AMEN. We tried to get an underground movement going last year to overthrow the IBT, but half of us were threatened by the Teamsters with phone calls and e-mails. The drive lost steam for fear of getting crucified for trying to start a movement against the Brotherhood. Ridiculous.

I for one haven't been happy with the IBT from day one here, and I agree, their treatment to the YX pilot group has been too "high and mighty" for my taste. The EXCO has no balls and the IBT is worthless.

I feel for the Midwest group, but my ONLY complaint is being labeled a scab and being blamed for what happened. I stuck my ass on a clothes line last year to fuel a movement for ALPA.....call us low cost labor all you want...bash the IBT ALL you want....but nobody has a single right to label us scabs. There ARE people here who realize the problem lies with our representation and there ARE people here who are willing to walk off the job and fight the good fight. Its not fair to kick us down when we've been trying...believe me.

But I feel the wind is changing....and the IBT may be gone by the time the dust settles.

 

Airdale, you maybe on your own. Republic pilots have been supporting the actions of your current EXCO on this webboard.

 

name more than one or two.

 

Our money wasn't good enough for ALPA. ALPA is no friend to regional airlines. How self destructive of Prater to testify against regional pilots who help pay his salary in the Colgan hearings. He commented on the training and quality of pilots at regional along with Jeff Skyles (you know, the other guy in the Hudson). Who are they to comment on that, they haven't been inside a regional airline in years if ever. But, I see we are often good enough if they need a ride home. He (Prater) should have walked into those hearings with the cases of irregularity reports of emergency situations handled professionally and safely by regional pilots on a daily basis. Instead he through us all under the bus.

Bottom line we were sold out early on by the Attorney running our local IBT. The IBT itself is who threw him out and so far the Trusteeship seems to be proving itself much more useful then the former. All of this comes at an incredible time for us. In the last six months as our local President had stated "In the past six months we have seen an amazing amount of change here. We have seen the Local enter Emergency Trusteeship and work its way through all of the various hearings and proceedings. We have had a complete change of representation from Business Agents to Attorneys, we have managed to buy or take ownership in/of three airlines, we have introduced a new airframe into our fleet, we have had multiple base openings, closures and attempted openings. We have seen the company use/misuse our displacement language nearly a half dozen different times even going as far as displacing pilots to the bases they had just displaced pilots from and had dozens of smaller yet equally important issues appear across the board. All the while still trying to work our way through Section 6 negotiations. We have established new committees while reorganizing others and I still have no idea what the remainder of the year is going to look like." Seems like enough to deal with for Volunteers, lets throw in some discontent and general disgust for morale.

Anyhow the problem at the Local IBT is out. The real fight will be internal. This is no longer the airline it was 6 years ago with 400 or 500 pilots trying to keep their little airline competitive. Now the majority of pilots here have less then 5 years with the company and the most are fed up with the lies and abuses and employee morale is hitting the floor. There will be a good contract or this place will burn.

It doesn't matter what Union name you put on your card, its the internal network of your local and the unity of your pilot group. The company has so far won the battle of divide and concur. Web boards like this continue to fester with the wrong messages and bickering from one group to the next.

You want to help raise the bar, stop spitting on your fellow pilot, offer something of value, offer some sort of support for the fight they are about to undertake, do not assist with the beating or take a pot shot every chance you get.

I don't always agree with what Toilet Duck has to say but I am certain we could use his enthusiasm and passion for defending things in a much better way then having him waste his time here defending the attacks. We need to channel those kind of emotions as ONE pilot group instead of yours verses mine.

The way the Midwest thing is going down stinks, but its done. Not one RAH pilot had the ability to make a single decision other than to quit his job at the only company in the industry that is currently doing anything but shrinking. Making that decision in a market where flight instructor jobs are hard to come by is far from easy from even the highest hill. Now put your families livelihood on the line with that. You say you'd not tolerate it and leave but would you, really.

The time for bickering is over. We need to join together as pilots not as individual groups, we need to lose the gang mentality and rebuild what government and big business has taken away from this career by pitting us against one another. When a young person asks a question on hear answer it honestly. If you choose to offer your opinion make sure it is known as only your opinion and we could all drop the sarcasm for a while. And or god sakes stop throwing fuel on a flame. I have been guilty of these things too and I am making a commitment to stop as it is not healthy for our collective futures, I invite you to join me.

It's a long enough road, lets walk it together!

 

Still groundhog,
how many similar e-mails or phone calls have you made to your EXCO or merger committee chairman prompting them to expedite the SLI?

