BoeingTanker, nice post. You are already doing more than most of the SWA pilots to educate yourself: you're on the forums learning about code-share and what goes on around the industry. Many pilots at SWA just fly their line and are "happy to be here". Not that there's anything wrong with that, but they need to get involved to know what's going on. Forums, like this one, allow pilots to get together and talk about issues that are affecting (or will be affecting) our work lives.

The outspoken pilots at SWA who are trying to warn the group about the dangers of code-share are mostly ignored. "Trust Gary" is what most of the replies will be when we tell them about code-share. "Don't rock the boat".

Our union has been known to be very friendly with the company. This has pi s sed off a lot of pilots. The company is very smart and has hired many ex-SWAPA members who are now working a cushy management job at the GO in Dallas. The #1 negotiator at SWA who was negotiating AGAINST us (SWAPA) is our ex union president!! How screwed up is that? We have begged and begged SWAPA to educate the membership about how bad codeshare is, but our requests have fallen on deaf ears.

Times are tough right now. Negotiations are not fun and tempers flare. Trust us, we want you poolies on our seniority list ASAP. But as we shrink in 2009 and not grow at all in 2010 this seems like a steep hill to climb. All while Volaris and WestJet will be growing like crazy flying OUR passengers around. Call your buds at SWA. Tell them how you feel about codeshare. THEY are the ones voting on this T/A and decide whether or not we will let the company walk all over us.

 

Murano. Thanks, these are the kinds of things I am trying to learn. My buds at the airline are the ones that started me on this road of education and told me to keep trying to learn everything I could, and every side of it BEFORE I start. They are not happy at all about the way things have happened since we were put in the pool. I get calls and e-mails every week from them saying how sorry they are that I am stuck in the pool.

So how much control of the union do the pilots actually have and how do you take it back if you have lost control? Or is it so intrenched like another not-to-be-named union, that you can't change the leadership?

Is this something that falls off the radar when you aren't in negs and then when you start, it's too late to change it?

 

We, the pilot group, have 100% control over who gets put up in the union to represent us. The problem though is that the majority of the SWA pilot group is so clueless on what's going on around them that whenever there's a vote to elect union members less than half of the eligible voters will actually cast a vote. Everyone else is just "happy to be here" and don't know or don't care there's a vote going on.

Another problem is the lack of F/O's in the union. The BOD members are mostly very senior captains that (in my opinion) care more about the price of LUV stock than the junior F/O's sitting reserve. "If codeshare will increase revenue for SWA lets go for it. Maybe it will increase my retirement portfolio since 75% of it is in LUV. Those junior F/Os don't mind their upgrade will just be delayed a little bit". Fortunately we did get 2 F/O's join the SWAPA ranks at the recent elections. We'll see how they do long term.

As far as this falling off the radar during good times....It would seem that way. The fact that Gary has announced cutbacks for '09 and no growth for 2010 has a lot of pilots finally worried about codeshare. Everyone will be stagnant for 2 (if not more) years:
- Reserve pilots won't get off reserve
- Pilots commuting across the country unable to hold their base of choice
- Weekend flyers will not get weekends off
- Upgrade for all F/O's delayed an additional 2 years
- Poolies wait longer for a classdate

all while we watch pilots of Westjet and Volaris enjoy 10-20% growth flying OUR passengers!

Keep the questions coming!

 

Just like everywhere else, SWA is a Captain's airline. That's why we (the FOs) are running around getting everything on the jet ready, while the Captain sips his coffee and hits on the FAs.

 

So three basic factions in the union:
1: I got mine and I want more
2: I don't know and I don't care
3: The left behind F/O's without a big enough say in what's happening

I know that's very generalized, but is that basically correct?

 

Welcome to the real airline industry! You're gonna love it!

 

Well, yes and no....
#1 is based on greed. Every pilot has it, whether in a union or not.
#2: It's the pilot's individual fault for not getting involved. It has paid well for most of them. They came straight out of the military to SWA .. held the base of choice within months, weekends off within a year and upgraded in less than 6 years. Why would they care about getting involved? Life is great for them... this airline gig is awesome... why is everyone so bitter?! They just have to realize that they timed it perfectly and won the jackpot as the rest of the industry came tumbling down. I have been through base closings, down sizing, down grade, airline ch. 11, ch. 7 and furlough. I'm not saying all of that is going to happen here, but maybe a few captain downgrades while Volaris and Westjet keep growing will get them thinking about this codeshare business... but by then it will be too late.
#3. The F/Os are getting more and more heard as they are the ones affected the most by codeshare. We all become airline pilots for the left seat pay and this codeshare directly affects it.

I don't want you to start a hatred towards unions. The pay and benefits we enjoy today were achieved through years of bargaining. We're trying to fix the F/O presence in the union but it's going to take some time.

 

Oh no absolutely not. While I do not agree with everything I have seen unions do (not talking about any airline union here), I feel unions must (at least attempt) to keep any company from taking advantage of it's employees.

As you know in the military you have to figure out the politics, and the ANG can be even worse. I want to learn as much as I can about the dynamics I'll see at the airline.

Thanks for all your help, and please pass along anything else you feel that I and the rest of the poolies should know before the we finally step on property.

 

Last two captains I flew with could have cared less about code share. One talked about the raise he was getting, the other and I quote" I could care less about code share". Basically telling me to my face I don't care about the junior guys.

Not all guys are like this and glad to see you guys are here learning the real life at SWA. It took me about 5 years, you guys will learn real fast.

Hope you guys get a class date real soon so you can hang out with the shinny, happy, people at the GO.

P.S. Have you noticed how the SWA captains that post here have almost gone silent.

 

BT...you nailed it...group #2 is by far the biggest