term sheet a kick in pants
 

Council 7 message out - "cost neutral" - that means $0 from last Jun, which means it's got less value since it's 6 plus months later. Man where's that new TA the Company suppposedly had in their hip pocket, because you know, "you always vote no on the first TA". Not looking so good right now.

What's not looking so good right now is PM and everyone supporting him. Maybe he should've resigned like he said he would after the TA failure. Oh well, looks like we STILL have to start all over, once we finally admit that this team isn't gonna get it done.

Maybe we should’ve ALL believed him when he said it was the best he could do…

Yeah, because that would make a difference. You know send in someone else and then the Company would be shaking and offer that hip pocket TA2 they've been hiding.

They want us to turn against each other.
Their tactics haven't changed.
The clock ticks for both sides.
The most anxious lose.
VR,
DLax

(p.s. Our previous leadership had a 99% strike authorization vote in their pocket. Never used it. We might need too. Time will tell)

Please take a few hours and read the railway labor act. Focus on the sections involving the NMB. The only thing more delusional than your "we have more leverage now than ever" is "we just need to strike". The longer the clock ticks, the happier management is. The longer we beg them to stick to the 2015 CBA, the happier they are. I honestly have to wonder if you aren't working for them. They couldn't hope for a stronger advocate. It's brilliant when you think about it. Plant someone in social media that keeps promising things that will never happen so the pilots keep voting to extend pay rates negotiated a decade ago for another decade. We gain nothing. They don't have to add a nickel to anyone's paycheck or retirement. Who is really losing here?

Why did our previous MEC leadership call for a strike authorization?

Why did UPS Teamsters do the same last summer?

Does the NMB control our customers when they decide how to ship?

VR,
DLax

p.s. I’m unsure what you think I’ve promised. I’m sure I don’t work for the company. I believe our leverage comes once a year - maybe twice this year, with the Postal Contract up for rebid. I understand profit = revenue - cost. Their goal is to maximize profit and they focus on both variables.

We didn't change out the NC so the company didn't change their offer. Change must first come from within.

How exactly, beyond advertising it which they did, would we use that vote? BTW - that vote is long gone - doubt you'd get 60% if the vote were taken today. Sad.

Are you really comparing an association under the NLRB to one under the RLA? Seriously...this it the kind of thinking that will kill us

The strike authorization was a statement of unity. Nothing more. It was a good statement. But its usefulness ended the minute we rejected TA 1.0. 99% unity dissolved into a food fight of warring factions that have split the union into multiple pieces.

Because you remain clueless on the RLA (and shame on you for that) you don't know that the teamsters are not covered by the RLA. We are. That changes the battlefield completely. Please educate yourself. Seriously. You've got a lot of energy. It would be so much more effective for all concerned if you'd add some real world knowledge to it.

Customers aren't stupid. Less stupid than some of us apparently. They understand how the RLA negates unions like ours from striking. That's why when unions associated with passenger carriers threaten to strike, it hardly makes a ripple in their revenue. Watch what happens with American flight attendants. Haven't heard about that? Ask yourself why. And do a little research into how their efforts to strike are going. They're flight attendants. Do you really think we'd have more luck being released to strike at a cargo airline that (at least until September) carries US Mail and has military contracts? Please. Educate yourself.

If you really cared about your job, you'd research the steps required in the NMB process before we could strike. Once you did that, you'd realize why it's simply an empty threat. And everyone but apparently some of our pilots understand that. In the meantime, the company thanks us every single day for voting to extend our 2015 CBA. Right when they needed help countering lost revenue, we stepped up to the plate and agreed to a multi-year freeze on pay and benefits. We could not have done them a bigger favor. And the longer they can delay a new TA, the happier they are. Fortunately for them, we're doing the hard work of dismantling our union for them. All they have to do is sit back and watch the chaos. Brilliant.

some would argue that your line of thinking has killed what used to be a coveted job in aviation, gotta give the company something for a cost of living pay hike, and we have no leverage, and whah whah, you weak lil squirt maybe go take a moment in your safe space, and when you are ready to come out don’t forget to ask the company for permission.

