will earn much less. To make more than that one must work on their 11 days off a month. No schedule control or regard for seniority. No retirement or LTD. If you die or get seriously hurt on the job the company will sue your family to recover any money paid to them or outright deny benefits. The most punitive sick policy in the industry...etc etc.

No improvements on even the long term horizon and 10 to 20 yr pilots are resigning now having realized our execs will bankrupt the company before they give a penny more for their pilots. New hire classes are still full which allows AAWH to maintain around 2150 pilots and continue to tread water. Apparently many out there believe it's logical to work at AAWH over going to any other airline and making more as a 2nd yr FO than our senior Captains. I've stopped trying to figure that out, I'm too busy working on my exit plan after well over a decade here.

Nothing is going to change until upper management is entirely removed by the shareholders or classes become empty.

tonsterboy5

I’m reading this with a blown mind, you are telling people to go anywhere else cause they can make more as a second year FO than your senior captains. You are then saying you have been here for 10 years. Judging by the fact you have been at atlas for 10 years I’m sure you realize that the high paying majors don’t call everyone that applies and for some Atlas is a better option than a regional. It is this reason that people give atlas a chance, it is still seen as a step up over some regionals and not everyone gets a call at a major. If they did I’m sure you would be at one.

PolarTiger

Why replace them? The VXers will pick up their slack. We can thank them for saving the operation when we lose guys due to attrition. The rich get richer, the Union boys gets richer and those who stand their ground eventually get screwed enough that they leave.

JonnyKnoxville

One would expect when you make a bold claim like "the union boys get richer" that you have the evidence to back up your statement. Absent this evidence, you not only destroy your credibility but you damage the ability for the union to achieve more in the next CBA for the Atlas pilots.

This is very serious business, 2,100 families are impacted by these statements whether you know it or not. So, I ask of you, either produce the evidence or produce the apology for misinformation.

boeingdvr

That’s funny. I can count on one hand how many people I’ve flown with over the last 4 years that don’t VX- everyone is doing it.

Bottom line- VX doesn’t do anything. The company opted for parking airplanes, and not bidding on future flying over paying the pilots more.

You can argue all day long the VX’ers are saving the airline, but it’s simply not sure.

Mgmt would of simply shed more flying. When I walked into NH training the union said the VX pay is one of the best in the industry- ( 11 hours a day )

Mgmt opted for millions in NH training cost, poor moral, AMC flying taken away, Amazon flying taken away, future business not being given, 777’s parked, lost bonuses to senior mgmt, billions lost in stock value, etc etc- ALL OVER PAYING YOU MORE... they would rather shed the airline than pay you more.

So- yes- I will VX and credit 150 a month to collect every dime I can while look for other employment...

WhipWhitaker

Deleted. Forget it, not worth it. Happy Thanksgiving.

lear 31 pilot

Funny, in my 2 plus years I was at Atlas I never did one hr extra work for them. I was too exhausted after 17 days to lift a finger for them. Thankfully I was able to pull the parachute and bail.

Globemaster2827

It'll be a minimum of 10 years before the pilots at Atlas vote for a contract... At this point if you go there you know that you'll be going to leave ASAP.

Globemaster2827

Leaving Atlas to go to a Regional is a step down. If you're at a Regional your long term goal probably isn't to work at Atlas or a Regional. It's to get to one of the Big 5 or Southwest...

It may make sense to leave a Regional to go to Atlas to add something to your resume, but if you lack 1000 PIC when you walk in the door at Atlas it will destroy your career. You'll be swinging gear at FedEx for someone who's graduating high school in 2020 if you do that.

There are people stuck at Atlas because they're too old for it to make sense to leave or they just can't get out. Maybe they've got something on their resume that keeps them at Atlas or their resume isn't there yet. Keep in mind that management at Atlas has a saying that "A trapped pilot is a loyal pilot."