ASA Authorize strike
 

Good luck gents. . . and gals.

http://www.alpa.org/DesktopModules/A...=2618&Tabid=73

its about time people start getting some balls

i just hope scabs dont step in and replace em

Agreed. I'm surprised to see the forum a little quiet on this one. ::shurg::

Thank god someone else is standing up and saying enough is enough. STOP LOWERING THE BAR!!

Scabs. . .oh you mean Go-Jets! Maybe. . .or the pukes at Repubic or whatever they are called will probably try and take their flying at their less than 50 seat rates.

Me too . . . .

I guess we'll see what happens.

Plus, it's easy to agree "To Strike" but when it comes down to it, we'll see who "DOESN'T" really want to go through with it, and is willing to fly for lower pay. Also, don't forget, SKYW owns ASA, and more than likely, ASA planes will transfer to SKYW and SKYW pilots will fly them . . . . Leaving striking ASA pilots without a job. . . . (Forever). Then what will ALPA do . . .? They will slither away quietly, trying to forget that were responsible for 1,400 more pilot job losses.

The only way a Strike will work for the ASA pilot group is if all the other Delta connections honor their Strike...Ask the Comair pilots how it went for them without the support of all who are involved with the Delta Airline Route System...How we all forget so soon what the other pilots before us went through.

Exactly. I see all of these old timers insisting how bad scabs are, but none of them are willing to actually step up to the plate when the regionals are about to get scab-ed out.

good luck to them, bad thing is with the powers that be, mo way the NMB will release them to strike. we had the same type of vote and outcome at NetJets and the good ole boys in DC wouldn't release us.

Ah . . . HeavyDriver is one smart cookie. Absolutely correct in assessment. I would make the bet that the other Delta Connection carriers will not strike.

ASA won't strike either

c'mon now...
 

ASA will probably not strike. According to our union reps, in oder for a strike vote to have any pull, you need close to 99% strike approval to have any pull come strike time.

That being said, here's the real question... Since ASA and SkyWest are now the same company, will SkyWest honor the strike? I'm guessing no, since they are non-union...Best of luck to the ASA guys....

You guys are all way, way off.
First off, with reference to other DCI carriers not striking to help Comair...Other Delta conn carriers can't just strike. That's not how it works. There is an entire process that a union must go through laid out in the Railway Labor Act. One must be released to strike. So ASA, or any other DCI carrier couldn't just strike in support.
Secondly, the "we saw how Comair went without support" comment (I didn't quote or say names because it is not my intention to insult anyone, just set the record straight) Comair went through a strike and ended up with the best contract in the Regional World. Period. Best pay, a defined benefit plan, better work rules, etc. I'd say it went pretty well in the long run. now before someone warms up their keyboard to type.... let me put the "yah you'll get the big pay, but then they will shrink the airlines" arguement to rest. Comair was about 1,600 pilots at the time of there strike. They did furlough a few and many quit, but I understand that they are slightly bigger then ASA today (about 1,800 pilots) so it would seem that they not only returned to there former size but grew. They only took a paycut do to the Delta bankrupcy, and still there wages, retirement, and work rules are better then most. Any Comair guys out there please feel free to correct my numbers.... best guess from memory
Finally, "If ASA strikes they will just transfer that work to Skywest" That one is by far the most incorrect statement. Infact, it is 180 degrees out of the truth or reality. Currently (ASA not on strike, but in negotiations) Skywest Inc. can have skywest take our routes, even some of our aircraft. There are some potential things we can do to stop that, but that is another topic....
If we were to go on strike, that would then become struck work, and their are provisions in the railway labor act to help the striking union on that.

Moral of the story.... The Comair pilots stuck together and won. Period. The ASA pilots are firm in their comittment to a better contract. And, just for the record our strike ballot was 92% in favor. That is a fantastic number. Whoever told you that it has to be 99% or it's not good is historically incorrect. Our 98 contract was 89% and that was a huge victory which helped us earn what was at the time, an industry leading contract.

remember, information not insults......

Comair did not win...Yes they did get an improvement to their working conditions, (Short term fix) but did not get future protection to what is about to happen to them...Comair is only bigger to ASA because ASA is going through negotiations...When the dust settles with ASA...New companies that fly cheaper will come to the Delta system and Comair and ASA pilots will lose from it...And you don't have to "Strike" to support your fellow union pilot who is on strike....Again this "I got mine" attitude is hurting everyone who wants a career in the Airline industry....I went through this same thing at AMR Eagle...History Repeats itself.

why dont all the airlines, regionals and majors start a new union, better than alpa, then when one strikes, they know noone will come in and replace their routes for less

problem solved

They didn't get future protection???? No contract ever has an iron clad guarantee for an indefinite amount of time. What they got was a contract that their company not only could live with but prospered under. Only when the parent company went bankrupt, did the have to give concessions. You show many any contract that can indefinetly protect against everything and I will gladly start paying my dues to the author. Comair pilots did win.

comair is only bigger because ASA is going through negotiations???? Since most carriers have long periods of negotiations it can be said that any carrier is growing because of negotiations. The only flaw in your theory is that you are implying that they grew because their contract was finish and that growth moved them past us because we were in negotiations. our contract expired in 2002 and WE TOO HAVE GROWN SINCE THAT TIME!

"you don't have to strike to support your fellow union" sounds great in principle, but what can you specifically do? The pilots of another DCI carrier could do a work action, you know, mass sick day, or write up everything day, but those tactics win you no points with arbitrators and are not the official policy of ALPA national.

I really don't see how anything I've said could even remotely fall under the category of "I've got mine". Quite the contrary, I am simply trying to remove the emotion and speak in fact.

And, for hatetobreakit2u, simple answer.... Kinsian economics... all people are motivated be self intrest, plus you can rarely get two pilots to agree on something in the cockpit let alone 20,000 pilots on contract ideas. Too many A++++ personalities.

