Nationwide Pilot Union?
#1
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Nationwide Pilot Union?
Would anyone else on here be in favor of a Nationwide Pilot's Union and therefore a Nationwide Seniority List??? Okay, so if you're at Delta, Southwest, Fedex, UPS, etc. or you have lot's of seniority where-ever then probably not. But hear me out . . .
Imagine a master seniority list. For most of us our airline will get sold, merge, or otherwise fail and we'll find yourself out on the street. With a master seniority list perhaps we don't have to start back at the bottom. It might also discourage the growing trend where management subcontracts out work from the majors to the regionals, and then from one regional to a lower cost regional.
So how would something like this work? The devil is figuring out where everyone would start out on the seniority list. For guys who just got hired somewhere this isn't really a big deal. For guys who have 30 years in someplace, this is a huge deal. Perhaps a plan which would factor in each pilot's years of service and then use age as a tie breaker. Also, there would have to be some crazy formula to prevent a senior guy from getting furloughed at a one airline and then going right tot he top of somebody else's seniority list.
The goal of this whole thing is to help stabilize this career and stop management from exploiting the pilots. Remember Eastern, TWA, PanAM, etc. At one point those airlines were the best of the best and everybody wanted to work there. If you had 20-30 years in and were getting ready to retire when they went under . . . well you get the idea. Or how about the guys who have 10 years in and a family to support? How about this Midwest guys when they got bought? Anyone know where the Frontier thing is going? How many of us UAL guys are still on furlough?
If you've got seniority at a great airline there is very little incentive for you to join a Nationwide Union with a Master Seniority List. However, what would there be to lose? You sign up, and as long as your airline and union are strong the Master List doesn't really come into play.
Sure we might lose a bit of seniority from time to time but at least we wouldn't lose it all!
Imagine a master seniority list. For most of us our airline will get sold, merge, or otherwise fail and we'll find yourself out on the street. With a master seniority list perhaps we don't have to start back at the bottom. It might also discourage the growing trend where management subcontracts out work from the majors to the regionals, and then from one regional to a lower cost regional.
So how would something like this work? The devil is figuring out where everyone would start out on the seniority list. For guys who just got hired somewhere this isn't really a big deal. For guys who have 30 years in someplace, this is a huge deal. Perhaps a plan which would factor in each pilot's years of service and then use age as a tie breaker. Also, there would have to be some crazy formula to prevent a senior guy from getting furloughed at a one airline and then going right tot he top of somebody else's seniority list.
The goal of this whole thing is to help stabilize this career and stop management from exploiting the pilots. Remember Eastern, TWA, PanAM, etc. At one point those airlines were the best of the best and everybody wanted to work there. If you had 20-30 years in and were getting ready to retire when they went under . . . well you get the idea. Or how about the guys who have 10 years in and a family to support? How about this Midwest guys when they got bought? Anyone know where the Frontier thing is going? How many of us UAL guys are still on furlough?
If you've got seniority at a great airline there is very little incentive for you to join a Nationwide Union with a Master Seniority List. However, what would there be to lose? You sign up, and as long as your airline and union are strong the Master List doesn't really come into play.
Sure we might lose a bit of seniority from time to time but at least we wouldn't lose it all!
#4
#5
Tony, if I can find the list I'll post a link on here. If I remember correctly, the list is broken down by plane type/size. C-152 (or similar) all the way up to Jumbo's. I don't think it should matter how many commuter airlines or major air carriers there are in the US. I think there should be a nation-wide minimum base pay for each type/size aircraft. Then, the individual carrier unions can improve upon that "base pay."
#6
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Joined APC: Jul 2009
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I like where this is headed
It's not a nationwide seniority list but a minimum wage is better than where things are now. Anybody on here know anything about how trade unions work, like Electricians or Plumbers, etc.???
I know Actors have a union which benefits members and non-members alike. For example if you, as a non-member, get picked out of the audience and appear on say David Letterman then you get a certain amount. But if you actually speak on air then you get considerably more. Doesn't matter what company you work for. I don't all the specifics but I do recall some generalities.
Lets keep this discussion going. The only people who lose are management and those management represents.
I know Actors have a union which benefits members and non-members alike. For example if you, as a non-member, get picked out of the audience and appear on say David Letterman then you get a certain amount. But if you actually speak on air then you get considerably more. Doesn't matter what company you work for. I don't all the specifics but I do recall some generalities.
Lets keep this discussion going. The only people who lose are management and those management represents.
Last edited by elssaw; 09-01-2011 at 09:05 PM. Reason: Typo
#7
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Why not?
#9
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Joined APC: Dec 2010
Posts: 3,090
Because enough pilots will never agree, and a nationwide union would mean that the union won't have to be worried about being replaced with another union, and thus become lazy, unproductive and suck. ALPA is a great indicator of this... they've become too big and now they're totally junk.
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