I don't think we get a vote on it this time. Just something else we gave away on the last one. The MEC decides this one.

 

Personal Stuff? Really don't take it personal, I just don't think you understand where our REAL LEVERAGE is. That's all. Tell Fred I said hello.

 

You state that you need to carry my load and I am not to take it personal? OK then.

 

Really...its not personal at all. I wouldn't dare get personal with an APC'er that has over 4000 posts to his name! I can't type that much!

 

Why give up a guaranteed 3%?

This isn't the best economic environment to start negotiating a contract...wait until Barry is out and we might have a chance.

 

Way to dodge the logic question earlier, attack.

FDA = Side Issue. Got it.

So where do you stand on the 3%. You havent answered you've only tried to pick a fight.

 

Hey Lag, dont waste your time. Dont mean that in a butthead way; some folks will never get it. JMO though.

 

I would say our real leverage is/was...

-Not agreeing to the 1st FDA LOA as it was presented to us, the first offer. The Asia market is $$, and FX wanted to expand. I believe they needed the LOA with tax equalization because the Chinese were going to get paid their tax money, period. Which I agree with. So, if we didnt have tax equal, our pilots in HKG would be responsible, on their own, to pay. When some didnt pay, no work visa for them, and the crewmember goes back to the US. It could really turn into a reliability issue for the Company if many guys screw up their taxes. That position now has to be filled. Therefore, we had leverage to get a better deal on the LOA, otherwise HKG might not have been opened. I agree, sort of, the Companies position on the tax equal. I just think we had a good bargaining chip; among others. Look how the Company, after the LOA was approved, unilaterally upped a couple of things. One being the household moving allowance, the other....cant remember off hand. This was done because the R seat wasnt getting filled in HKG. Did our Union file a grievance because the Company was direct dealing with the pilots, bypassing the RLA where our Union is the sole bargaining agent? No! They not only didnt file a grievance; when one was filed they basically trashed it. Then at a later date, they signed a side letter that allowed the Company to do what they had done. If they did fight the unilateral increases, it would have been an admission on "our" side that the LOA wasnt the best we could get. Cant have egg on the face of our Union leaders, can we? Pathetic.

On another FDA note, the housing allowance was not good. But our latest contract upped that. Call it FDA LOA2. And, they still cant fill the R seat, except with new hires. "It will go senior/proponents of hysteria", blah blah. History, I think, has proven that the no voters were correct. Many other things that could be discussed on the FDA issue, but I wont bore anyone with more diatribe.

-Disputed pairings....dont pick them up. It is that simple. If you have no life, or financial problems (not the emergency type), get out of debt so you can contribute to the "unity". And, get a life.

-777 pay rates. We were told that we might want to consider our bid for the 777 in light of the fact that there was no pay rate. This from our MEC Chair. We all know what happened next. Pathetic. We had the leverage; we should not have bid it and let the planes sit on the ramp. And then, even if we did lose a subsequent arbitration, it would have cost the Company mucho dinero, Something they might have thought about in future decision making/contract situations.

-4A2B...we had all the leverage in the world. If everyone decided to enjoy their time off during that period, I would guess that 4A2B would have been over in a couple of months. It is all about $$ for FX. Seems like a simple concept to me. I guess the greed is hard to overcome though. I am still amazed that during peak of 09, all the guys accepting draft in Dec did so. And for this last contract....it should have been addressed. The heck with what was arbitrated. That fact does not mean we cant change the contract language in future negotiations.

-The present contract is another case, IMO, where we had a lot of leverage. CGN could not have been opened without many of the things that were proposed in the TA. I am not saying dont give it to them; I am saying lets get some fixes for us while we have some bargaining power. I do remember the reasons that were given concerning our lack of leverage. And, I still dont buy them.

Having said the above, it wouldnt surprise me, that over the short term, FX would be willing to loose some $ for the sole reason of having the upper hand and projecting their power upon us. But once the bean counting got going, I feel that they would go ahead and step back on the power struggle side of things and go for the $ that the new FDA would save them.

-Present contract negotiations. Negotiate a fix for the many things that need fixing. If it takes years, so be it. If we lose on an arbitration, at least we will have stood up for principle instead of expediency.

I dont consider myself a crazy, radical, unrealistic person. Except for the fact that I dont feel we will ever have the cohesion as a crew force that we need. A little better leadership from our leaders would be a nice start.

I am proud and happy to be working for the best, and most stable airline in the world. We are extremely lucky that our founder is still running the show. He has a little bit of an ego, and a lot of pride. That works to our advantage. He doesnt want to see FX fail in any way, shape, or form. Unlike all the other airlines, who are run by CEOs that really have no personal stake in their company. Lose money, get fired, and you still get your millions.

I just want to receive a contract that is better than what we have been seeing lately; and one that I think we deserve. But, being a realist, I dont ever see the day where, as a group, we can get over our greed concerning DPs, open time, and many other things. But if we could, I think it would benefit us in the long term.

 

iarapilot,
That was an excellent post. Nice job!

 

Nicely said Iarapilot.