 

You make some good points, but it is unrealistic to expect the Midwest pilots to support you. The Frontier and Midwest pilots have absolutely nothing to gain by merging with you. To expect them to just suck it up and move on with life is unrealistic and naive of you. The Midwest pilots have houses being foreclosed on, wives filing for divorce, and cars being repositioned all because of this merger. You guys will have to fight against the company without the Midwest pilot's support. First year probation pay at Frontier and Midwest is higher than your max first officer pay. They are taking a huge step back coming to your contract. I predict only about 60 Midwest pilots will ever work for Republic (the ones that end up captains with 20 years longevity). If Bedford makes them start at year 1 (been done before), then 0 Midwest pilots will work for Republic.

 

Well in that, case, we're all doomed. The IBT has zero power over Bedford and his team. And thanks to the RLA, neither do the pilots.

Plan B is starting to look real good.

 

RAH pilot group # roughly 2000

Roughly 1000 FO's

Assume all scaled out@37

Assume 75 hour guar.

2700/pilot/mo.

32400/year/pilot

RAH FO pilot payroll 2.7mil/month or 32.4mil./year

 

I doubt anyone expects former YX guys to just "suck it up" and move on. However, depending on the outcome of the SLI a majority of them could (should) end up with E-Jet CA positions worth 65K and up a year. Perhaps even back in MKE. By no means does that replace what has been destroyed; realistically, though, how many positions in other fields are available with anywhere near that income level with zero recent experience (I promise you if you have an engineering degree, for example, but have been flying jets for the past 15 years you're well out of the running for most positions).

If RAH pilots can convince the EXCO to work quickly towards a decent SLI, then you can get 300 plus experienced guys on the list, and with a chance of fairly quickly salvaging some semblance of their former lives. Or, they can stay away out of principle, continue to blame the RAH pilots instead of management, and leave the fight to someone else.

PS I agree there is a zero percent chance any former could, or should, accept a crappy SLI with a 23K per year FO job waiting. At that point you actually are better off at Home Depot. My 2 Cents only.

 

A couple of things to note. I am not looking for someone to suck anything up. I am not looking for anything but the brow beating to stop and for something constructive to start being displayed by pilots as a whole. You are right they have nothing to gain, but they have it all to loose. Don't think for one minute that the God Squad in Indy won't put e190' or 195's on the 318 runs and lease those planes or return them to put lower paid flight crews on the trips. Nobody is willing to fall on their sword for me so I am certainly not quitting my job in protest. When this all boils down if they want a seat at the table they'd better bring a dish or they'll find themselves out in the cold. I am not trying to be mean or spiteful, it's not that I have no feelings for what is happening to people I would call co workers no matter what airline they fly for or how superior they think they are flying at "Mainline". I am however in my opinion telling it how it is. They can either be involved in what this airline is going to become or simply sit it out and sideline quarterback with the rest of you.

And another thing, I was not addressing Midwest pilots to show support. That comment was for every pilot with every airline who looses if the pilot group at RAH does not make some serious headway in this next contract. You are not going to beat anyone into submission with this constant barrage of you stole my flying and crying about how your pay rate is $3 dollars an hour more than mine. When the contract we have now.. actually I am through defending a 6 year old contract, we need to move foward.

I am also not suggesting anyone to come to our contract as you suggest the Midwest pilots should. But again, they better get involved because they don't have the numbers to vote down something they don't like. They'll get stuck on this contract with the rest of us until this new one is ratified and we'd like their input on making it a better contract. Calling for arbitration may not have been the most productive thing. My understanding is that the arbitrator is the same one that did the original Shuttle arbitration, ask some of those guys how that worked out. Frankly without any aircraft to fly I am not sure why the Midwest pilots were part of the package and I am hoping the company does not pull what it had in the past and simply fire these folks.

Someone else made the statement about me sending emails or calls to EXCO about the SLI, I am guessing Seniority List Integration. I've made none, they know what needs done and don't need to expel another breath to answering the same questions. Trust me when I say they are aware. Apparently there is a magic ball at other, or at least your airline that gets things done in minutes days or even weeks. You can't get two pilots to agree on where to eat for lunch half the time, yet your going to get FOUR pilot groups to come to some sort of compromise on how they should move forward on their futures in a matter of weeks.

I only know what we are being told. All parties were asked to bring proposals, the only thing they brought was a call for arbitration. That means that now someone else is involved and that is going to be on their time line, and nobody else's.

As for the Midwest pilots who are having wives file for divorces, what a sorry relationship that must have been. Think of the peace you will have not living with someone that just wanted your lifestyle and your money. It is a pretty poor testament to a relationship when the loss of a job sends a spouse packing.