Who's we? Do you have a mouse in your pocket?

 

Uh. Speak for yourself.

 

I disagree. There is already an ALPA organizational movement in progress. Time will tell whether it blooms, but with QOL slipping and our pay lagging behind, it may gain traction.

 

I'll humor you this once.


Having a union is an insurance policy to have in place and just one of many costs of doing business in the airline industry. It is for a reason that SkyWest management attempts to keep unions off property--they would be a newfound hindrance and would cost the airline.


The balance of power will always lie in management's hands, so ALPA can only do so much for us. Regional airline management is constrained by what it can offer, so it would seem that most regional unions are ineffective. I can understand the gripe of those of us who hail from previous ALPA-affiliated regionals.


A real, legit union would be far better for us than a company-sponsored group that has been accused by many pilots to censor anti-management sentiment. Mine and others' recent experience with SAPA as it regards the recent TA put a bad taste in my mouth--they weren't fighting for us, they were doing whatever they could to protect management's best interests. My personal view at least.


You as an "investor" don't want us to unionize because it would lower the value of SKYW stock. You are not looking out for the SkyWest pilot group's best interests, though. In fact, I doubt that you are an investor at all. You are most likely just trolling us for entertainment, ha.

 

Cue Rex Tillerson.

 

Nope, try again!

 

1% in today's market proved we have no leverage without a union. Even worse is the company's constant disregard for the policy and no protections when they decide to reinterpret the rules to fit their needs each day.
I've never been big on needing/wanting a union myself but times are changing.

 

Completely agree.

It’s disappointing when it is in black and white and the company still interprets the rules incorrectly.

 

Yes there are. SAPA regularly has updates on instances of the company pulling a new stunt and the details of the uphill battle of them trying to fix it. Sometimes they are successful sometimes they are not..even with things that are in clear violation of the policy.
Some are so obvious you would think I am joking. A recent one was forcing pilots to work on their day off. After several months of discussion and meetings with the company it was decided that a day off is....a day off. Imagine that.
That shouldn't have taken so long. The problem is in an instance where crew support forces you to work on a day off you, you call to SAPA and the response would be to fly the flight and submit a complaint about it. Meanwhile you've already missed your child's birthday party or you had to call in emergency (for a day that was already a day off).
It's sad that SAPA doesn't have enough power to even say "No, that's a breach of policy. You don't have to work that day because it's your day off. We will take care of you"
Wait for the best part.. even though it has been agreed that days off are protected, we haven't seen the last of this problem yet. I'm sure it will come up again in a few months or a year and they will have more meetings to redetermine how they want to interpret the rules.

So I guess my point is that I agree with you completely that the fact that the company doesn't want a union should be enough to keep them playing ball and when that happens everyone wins. But what is the next course of action when the company decides not to play nicely anymore? What if the employees have decided that the current system isn't working anymore?

 

That is exactly the issue. Our policy manual isn't a legally binding document. It is a collection of handshake agreements with the unwritten understanding that if they are not adhered to, the pilot group may have an interest in seeking representation that can provide a legally binding contract (union).
That might be where we are at currently.
Management is who SAPA mediates with on these issues..sometimes unsuccessfully and never quickly. So calling them doesn't help. I've had several friends call their chief about these issues only to hear the same response. "Just fly the trip and file a report."