Airline Pilot Central Forums - SKW SAPA President

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Quote:

Originally Posted by stickwiggler (Post 180431)

I can't believe that not one of you guys (who all seem to be Skywest pilots) have not even mention, dare I say thought of the moral implication. Some Skywest pilots have said "the threat of a union is better than a union", now I realize that is not the feelings of everyone of you guys/gals, but it would appear to be in this string.

THE THREAT OF A UNION IS NOT FREE!!!!! Someone is paying for that threat. Someone is paying dues to form negotiating committees that push for years for a better contract. When the Comair guys went on strike, they made it better for all of us. When JA came to ASA and said we had to take a 13% pay cut, we held our ground and now Skywest gets an over ride for 70 seat flying. Every time JA has thrown you guys a bone, it is not out of the kindness of his heart, but rather keeping up with what other pilot groups have fought for. The Unions bring up the bar for all airlines.

I wish I worked in an industry that unions were not necessary, but I don't. Look at the ridiculous pay outs the exec's are taking at United and Northwest. I hope if you get the chance you will read "Flying the Line" and at least when you vote, you can do so from a position of knowledge.

I'm not looking to debate you guys, but rather hope that this thought of who is paying for your threat will at least be considered as you turn in your cards.

Stick
CR7 Cap, ASA

That is a very good point, but ALPA Pilot Groups are not fighting for all Airline Pilots, they're fighting for better QOL for themselves. SKW management is smart enough to know they have to keep up. In fact, they are doing more than just keeping up. And like I said before, if it comes down to mgmt deciding enough was enough, I'd be the first to turn in my card...Until then, however, I'll stick with the great atmosphere we've got here. I'm not a teenager rebelling against my parents anymore - I left that years ago. I hope my fellow SKW Pilots have as well!

Of course, I feel for any Pilot fighting for a better contract...you've got my support 100%. Going ALPA won't be showing any more support. And for all those Pilots out there telling us that we should be going ALPA, please, please, please don't be so selfish. And I mean that in the best way possible...But for what ALPA could potentially bring to us would cost us SO much more in happiness. And in the end, that's what matters, right? I'd rather take home a buck less per hour than fight tooth and nail for a few more cents on the dollar, and just to lose, in effect, the personal feel of this company that most of us have come to enjoy.

I think that a union at SkyWest is a dumb thought 1300 pilots ago. Now that we are darn near 2700 strong, Bessie in Crew Support does not know my name. Dan in dispatch has no clue who I am. Therefore, when I do them a favor, they have no obligation to me, in reality, I have no clue who they are either.

SkyWest is too big to operate on a "mah-and-pah" platform. The company has outgrown its skill set. I think we need an organized, set-in-stone contract that spells out exactly when Bessie and Dan can contact me and what we both get when they do.

I truly dig the vendors who have contracts with SkyWest. I am a provider of Pilot Services: I don't get a contract, but Pepsi and Coke do? What kind of crap is that? If Pepsi doesn't fulfill the requirements, you replace them with Coke, right?

Replace me, SkyWest.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ExperimentalAB (Post 180430)

SAPA and ASAP are two different things...

Yes, I wasn't talking about SAPA. I was talking about having an ASAP program at an airline makes a union worth it for almost no other reason than that. Especially when many of the pilots are the type that will be looking for major airline jobs a few years down the road.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ExperimentalAB (Post 180439)

That is a very good point, but ALPA Pilot Groups are not fighting for all Airline Pilots, they're fighting for better QOL for themselves. SKW management is smart enough to know they have to keep up.

It is morally bankrupt to expect your gains to come on the backs of other pilot groups when SKW management is compelled to "match" or respond to what happens at other properties. If the skill set required to do this job is to be rewarded properly (i.e more than a meter maid or garbage man), all pilot groups are going to have to do some lifting.

The demeanor of the company will rest squarely on the backs of management and how they choose to respond to the pilots legal right to organize. Southwest is the most organized company in the industry and they seem to have pretty good relations and work well together. ALPA does not have to mean things get ugly unless JA wants it that way and if that happens then you know who you really work for.

With all the posts about union carriers bringing up wages at Skywest I think it is noteworthy that over the past 5 or so years it has been Skywest pilots (among others) that have held the line. While some ALPA pilot groups have taken pay cuts to obtain additional flying Skywest pilots voted down a pay package and held out for a split of 200/700 rates. I am not knocking any other pilot group. My point is simply that Skywest does not simply follow along and match the pay scales of other carriers. We have been the best or among the best compensated regional pilots for a long time and I am certain that ALPA has used the Skywest pay scales as a part of negotiations at other carriers.

Its not all about the CRJ...

Quote:

Originally Posted by rjboy (Post 180509)

Does this not raise a red flag with anyone????? Why is skyw going to so much trouble to keep a union out? Do you honestly think they have your best interest at heart? Its all about the stock price period. You are a number, to be squeezed out of every bit of time they can get, so the "upper class" or whoever can relax in their cabana in the hamptons, sip "fine wine" and watch their skyw stock grow.

Our management is jumping ship with all the money they created. Within 2 years we will have entirely new management; will they have the same "friendly" attitude towards employees as their predecessors?
Remember our "union":D sapa has the advantage of all other unions in that they can change the policy manual as needed. Ha ha.

They are spending big money to stop the union. To bad all that money doesn’t go to our first year new hires. :mad:

If for nothing more we should vote in ALPA out of moral obligation to our peers in the airline industry for the pay standard they set for us!

Quote:

Originally Posted by rjboy (Post 180509)

Give me a break. Without unions you would be flying a 757 for 30k a year as captain, flying 150 hours a month without tcas or any other union negotiated benefits. Skywest success over the past years has to do with sound management not the fact that we were not ALPA. Look at the big picture.
You’re totally delusional; our 700 pay came on the backs of the comair pilots.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ExperimentalAB (Post 180439)

Please dont be so selfish? Please explain.

Quote:

My post metioned nothing about Skywest being successful because we aren't ALPA. You would have to be delusional to reach that conclusion. And it is foolish to suggest that any of us would know what the industry would be like without unions. Unions have been a part of what we do for so long that none of us can say what it would be like without them. The unions are big business now just like the airlines. I am not a management apoligist. I know that Mgmt is just out for themselves. The problem is that the union is too. The OC at Skywest complain all day long about SAPA rep who don't fly the line and take home a nice paycheck, but who do you think will be the first ones lined up to do the exact same thing for the union instead. At least the SAPA salaries are coming out of the companies pocket, not mine.