WRONG Management does not fear a union here i.e. expressjet. What they fear is not being able pay shareholders. Mangament tries to ride a fine line between paying people just enough to keep them happy so they'll be productive and produce profit. They do not want to cut so deep that it causes employees to become destructive and unprofitable. Last time I checked the definition of negotiate didnt included the word union in it.

But it was set up in-house, by people who were currently running an airline, using many of the same assets (including pilots). I'm certainly no fan of gojets but from United's perspective they were not a very risky proposition as far as certification.

I tend to agree. The issue is not so much much the food and drink or even the venue, it's the fact that they broke the rules, tried to hide it, and now seem to be sweeping it under the rug instead of taking the appropriate action: resignation.

If they need nice dinners, change the rules to allow it once a quarter or once a year, whatever your group feels like ponying up for.

Probably true to a certain point, but for the most part regional compensation is so low compared to the general economy that regionals can't really treat people much worse or they'd just quit...except for those who have a lot of time vested. The only people who really benefit from regional unions are very high-seniority CA's in the six-figure range...I agree without union protection these guys would not be making that kind of money.

That would make sense.

Fact is that the contract scope was originally cut at 70 seats during the negotiations. Once DALAPA agreed to and voted in their large allotment of 76 seat(for the 717's) Puchela and the NMB agreed with UAL mgmt that this is the new line. UAL ALPA's choice was accept or no contract movement.

Blame, IMHO, goes to 1) DALPA and, mostly, ALPA National for not having a coordinated plan with UAL ALPA, et al, to keep scope under 70. and, 2) the RLA for allowing companies to be able to stall negotiations to infinity.

Got a good laugh out of that one.

Again it was an arbitrated award, we weren't able to come to terms. While we're at it, assuming you work for Skywest did you not fly the 200 for the same rate as the 700 when they were announced? Get back to us please we're all anxious. At least we get the opportunity to go to arbitration just like SAPA! Oh wait......

It is a lot more than just rates. Tell me you understand that, right? How much more in 401k matching funds do you get? How much more in B fund contributions do you get? How much more in vacation accrual do you get? How much more in sick accrual do you get? How much lower is your share of health care premiums? How much more in perdiem do you get? Etc etc.

Really, if you just keep what you already have, your pilot group will continue to be more "cost competitive" than LXJT's.

Don't be so naive. They are too smart to outright ask for concessions. They have been using code words like "cost competitive" to get the subtle message accords. BH himself said to me on a conference that there are things in the LXJT contract that are not cost competitive. Maybe it won't be a concession for the ASA people but I'm definitely not holding my breath for the LXJT side.

They do have the document from their last "negotiations" that says they will get whatever 401k matching, health benefits, and scope that XJT pilots negotiate in their contract.

No, but without an NMB recognized union, you don't have any leverage. Like you said, it only has to do with management compensating enough to keep you non-union. They fear that that would threaten the value to the shareholders. I guess SWA does very bad since ALL of their employees are unionized.

Why does everyone think that having a union is solely about having a contract?

Nevets save your drivel for your dog hes the only one thats listens to you. Why? Because he has no choice! You glow with ignorance when you compare SWA to OO in terms of a union. Leverage? Hows that levearge working for Pinnacle? Oh yeah it didnt they took it up the poop shoot with no say what so ever.

Trust me...having NMB recognition really doesn't mean squat.

Gotta hand it to you, that was pretty sweet to hear you ask those direct, straight forward, thought out questions of him. And it was comical to listen to him dance around it all. Not like we should expect anything more though.

"just because we don't always get it right doesn't mean we aren't trying........"