Totally nailed it with that assessment.

This was a while back, but here's one thing that stood out... Take company surveys and be honest with them. Rip them a new one if you're not happy, but take it. As a pilot group, we tend to ignore them and that hampers our NC because the company says that they have no data to support our NC's claims. We gripe on various forums, but when and where we actually need to gripe, we can't be arsed.

I’ve always fill them out. I am less than nice on them. I know some think it’s a waste or pointless. But, at least I get a good laugh knowing someone, even if it’s an intern will read it and think WTF is wrong with this place.

They don’t care if you fill out surveys. They don’t care if your transportation isn’t there or drops you off at the curb 45 prior to report. They don’t care if your hotel sucks or you just got hosed out of a 20hr SAN layover into a 12 hour ELP. They just don’t care. The only thing they care about is a hit to their bottom line and bad publicity. It amazes me to hear people still act astonished that these things happen to them. A SAV needs to happen in time to have an effect on spring break bookings. SWAPA seems to talk out of both sides of their mouth(s) regarding this. Not pushing hard enough if you ask me. They seem to be content with taking two steps forward and three steps backwards lately. Forget about the surveys. Forgot about “talking to your chief.” Until this group is ready to drag this place into the pig sty, time is being wasted.

Absolutely spot on. This guy gets it. There won’t be a fire lit under their ass until the pilot group takes more drastic measures.

I’d also like to see a tougher stance from SWAPA. Worry about the pilot group and getting us a great contract asap. Don’t worry about the company or the operation. That’s their concern not mine.

The SAV #s just aren't there in this group, not in the #s needed to send a message. Why do you think it was polled.

Then they need to push harder. No more excuses. It’s like the lanyard excuses….”the company doesn’t care what I wear.” No, you’re mostly correct. It’s not for the company, it’s to show solidarity with/among your fellow pilots. SWAPA can get us to respectable polling numbers. However, much more education and a harder press need to happen ASAP.

They do need to push harder, faster, and smarter. I’ll repeat it again: SWAPA absolutely sucks at communicating and educating.

I recently flew with a guy who, when I asked him, “What would you say our leverage is?”, answered, “Uhhh. A good economy. Ummmmm. The pilot shortage. Hmmmmm. And our unity.”

I replied, “Sure. Those are all kind of, sort of leverage for us. But they’re pretty weak, and worse, they’re very mercurial. They can come and go. They can disappear. But we have leverage that’s way stronger than any of that.”

I continued, ”It’s the RLA - being able to pose the credible threat of a strike.”

His answer to that was, “You seriously think they’ll let us strike? And besides, that’ll take forever if it ever happens. I’d rather have the money now before the economy tanks.”

I went on to explain my thoughts on all of that. But my guess is at least half of the pilot group is in that guy’s camp. They don’t understand the RLA process. They don’t see how it will ever be allowed to develop into leverage (he thought the President could stop us from striking, for example). And they think they’ll lose money in the long term because the RLA “takes forever.”

Until SWAPA can address those guys’ misconceptions and concerns, we’re not going to have a solidly motivated pilot group ready to do what it takes to achieve an ILC, IMO. Given SWAPA’s languor, it’s almost like SWAPA doesn’t really want to try to get an ILC.

SWAPA needs to provide education that effectively answers all of the following questions (why didn’t they start educating on these questions a year-plus ago?):

1. What is the point of a SAV anyway?
2. What does a SAV mean about actually going on strike?
3. How soon will we go on strike after the SAV?
4. What are the chances we actually end up going on strike if we vote in favor of a SAV?
5. What leverage does the RLA directly give us access to versus other sources of leverage like the supposed pilot shortage, “a good economy,” or pilot group “unity”?
6. What is the difference between mediation and arbitration?
7. How long can we expect to be in mediation?
8. Can’t the mediator just force us to accept an agreement?
9. Wont the mediator just put us on ice “forever” if we ask for too much?
10. Why use the RLA when “the President can just shut us down”?
11. Why use the RLA when “Congress can just shut us down”?
12. Why use the RLA when “it’s stacked against us”?
13. Why not just wrap up negotiations sooner when “the economy is good” and before we lose any more value to inflation versus trying to use the RLA when they can just drag it out for years?
14. How much can we really expect to gain anyway by using the RLA when “the law requires us to give something to get something”?
15. How is the RLA more leverage than everyone wearing SWAPA lanyards?
16. How is the RLA more leverage than “the pilot shortage”?
17. Does building leverage under the RLA actually pay off for me and my family financially and otherwise versus taking a bird in hand early offer?
18. I don’t want what happened to Alaska back in the mid-2000’s to happen to us. That’s what you can get when you use the RLA, isn’t it?
19. Isn’t using the RLA basically “trying” to go on strike? Isn’t that pretty un-American? Isn’t that the kind of thing socialists do?
20. Look what happened at Eastern. You want that to happen here?