It's usefulness ended the minute the TA was made public. The NC and MEC ****ed away our unity and stepped out of the way while management drove a wedge straight through the pilot group.

It was symbolic. And you're right. It's now basically useless. But management isn't driving wedges into our union. That's all on us. They don't have to lift a finger. And they are much obliged for our efforts.

Management is absolutely driving wedges.

Reference: the management run and management supported "Silent Majority" group, vocal pilots that oppose them being put on NOQ to get them to shut-up, etc

You have evidence managment is running the "Silent Majority" group? I'd love to see it. Let's make that public.

Block 5 rep was put on NOQ because he broke company social media policy when he posted is rant after being told not to. He didn't follow ALPA policy and it got him in trouble.

How have the union changes slowed down negotiations? We are meeting with the NMB weekly, with the same NC minus a retiree.

It already was.

Blocks 2 and 5 wanted to remove the NC and cancel the January sessions, that's how it would have slowed things down. My guess is it would have canned more than just January. Not sure how long it would take to get a new negotiation team and train them but probably at least a couple of months.

The keep it the same crowd has now cost us 7 months. If we had reset in Aug, we would have been ready to engage by Sep or Oct. Now we are just treading water waiting for the end of April. PD is not stupid. I'd expect a "magical" 15% bump proposal the first part of April so he can throw a wrench in the process and try to get another vote and stretch it out another 6 month.

Thank you for the long lecture. It’s clear to me now how “I” am the company shill, and we should just capitulate now.

The problems with TA1.0 were multifaceted. The needed corrections are multifaceted as well. That doesn’t mean they are insurmountable.

Yes - Unity is on us, and will first require all to listen. Then act together.

VR,
DLax

Get a grip on yourself. This is called negotiations! Did you really think that they would just come right in with what you want?

Of course it was a cost neutral offer. Our cost in the failed TA was Delta +30%.

So one guy got sat down because he violated company and union policy. Sounds like a bad technique on his part.

Did the MEC publish something about that? I must have missed it. If management is organizing pilots to interfere with the negotiating process, that seems like something the MEC would want us all to be aware of. Also seems like something the NMB should know about. Since the info is public, where can I read it. Hopefully it's not just Jetflyers stuff. I don't have a Facebook account.

I don't think you're a company shill. I just think you're doing them a favor by continuing to remain ignorant about how negotiations under the NMB work. Of course the needed corrections aren't insurmountable. But you can't attack an enemy with an army you wish you had. Instead, you have to understand the weapons you control and how to use them to take down your opponent. Instead of being the Polish horse cavalry charging German armor, maybe try being the guy who took down Achilles. The company has weak spots we can exploit. Telling them "give us what we want or we're going to strike" just makes us look stupid. And with all the chaos we've displayed since we voted down TA 1, we don't need much help looking stupid.

You are joking right? Are you that clueless? A guy is literally NOQ for exposing it.

See the 36 page pdf posted by the block 5 rep.

Also I have to say in response to your earlier post that unity is not just symbolic. Unity is valuable. We had it in April, the MEC threw it in the trash barely a month later.

No, he ran it by legal and got the green light. It wasn't really a rant either since he just posted actual things said by the silent majority.

Only thing "wrong" he did was not run it through chop which obviously does not warrant putting him on NOQ.

So he didn't violate company social media policy or union guidelines? Sounds like he's going to be rich after he sues both the company and the union for being unfairly disciplined. Well played on his part.

I think we agree on more things than you think. The end of this negotiation cycle is yet to be written. I believe it can end in many ways, and none of our options should ever be taken off the table.

The company’s goal is to maximize shareholder wealth via maximum profits. That goal has both short term & long term considerations, to include cost, revenues and where we want to position/market our product within the industry.

Reputation matters. Does a cohesive pilot force pulling in the same direction as management matter?

Ultimately, that’s for the company and our customers to decide. How can we convince them it should?

Yes - I believe that will take greater unity.

Now perhaps that leads us back to a more internal discussion

VR,
DLax

I didn't say unity was symbolic. I said "The strike authorization was a statement of unity. Nothing more. It was a good statement."
And I'd love to see the 36 page pdf posted by the block rep 5. Anyone have a copy?

