Who is responsible for 9E's lack of contract
 

Thought I'd see who everyone thinks is most responsible for 9E's lack of a contract for years...

The correct answer is "All of the Above", but since you didn't list that, I am not voting.


Government (RLA, NMB, etc)...Yes it is responsible. The RLA and the NMB have taken away the biggest tool any union has to negotiate with. They have taken away the option to strike. I know, eventually some get the chance (Comair, Spirit), but the vast majority of negotiations go years because of the game we are forced to play.

Management...Hell yes they are responsible. But can anyone really blame them??? They run an airline, well kind of, that has been profitable during a horrible time in our economy. They have never had a lack of applicants. They have managed to acquire 2 new airlines. And best of all, they have used options 1 (Government) to drag out our negotiations for 5.5 years without having a strike on their hands. From a business stand point, management is doing an outstanding job.

ALPA National...Yes. There is no way that ALPA National can represent both the interests of the Regional Pilots and the Major Pilots. NONE. I do not feel as if we have gotten the support that we need from them, but then again, I doubt my dues go very far for that organization. Not the point I know, but I understand how business works.

ALPA Pinnacle...Probably more responsible than most on the list. They handed us a TA that never should have made it to the pilot group, but I understand the reason they did so. Gotta look good to the NMB. The problem with blaming our current MEC is that most of the people responsible for that piece of ******* TA are no longer in our MEC. Some are not even still at Pinnacle. I believe that our current negotiators and most of our reps are doing a great job (with the exception of communication, but I have a hotmail account so I'll let this one slide :rolleyes:)

The Pilot Group...Of course we are responsible for this mess. We have plenty of people who still go out of their way to pop the brake on time. We have lots of people who won't write up MX items at outstations. We have lots of people who taxi like its a Nascar race because they have a commute to make. We also had about 500 people vote yes to the above mentioned TA. We are our own worst enemy.



Point of my post is to point out that it is very easy to point fingers and try to blame one particular person or organization for this. The problem is that it is a combination of things that has led to 5.5 years with no new contract (well 1 TA, but we voted we that down). Not one of these has caused this mess on its own. Combine a few though, and you get where we are now.

Starts with a management team that has been allowed to drag their feet, followed by HORRIBLE union leadership.

The NMB thinks so little of this MEC chairman they said '6yrs isn't enough for you guys.'

All of the above, I agree. And basically every point already stated by SrfNFly227 was basically what I would also say. Unfortunately I don't see any of the causes changing anytime soon. The opportunities in front of us now, based on conversations with Pcl pilots could easily be squandered away because of the extreme apathy and lack of faith in the abilities of the joint negotiations coupled with the previously mentioned lack of willingness to not constantly go above and beyond for nothing in return. Everything else is out of our control as pilots other than lobbying our senators and reps to repeal the RLA (good luck with that ever happening).

The RLA will never be repealed. The Blue Dogs and Republicans (and especially the Tea Party) will scream bloody murder at the top of their lungs at any attempt to do anything counter to the interests of their corporate donors.

Because regulation is what kills the economy, and worker's making too much is what kills the economy. (just ignore that financial crisis that was caused by a lack of corporate regulation that nearly destroyed the global economy). [SARCASM]

Obama is just as complicit as Bush and Reagan. Just go watch the new documentary "Inside Job" narrated by Matt Damon....