Finally, somebody else who "gets it". This has been exactly the point I've been making! That there's so many folks on here who find it very convenient to blame the ineffectiveness (laziness?) in getting any improvement on new hires. I believe the overwhelming majority of those new hires come to this particular company solely for the ability to be based in a suitable location. What other reason could there be, after all? Now, bear in mind that, there are no other regionals exceeding $50K or so for starting pay. Do you really think that somebody with some education and skills is going to be thrilled about moving halfway across the country to a place where they may know nobody for a $50k.yr job? Very few will be willing to do that. I suspect that nearly every person in that referenced Feb. 18th class is there because of where they can base. And, to sit here and hope that that situation will stop in order to hurt the company enough to effect change is to be putting your money on a lame horse. That's just stupid. That's not how you get things done. And, you're right, that's NOT what were paying a union for.

Our wages nearly HALF of what every other company in this sector of the industry are making. That, in itself, should be more than enough reason for ALPA to make Mesa their #1 priority right now and, should give them more than enough ammunition to do it. I'm sure that if our ALPA leadership put their heads together and, with perhaps a little research, they could come up with some pretty novel and successful ways to deal with our issues. That's what we're paying them for and, who knows, maybe some of the ideas would be a win-win for both us and management? It's happened before.

What I do know is that all this whining about new hires and venting at them will get us absolutely NOTHING. If you've got some complaining to do it's toward they company and the union. They're the ones that created this problem and have allowed it to go on for so long.

Nice, Avflyer. I'm glad to see that they're still hiring some capable and intelligent people, as opposed to some of the contrary statements getting posted on here. You're exactly the kind of mentality we need here and I hope I get to fly with you, whoever you are. Good luck in class.

 

I asked similar questions in new hire class of our Union reps. One question went: "Hey, a lot of us haven't been in a union before and aren't familiar with the ins and outs and what it's all about or how it works. Would you mind explaining to give us a picture?"

The answer went something along the lines of: "Well, the union works to improve the pilot contract." Okay, but what about dues and hierarchy structure and elections and member involvement? I pressed him a little more and he just reiterated the same thing. Knowing what I do now, I genuinely think this particular Union representative has Asberger's and a tough time with basic communication. You were probably talking to him.

It's true, our Union isn't renowned for its effective and expedient negotiating. Don't hold your breath. We had someone good heading up the Negotiating Committee and they just resigned; the reasons can only be guessed at. She might've been too aggressive for the rest of the union MEC (Master Executive Council, pretty much what it sounds like), maybe she decided it was a pointless uphill battle, or maybe she saw the ugly underside of ALPA and couldn't in good conscience continue working for an entity that actively or at least passively keeps downward pressure on dues-paying regional pilots. Your guess is as good as mine.

Edit: By the way, congrats pilot207. Hope we can all get there someday soon.

 

Thanks Trim

Also, people are mistaken if they think that I didn't make a conscious decision to be at this company.
Everyone has a reason for being here.

Now that I'm here, I can voice up every time I see something that I don't like.

 

He's not complaining about the suck that he already knew about.

He's complaining about what he couldn't have known about ... namely posts like yours that come from people who blame him instead of putting the blame where it really lies, with the company, the union, and themselves.

I'm sure it's not the current "suck" that's bothering him. It's getting here to find that things will never improve that's the disappointment. Why, because he sees people saying crap like giving new FOs a verbal slapdown in the cockpit for coming here. And he sees it coming his way from very small men with very small balls but very big mouths. If you're against me on this then you're one of the ones who wear this jacket. So, go ahead and pipe up now and let the rest of us know who not to take seriously on here.

 

I knew what I was walking in to.
I just didn't realize that our union was this bad.
I'm here now, I might as well start being a voice.
Who knows?
I may be the guy that helps better things...
Someone's gotta do it.

 

As you should... But how is calling out fellow pilots on an anonymous forum for not telling you what you want to hear going to make your situation better?

Aim your frustration at the "union".

 

You may want to take a toastmasters class. You're gonna need it. A lot of immature ideologies here unfortunately.

 

I know what you're saying.
I've only been here for a week, do I have a voice yet?
I would be lucky if my concerns were even entertained by the union, or the company.
But, if I can take the pulse of our pilot group, and share an experience?
This feels like the place to do it.... Until I make more friends and get some clout in the company.
In the mean time?
I have at least a year to form my stay strategy, or my exit strategy.

 

I don't think he's calling just anyone out Freq. Nor am I. Only the ones who need a little "guidance" in understanding where to focus their complaints and, more importantly, their efforts. You may read back through my posts if you like and you will see that I've never complained about the conditions. Why? Because I've never tried to do anything about them. IMO, unless you're going to do something about it then you have no business complaining. The rest of us already know, and we don't need to hear about it otherwise, right? And, I DO credit him for pressing the union guy for not giving acceptable answers to his questions. That's the correct approach instead of slapping new hires. When a union rep just throws his arms up and says " ... because that's just the way it is guys, what do you expect us to do?" (which I've also seen while here at Mesa), the last response he should get is a silent audience that just says "oooookaayyyy" in their minds (seen that one too). The right response is "I don't know right off, that's what we're paying YOU to figure out but, I can tell you that standing here and telling me 'that's just the way it is' ...that definitely ain't it!"

 

"....get some clout in the company."?

Really?