If I were a customer or shareholder, I would look at whether FedEx flying operations were impacted by the pilot group rejecting the TA. Then I'd consider what legal options fedex pilots have toward disrupting the company's effort to rebuild its operating model. I'd consider things like current manning versus projected manning models etc. I'd also consider that like the USPS, FedEx is making a very public effort to shift much of its business model to ground transportation. And after pondering those variables, I probably wouldn't be too worried about my investment or my business.

Did he tell you legal approved it. if so we need better lawyers. What he posted was in direct conflict with published social media quidelines.

5. Safeguard confidential information and personal data: Do not misuse or
disclose confidential information. Confidential information includes FedEx
trade secrets, non-public information about proprietary business assets,
FedEx earnings, technology, business plans and strategies, intellectual
property and supplier and customer information. Do not misuse personal
data of others. Misuse may include disclosure of certain personal data
without consent or authorization. In accordance with applicable data
privacy laws, personal data is information such as address, phone number,
photo image/likeness, national identification number or health information.
For additional information, please refer to the FedEx Code of Business
Conduct and Ethics, the FedEx Global Privacy Policy, InfoSec standards and
your operating company’s policies and procedures governing privacy and
confidential information.

If he told you legal approved it he is as big a liar as PM. If he ran it by legal and they told hin don't publish it and he did anyway then he is a fool and probably shouldn't be a block rep.

I’m unsure if you’re implying we’re powerless. If so, I disagree.

If you’re claiming we must also look inward to create a TA2.0 that addresses all stakeholders, I’ll agree. That deficiency is the primary reason TA1.0 failed. We must collectively own that.

The ultimate solution remains multifaceted.

VR,
DLax

No. I definitely don't think we're powerless. We aren't. And as much as the NMB process seems to hurt us, it also helps us. But we have to be realistic about how it helps us. That starts with understanding how it works. With that understanding, our pilot group can maybe stop assuming we have cards in our hand we don't have, and instead focus on playing the cards we do have.
And I agree. And it appears the MEC and NC agree. The way forward is to get our house in order by looking inward. That process does seem to be underway. Stop worrying about "management" and start building a realistic understanding of what changes need to happen to TA1 so that TA2 passes with a very solid majority. That realistic understanding includes realizing that negotiating means give and take. If it doesn't, than it's not negotiating. It's simply demanding, and the NMB process makes that option moot.

Does this surprise anyone? With the demands to replace the NC being met with a back room agreement to let them remain with a “firm” deadline, of course the company is going to stall in an attempt to draw the process out as long as possible. PM can’t get an agreement by May (was an impossible goal) then we cue the replacement process, spool up a new team, and maybe get worked back into the schedule in a reasonable time period. Company just bought themselves another year or more at 2015 rates.

The better solution would’ve been for PM to have kept his word and stepped down last summer after the TA failed like he said he would. We would be close to finalizing a new NC and maybe a new MEC at this point. Instead, we have done nothing but delay the inevitable and the company wins yet again.

What guideline was violated? Again, it was run through ALPA legal.

You said the strike vote was just symbolic:

He did not violate the policy you quoted. Do you have a different policy in mind that he might have violated?

He posted the membership list of the public whatsapp group which requires full name to join. That's public info. The group is open for anyone to join. If you put yourself in the public sphere of social media using your full name and phone number, you're not entitled to the privacy policy that you quoted above, and it would be naïve to be upset when you're mentioned by name as being a member of a public group or held accountable for saying something in that group that you might later regret.

If they are trying to bust him on that, they're exposing themselves to some serious liability.

you are a liar!!!!
and certainly not as smart as you think
with little grasp on the RLA. but no, you try and shroud this in mystery, like you’re the only one who gets it.

keep spouting lies and the current administration might recruit you for a turn at the podium.

That ole mantra: Boxes dont ***** is biting us in the ass.

? What exactly did I lie about? And I'm not shrouding anything in mystery. Just the opposite. I'm asking everyone to get smart on the RLA.