AlettaOcean just posted facts about the current union leadership at UAL ALPA that are true regardless of whether you read them on “anonymous forums” or elsewhere:

Here is an additional fact: UAL ALPA has been in negotiations since Mar 2018. That’s more than four years. In that entire time, they have failed to file for mediation.

If you understand anything about how the RLA game is played, you understand that is a critical error that robbed your pilot group of the potential for developing the strongest leverage available to labor.

That error can only be the result of two factors: corruption or gross ineptitude. Whether purposely or by stupendous negligence, they have severely undercut your pilot group’s position. They neutered you.

The TA is the result of a corrupt and/or incompetent MEC, NC, and/or union exec’s. Where there is smoke there is fire. And smoke is billowing from the house of UAL ALPA.

 

Definitely got me back on the fence, maybe leaning to the yes side.

Like a modern day Patton, powerful words.

 

It's not fair to be the junior guys who can't get PPU?

It's probably not fair to be a junior guy who gets a bottom line, or a junior guy who can't get the vacation he/she wants too?

It does take time to build and accrue seniority.

A senior LH FO goes to junior CA. It's a brand new world.

Being junior is part of the process. It's taken me 28 years to build some seniority.. I don't feel guilty if I get the occasional SRM trip. May help with all the Christmas/Thanksgiving's I spent away when my kids were little.

NEVER and I mean NEVER begrudge someone who EARNS more than you do. If someone has the seniority to exercise, I think they've earned the right to either take or pass on a SRM opportunity.

The company knows the new "junior mentality." I WANT IT, and I WANT IT NOW. I don't want to wait my turn. I am jealous of you, and I want immediate fairness.

This is a career built upon the concept of delayed gratification.

Just be patient. This pilot shortage will only help us all, but it will only help us all if we are patient and unified in our patience. And, then only then will we be truly rewarded.

If an ENVOY LCA can pull in over 450/HR, then we're doing it wrong. Think about it.

 

He was L CAL. He sucked at the CAL MEC too. Total company suck up.

 

If we're not being paid the VERY VERY BEST. We are doing it wrong.

It's time for this career to pay up.

Think about this career and those that are still working here.

1. We have a few pilots left from the very late 1970's. The deregulation act of 1978. How have those pilots faired? Well, not good. Their wages were crushed from the 1980's through the mid 2000's. They lost over 30% of wages and career expectations. Jimmy Carter wanted to take away monopiles in industry to give passengers more choice. Effect: lower pilot wages. Airfare still as expensive today as it was in the 1970's as adjusted for inflation. Carter was wrong.

2. The pilots hired during the eartly to mid 1980's? Yeah the CAL and UAL strikes! How did that do for wages/retirement?

3. The suck-arse 1990's. No one was hiring. 17 year FO's at American Eagle making 30K a year. Freight dogs making 18K a year. Other commuters starting to hire, FO's making 14K a year.

4. Furloughs of 1995/96. Everyone going backwards, Re-treads sent from mainline back to commuters.

5. Growth in 97/98. Majors hiring. A few small contractual gains.

6. Terrorist Attacks of 2001. Everyone falls down. Industry collapses. Furloughs, bankruptcies, loss of retirements. More wage regression and stagnation. Airline managers aware of coming pilot shortage. Refuse to invest in career or career path. Many prospective airline pilots not interested in earning poverty wages. They stay out!

7. Decade of Doom: 2002-2015. The airline industry in a giant holding pattern. Industry looks for synergies to survive. Mergers. Airlines look for suitable dance partners before the music stops. A few merger contracts result in modest improvements. More pilots staying gout. Cross-training into other careers.

8. 2016 to 2019. Things looking up. Airlines hiring. Pilot unions looking to improve. New hire pilots looking to move on and up, and improve their careers.

9. 2020 Pandemic and possible recession warnings. Current administration not sure how to run an economy. Global security concerns. Pent up travel demand busting out.

10. 2022 Airlines hurry to make deals with labor unions while pandemic crisis and global security still a threat. Management teams realize they may get a "cheap deal now" by rushing it pass their unions, realizing a contract after the midterm elections will be more expensive.


