I'm the one who presented the concepts of this hiring MOU to Pinnacle management. Both the PCL and CJC MOUs were developed off of these concepts. I can assure you that career expectations had nothing to do with the justification of the concepts. It was just the right thing to do and it worked for everyone.


No, only the MECs vote as individual bodies. The combined pilot group votes in a majority rules style election.


You are correct. There is no vote on the seniority integration. Not even from the MECs. Its unlikely that the outcome of the seniority list will be known until after ratification of a joint contract is complete.

 

No, you're not wrong. That's the way it works. The respective Merger Committees will come to an agreement on the SLI....or it will go to arbitration and be decided that way. The pilot group as a whole really doesn't have a vote in the matter.

 

This is a joke right? Or else you got an F in airline management/union busting/alter ego 101.....

but yes you are right you and I had no say in it...unless you were hired post-Q/Pinnacle purchase.

 

Nor should they, otherwise the smaller group would always get screwed.

 

Even those hired post Pinnacle purchase had no say in it...

 

Yes, those pilots hired after the purchase had a choice to work for pinnacle/colgan or not, and to not fly a plane bought by Pinnacle pilot's sacrifices....kinda the gojet/freedom argument.

 

Are you implying that Colgan is an alter-ego carrier? THAT right there is a joke.

 

Yeah, but they didn't have a choice about the bills they had to pay; made the decision a lot easier for some. Anybody that makes that kind of remark hasn't been unemployed for any period of time. And if you were unemployed...well, I'll bite my tongue.

 

Ultimately, some people are going to come out of the end of this process in really great shape, and some not great. It is all a matter of timing, and something that no one can control. I will be lucky indeed to maintain my relative seniority with a pay-raise that I can live on and survive to fly another couple of years until the left-seat beckons.
I don't have anything against anyone personally at Pinnacle, except some of the talk about Colgan pilots advancing their careers at Pinnacle's expense. That kind of mentality is asinine, and should be directed toward your own MEC for not negotiating a TA that was acceptable by both parties prior to putting up for a vote. When your contract was amenable, there was a window of opportunity to reconcile differences and neither side got the job done. That is just the way it is. Like it or not, business is business. I don't think it's fair either, but welcome to LIFE.
Now, there is ANOTHER window opportunity to reconcile those differences and to move forward with a contract that fairly addresses the needs of all three pilot groups. Airline mergers are always messy and this one could prove to be if this JCBA/SLI isn't conducted properly. Regardless of the outcome, I think that it is important to support one another and move forward together as a cohesive group.

 

If 80 percent of us say "I didn't get screwed too badly," when the SLI is finalized, then it probably is as fair as it can be.