The Juice

Longevity pay would be great because it wouldn't hurt employees with the airline by having someone jump over them and it helps a furloughed pilot from going broke when having to go to a new airline.

Let this be a lesson for all of the Colgan guys with the ALPA/Teamsters drives. ALPA has always pushed for advancement for pilots, whether it be regulated duty time, safety regulations and now a national senority list. What have the Teamsters given aviation and the professional pilot?

jmoney

It would be a great idea, but will happen just as soon as little furry monkeys start taking "cat shots" out of my arse!

250 or point 65

Can anyone who is informed about what the UAL MEC is thinking about try to answer the following question?

Does a national seniority list really create a master list, where if i choose to change airlines, I fall where ever my original DOH into ALPA is? Just as some people delay upgrading to wait until their seniority can hold a better line, could someone potentially put in 40 years at trans states, etc and then get hired by UAL right to the top of the seniority list flying a 787 (<-like the forshadowing?)?

MatchPoint

I understand that ALPA has their own issues but at least their main focus is on our industry and our pilots…………….not a bunch of truckers. I mean no disrespect but we live and work in two different worlds that actually have very little to do with one another.

I think this is a step in the right direction and there are A LOT of hurdles that need to be cleared before it will actually work, but we need to start somewhere and now is a damn good time.

exwaterski

If this is the answer to all our prayers then why the need for strong arm tactics? Pardon my cynicism but you can bet your @ss anything cooked up by a mainline MEC is going to be exclusively to the benefit of mainline pilots. Reading between the lines I'm willing to bet the real purpose of this protocol is to create a mechanism for mainline pilots to claim super seniority at regionals. I'm not crazy about the teamsters, but at least I don't have to worry about this sort of snake oil bullsh-t being crammed down my throat. If this protocol is really in everyone's best interest then every pilot group should have a chance to vote up or down on the proposal not have it imposed on them by ALPA national. JMO

boilerpilot

So..... if somebody's been ALPA for 20 years, and tries to go back to a regional because they got furloughed.... tell me again why this company would hire somebody who would instantly max out the pay scale?

Just another bit of food for thought.

soon2bfo

You beat me to it.

MatchPoint

Yes, there will be many many problems that must be solved, IF this passes. I see it as a good attempt but only an attempt. Who knows, maybe it will be exactly what we all need or it might blow up in our faces, only time will tell.

Nevets

The resolution calls for a vote when the committee has come to an agreement. A committee that is would be made up of 5 regional pilots among its ranks. As for strong arm tactics, I beleive there are other ALPA policies that have to be followed for the president to sign any contract.

boilerpilot

Oh, trust me, I definitely think that there should be a national list that at least guarantees some sort of seniority accrual, whether that be seniority and pay or one or the other. While I think this, I don't think it should be straight 1:1, in an attempt to reward those who have stuck it out at a regional for longer, just to have another person come in and make more than them and upgrade quicker than them, because they've suffered at United for longer than some of the FOs have been alive.

I urge people to look at WHO is proposing this: UALPA. While I'm sure that greater minds than my own will be able to concoct a plan that would bring the idea of a National Seniority List FAIRLY to pilots in the US, my fear is that this will be yet another way that the pilot unions at the legacy carriers will, like somebody said, strongarm their own career preservation. In other words, I see this potentially being another way for the junior pilots in this profession to get screwed, just like what has come with scope relaxation and age 65. Both things seem like excellent ideas, providing jet jobs for younger pilots or allowing a pilot to plan his/her career out 40 years instead of 35 (if they choose), but what they have instead done is protect the existing jobs at the Legacy and Major carriers, while in all senses saying "to hell with you" to the rest of the profession.

To solidify my point, note the timing on UALPA bringing this up. They are trying to preserve the quality of the lives of those already at United (or who have been there for 10 years). While it is, of course, the duty of a Union to protect its members (not necessarily its future members), one might ask the question why something like this might not be brought up in times when United Pilots WEREN'T facing the prospect of hitting the streets? This is bringing up this issue when and only when it benefits the United pilots the most, not the other way around or when there might be a compromise between the established and the aspiring.

More food for thought, I guess. My faith in ALPA died a long time ago (not in Unions, but ALPA itself. I mean, John Prater makes over $500k a year?!), so perhaps I'm biased, but I've seen too many times where ALPA protects the few using the resources and dues of the many.