Can't we just understand the cycle? Be patient.

 

Global Health Crisis Events in recent history

Great historical data here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_epidemics

Spanish Flu 1918
London's Killer Fog 1952
Polio Pandemic 1949 to 1952
Ebola: 1952 to 2016 (2007, 2013, 14, 15)
Asian Flu 1957
H3N2: 1968
Hong Kong Flu: 1968 to 1969
Ebola 1976. Outbreaks occur to present day, every 2 to 3 years
1977 Russian Flu
1981- 1991 Measles outbreak
AIDS: 1981- Present
SARS: 2002 to 2004
2009 Swine Flu
2010 to 2014 Whooping Cough
West Africa Ebola 2014-2016
Chinese Corona Virus 2019 to present

A lot more bad world wide/geographical diseases and viruses dating back to ancient times and middle ages.

The Phonecians didn't stop trade and commerce. Those ships kept sailing

Look at the recent history post WWII. Those planes keep flying!

I hate to say "roll tide." But, heck.....Roll Tide. Lets go! Buckle up for some boom times ahead. Be patient! This pandemic will be over soon, and management knows people have this pent up anxiety of sitting home. They want to travel. Do you want to take the peeps on the cheap, or make some money?????

Lets get an awesome contract.

Management trying to scare you into working for cheap. DON'T be bought that easy. Even a French hooker has more self respect than to sell herself on the cheap when times are tough.

COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus. This isn’t the first threatening disease that’s surged around the world — nor will it be the last.

 

We get better contracts by overwhelmingly rejecting lowball offers and telling management that the cost of labor is going up. United has announced a $100 million expansion of the training center, we have 500 aircraft scheduled for delivery, and Kirby needs us onboard for his United Next plan. He desperately needs to attract and retain experienced instructors and LCA’s to train pilots to make this expansion possible. The current book won’t do that. The way to a good contract is to refuse to fund this expansion on the backs of cheap labor and demand significant improvements. We need raises that keep up with inflation (at a minimum), better sick leave accrual, vacation pay, reserve rule improvements, retirement, more pay for people in the training department………….. What we don’t need is a suitcase. I guess we’ll know in a week. If we let this TA pass, then we deserve what is in it.

 

This is a joke right?

I don’t think for a minute the company will get add pay right. Pay claims are backed up months as it is and you honestly believe you can just “show up and get paid?” I have some ocean front property in Arizona to sell you.

This TA guts our QOWL for both reserves and lineholders. The few protections we had are gutted. We already have the earliest day 1 show in the majors and this TA gives that away. AMR is 2nd worst at 12 noon but you’re willing to give away the 10am show and now can’t even be out on the lake on your last DAY OFF since you have to check your schedule before 5pm. Lineholders now become ready reserves every time they go through a domicile since untriggered reassignments move from step 5 to step 2 and lose the 125% add pay. Oh boy if I lose a long layover I bid on I get 1 hr of add pay lol.

I haven’t met an LCA that’s for this as they’re giving up their DH and rigs paid as an LCA. Most think it’ll be a pay cut for them as much of their work is Line Checks. The only time they see a raise is on pure IOE work.

Finally it’s a 9.5% pay raise. Essentially this years inflation only. 5% is already bought and paid for with SK already saying this is going to be the most revenue in UALs history reported 4 days after the vote closes. That will start the clock for our 5%.

 

If this thing passes, it will have the opposite effect on training that the company envisions. When LCA’s no longer get paid for the trip when deadheading around conducting line checks and fed rides, their willingness to do so will evaporate. If this passes I’d expect the backlog for line checks to pile up and then management asking for a LOA that corrects LCA pay issues. Staffing the training department is our real leverage. Why we’re willing to ignore that and get a much better deal is beyond me.

 

Manpower Update: Despite the Summer Solstice having come and gone last week, and our team turning its attention to planning for Q4, we’re still very much in the thick of summer travel. We are connecting high volumes of customers to their life’s most important moments. Thank you for your frontline leadership role in executing our collective mission.

Translation: Pilots have leverage. Lets friggin use it.