I guess the question is did any captains want to be in the role?

It would be ironic if we’re all in this position because a very select few on the crj mec didn’t want to lose their power. And then: our first joint MEC leader is a legacy ASA guy.

I don’t care sides just as long as they want what’s best for us.

 

I don’t think the current CRJ MEC chairman initially sought out the position. I think he is the type who would do what is best for the entire pilot group and responded when asked to serve. While I ***** about the lack of communication he really is an upstanding guy and I think most CRJ pilots would agree with this assessment.

 

I have no idea who C5 is, and I don't care.

Between "whipsaw" and "lowering the bar," I do know what you are all about. Go back to that ALPA mag. I'm sure there's some more "whipsawing" to read about. Pretty low bar for that publication.

 

I actually prefer that we elected a mid-seniority pilot to be the chairman. What good is putting a senior guy in there, only to have him leave a few months later?

 

Legacy ASA MEC Chairman isn't going anywhere.

 

Not even remotely pertinent to what I was saying. I’m sure Chromer is great for you guys, but I was referring to ERJ MEC leaders. At the point where we are actually considering a joint MEC, I think it should probably be somebody else.

 

Just to clarify I wasn’t referring to anyone on the current mec.

 

Are you saying someone different on the ERJ side? I can’t comment.
I do think the current CRJ MEC chairman would be a good joint MEC chairman.
I’ll preface this by saying I don’t know him personally. Just my years of observation.
He’s a lifer. As much as I’m trying to move on I think we want someone who is looking out for the the long term good of the pilot group.
He’s pragmatic. He is not looking to burn the place down. He will work with management and is respected by management but he puts the pilots first. He was the same as a CP.
I think he would put the interest of the entire group ahead of one group. For example, I don’t think he would burn down the house over a PBS/Line Bidding argument.

 

I get the sense that he’s a “CRJ first” kinda guy, as he should be. But once the whole group is under the ERJ umbrella, it’s going to be difficult to embrace that mentality moving forward. Y’all can blame the JB’s amongst your ranks for creating that type of skepticism. I realize that Chromer and JB are not the same person, but I still think there is a lot of reluctant friendliness going around that can easily turn to hostility when the super senior don’t get what they feel entitled to (See: EVERYTHING). The C in CRJ most certainly doesn’t stand for Compromise.
Maybe once the groups are actually combined, we should have a period of time where there are “co-chairs”, until we have a combined contract and are sealed up in one group, under one set of rules....after all the cards have been laid on the table.
Until that happens, neither side completely trusts the other. There appear to be decent reasons for that mentality. I certainly don’t have anything against your MEC chair, and I’m not trashing him AT ALL. Seems like a decent guy, but trust is thin these days.

 

I can see that. But I would prefer to see the same type of person from the ERJ side (or CRJ, I don’t care what they fly now), not someone hired within the last 10 years. I think you need someone who has been in the industry 20+ years and has been there, done that and got the t-shirt.