Peak is quickly approaching. Management just showed the first chink in their armor.

 

+1

[filler]

 

Obviously, the stress felt at the lower levels has progressed up the proverbial chain of command. Recently, scheduling has resorted to calling one individual no less than five times in one 24 hour interval, drafting for various trips/standbys. The very next day a crew notification is sent advising anyone interested in a draft trip to call scheduling. This certainly is not the conventional method of drafting folks. And now PC feels "compelled" to say/do something, perhaps to justify his position. I guess everybody is just doing what they have to do.

 

Parts of PC's message tells me it's still status quo -


And this quote is not in reference to managements positions, to include PiBS. Remember those? It's referring to our positions.

When you read the message understand his conclusion.

 

Not quite accurate, PC is not directly in charge of negotiations. That falls to the VP of Labor relations, JM...the guy who wrote the opinion on doctors notes. He reports to the Chief Counsel of the Company who reports directly to Fred.

So, PC can't just direct JM to make it happen. The bosses way above PC have the real say in this and thus give JM his marching orders.

That being said, it does reflect on PC's leadership or lack thereof. PC made his big mgt change 2.5 years ago with bringing in BM and his FC plan. They did their surveys, focus groups and hamburger lunches, all aimed at "fixing" our broken culture. PC sold this plan to the big bosses and they ponied up big bucks. Sleep rooms, AOC rehab etc. Pretty interesting he got the millions to do that during a time of severe fiscal restraint. Read any of the earnings reports, media conference calls, etc. and you can see how much we have cut in every part of the company...except in flight.

The direction to PC was to FIX the mess in flight. Does anybody think things have gotten better culturally? Far from it. We seem to be worse off than we were in the mid 90's.

Our company isn't broken, our pilot force isn't broken, but our front line leadership is. All employees deserve solid leadership, it's about time the senior leadership of our company start asking the hard questions of PC, JB, and BM. "We've given you 2+ years and millions of dollars, why is this still broken? Why is the rift getting wider?

I'm a stockholder and a 20 year employee. I've made a great living and provided a great life for my family. I enjoy my job, the people I work with and still look forward to seeing the world from my office window. But I/we deserve real leadership, not the BS we've been getting from the con man in the front office.

If the real bosses want the rift healed and a contract in place to exploit to the economic up turn, it's time to hold PC and his team responsible for their failed initiatives.

Mr Smith, Mr. Bronczek, it's time to provide your pilots with a real leadership team.

 

Blah Blah Blah, its all our fault. Waist of time for me.

 

I like most of what you said but the upper echelon does not think our leadership is broken. these guys have pulled down great management bonuses/5 star awards this year. One of them brags that's how he got the car he parks in late call. I think he parks it there to prove he got a bonus for his great leadership.

I don't think the truth is widely known.

 

We get a contract and scores of 777 guys are out the door. No contract and peak will make the news for lack of reliability.

Heck of a choice this stall/PIBS tactic has gotten them.

 

The retirement issue could be easily rectified by requiring pilots to retire after Jan 1 to be eligible for greater retirement benefits.

If we don't have a contract by peak, it will probably be very ugly...

 

His email fired me up even more.

Blaming it on ALPA because we asked for increases in certain areas which will cost company XXX millions over the next couple years...***?

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't that what negotiations are?! We start at one level, they start at the other, and we whittle each other's position down to an acceptable level.

Personally, we should be asking for more. Stock is at an all time high, billions are being made, on our backs.

Kudos NC, you speak for me!!!