SkyWest pilots will not cross the ASA lines.

nobody wins in the aviation world, all we can hope for is an inch at a time

JustA'Shroom--what makes you say that?

mushroom,
you guys will have to cross.... you are not a union, you can not strike. They (skywest mang) could just terminate you. As an ASA pilot I appreciate your sentiment, the best (and only thing you can do is vote the union in, so that you can empower yourselves. Thanks again.

he is probly saying they wont cross your line cause there wan't be a line to cross. the RLA screws everyone in this manner. Take all the strike votes you want, without a release you can't strike, thus no line to cross

There is no way that SkyWest pilots will strike. First off they are not union and they make good money. The only thing we are trying to get is a raise for our 700 and 705 pilots. Other than that, with our bonuses and credit guarantees we get paid among the top in the regional world and we have no union dues. SW just wants ASA to get paid equally and ALPA is screwing the pilots. You can't blame SW for making ALPA negotiate for EVERYTHING!!!! It’s not about the pilots, SW cares, it’s about the blood sucking union. If ASA pilots would just oust the union they would end up with the same package we have and no union dues. It's nice to work for a good airline for once, or at least as good as they come.
I have several friends who work for ASA and I want the best for them. Just Oust the union and SW will show its gratitude, continue and don’t blame SW or SW pilots. IT’S ALPA!!!!
Also, ASA should be thankful that they were bought by a company as strong as SkyWest. Think about what life would be like if you had joined the Mesa/Freedom/Go family. We now have over 2200 pilots and we are bringing in about 70-80 pilots a month with a loss of only 25-30 pilots per month to retirement or the majors. SkyWest has never furloughed and yes we can be fired. But, if you are going be fired then you probably deserve to be, period. If you have a major screw up then you should be held accountable, period.

I've gotta a friend whose a Captain with ASA that told me he got an e-mail saying that Chautauqua, ASA, Comair, and (surprisingly) Mesa met and decided not to whipsaw each other in this whole Delta thing. Can anyone confirm?

On another note, I'm getting ready to start training on the 145 with Chautauqua and I picked them specifically because everything I had heard thus far on these boards and from friends in the industry was that they were a decent company and well respected. Was I misinformed here?

First of all, how do you loose a pilot to arbitration?

Second, when you get fired, you deserve to be in the eyes of the one who fires you. What if the reason you were fired was because you wore a tie someone didn't like or someone heard it from someone who heard it from someone that you said something about a cheif pilot? What if someone just has an ax to grind with you. Then was it deserved? Because at Skywest you could be let go for something like that.

There are very specific rules about what rival companies can discuss and collaborate on. Competition (or the lack of it) is one of the things they are NOT allowed to collaborate on.

No, Sh!t Taco is an awesome company to work for. Sorry thats the XJT in me talking.;)

No, but Unions can collaborate on wage issues.

Confirmed. It happened in Cincinnati on 7/13.

JetJock?
Do you really think you should speak for the ASA pilots? "the union is screwing the pilots" maybe you should oh... I don't know, ask a senior ASA pilot what they think before you speak for them? Until you have worked at ASA you have no idea what you are talking about. Even if we were to "kick out the union" like you suggest we don't work for SW. We still work for the revolving door of boneheads that Delta has stacked our G.O. with. If Jerry says we are going to merge the seniority list and make one company, well I'll be happy to listen. But, to impose your work rules and pay structure on this company would likely have a very different outcome. Our pilots are powerless to change things like ramp operations, gate performance, maintenance, etc. To take a pay cut for a chance to get it back in performance based bonus, with all these things outside our control is a bad decision.
You mention in a rather cavalier manor "all we want is better pay for the 700 and 705 guys" well, how's that going? Is that pay raise right around the corner, or is it still the broken promise of your management? I won't tell you how you should vote for the union at your company, please don't tell me how to vote at mine.
Secondly, "ASA pilots should be happy the got bought by SW" Stop rockin' the Hukka. What we would like to be is independent like we were when I was hired here. Long before we were bought by Delta we were an industry leader in profitability and performance (with the exception of our ATL station). Being bought by SW and having routes and Aircraft taken away by them somehow just doesn't leave us with a "thankfull" feeling.

Finally, you say "SW just wants ASA to get paid equally" That is bull. You have drank the company kool aid. NO, you took beer bong hits of kool aid. SW inc. doesn't want us to get paid equally. By your own admission you are already the highest paid. What they want is us to get paid in the same manor that you get paid. i.e. they want to put the bonus they get from Delta on the backs of the employees or they get to pay us less. You want to put the companies bonus from delta on the backs of the pilots, fine, empower us to influence the direction and leadership of the company, otherwise... No Deal.
I'm sure your a fine young buck, seeing things from the rose colored glasses of working in DEN or SLC. But the work force pool in ATl and many of our stations is night and day different then your experience. I was based in Dallas and saw the SW pilots come in there, I am now in SLC and our flights are serviced by SW so I believe I have a better understanding of our two companies than you do. Log ten years at SW flying in ATL and then write us all and tell me if you still feel the same way.

P.S. about the getting fired thing-
quick antidote- pilot goes for interview, has a slight color blindness. Tells company on interview and puts it in writing. His medical has no limitation posted on it. Get's hired spends 2 years on emb 120 then makes capt, flies another year, then upgrades to captain on jet. Has trouble seeing some of the colors on the rj, but can work around it. The company fires him for lying to them because they said he lied on the question "do you have any limitations on your medical" to which he responded "NO".
Did he "deserve" to get fired as you suggest? Not so cut and dry all the time is it? What happened to him, you might (should) ask? ALPA got his job back and he is now a 700 Captain doing quite well.