This morning, I was asked by a SWAPA member to post this on his behalf in response to the following post on this board:

They are so out of touch they did a poll of their membership on the age 60 rule. We all know what the results were. Did SWAPA do a poll? Or do they simply have a vocal minority driving their agenda?

The response to this is as follows:

SWAPA did not take just one poll. SWAPA has taken numerous polls, multiple surveys, and had two national votes.

SWAPA DID allow full debate and information dissemination through its union publications, its forums, company box-stuffers, and a special referendum publication. It did NOT do a union education program wherein the union doled out information as it saw fit, without input from outside the union offices. SWAPA then took a national vote. SWAPA has done this not once but TWICE. No other union allows such freedom to its members with regard to debating an issue and disseminating information on that issue. No other union has had the balls to conduct a vote. No other union has done it once, much less twice.

The results of the vote were 60-40 in favor of changing the Age 60 Rule. Recent polling shows 70% support., At SWAPA, even many F/Os see the gain in prolonging a career and having more productive working years. The dollars are huge.

Contrast to ALPA: A single poll was taken No input was allowed by parties outside the union offices. The poll results were 'balanced' after the fact. Individual airline pilot groups (even if they voted in favor of changing the rule) are held hostage by ALPA National and are not allowed to do what their membership feels is best for their unique circumstances.

Contrast to APA: Information, deliberately biased and misleading, is fed to its pilots. NO other input is allowed. Sampling of pilots shows support for maintaining the rule. Duh!

Paul Emens, Founder/Government Liaison
Airline Pilots Against Age Discrimination
Captain, Southwest Airlines

 

What was the percentage of LUV pilots who participated in the poll?

Well less than 50% voted. So 70% of maybe 30% (21% of the total SWAPA force) voted to support changing age 60.

I hear that train a comin' it's comin' round the bend. It's that FDX age 60 train wreck.... What about that train wreck here at FDX Bob?

 

Hey Bob Southwest is hiring! Looks like your mind set would fit in well over there. OOPPPSS! Wait! they MAKE you upgrade when you reach a certain percentage in the F/O seat. Too bad for you.

 

Why didn't you tell him how to do it himself? Have you threatened to sue anyone else on this board recently

 

[QUOTE=, At SWAPA, even many F/Os see the gain in prolonging a career and having more productive working years. The dollars are huge.

[/QUOTE]

So it is about you making more money and not about age discrimination. I thought you guys were trying to right a wrong but all along you were just trying to squeeze a few more dollars into your pockets. I guess the realestate gig isn't treating you to well. Maybe character counts more in that job.

 

If it was about age discrimination there would be no limit, just if you could pass the physical, you can fly.

Can someone pass a physical if they have an O2 bottle and a walker (better yet a hover-round). I would absolutely love to see a F/O do his walk-around on his hover-round. But would it then be a callled a walk-around or would it be a hover-around....

 

SWAPA, Since when did Lavender become a spokesman for your organization? Maybe he joined SWAPA? Good luck getting him to pay dues.. He is a freeloader at FDX

 

Let us not forget, they don't have anything in the way of pension. No wonder they want to work till they die.

 

The total retirement package at SWA is much better than a pension.

 

That is true as compared to the current situtation at many PAX majors, but has not always been the case.......prior to all the BK's the last 4 years, UAL, USAir NWA and DAL all had far superioir retirement packages than SWA.

What happens to a SWA pilot if he is Medically grounded after 12 years of service. Does he/she continue to accure retirement benefits? Does SWA have an OBRA bridge that can by circumvent the IRS defined Contribution limits?

Currently SWA folks are well compensated, but to max out a Retirement a SWA pilot must upgrade at the earliest opportunity and attempt to max out ones's monthly income every month. No so at other carriers ( at least until very recently).

I don't mean to sound like I'm boasting (I'm not) or playing "Mine is bigger than yours" ( that is definitely not true, just ask the wife but look at a 25 year SWA pilot and compare his/her retirement package to a 25 year FDX or UPS Pilot. Tell me which is better.

I will agree that the "Promise" of A-plan deferred compensation is always in the back of our minds.