|
The Tumi TA: Time to Unpack the Mess
The Tumi TA: Time to Unpack the Mess
Have you ever seen a United pilot toting a Tumi bag? I haven’t. Apparently, the Negotiating Committee thought we would love them. How could the Master Chairman and the Negotiating Committee get it so wrong? How could they be so out of touch? The answer is relatively simple, they have all been focused on the wrong goal. A substance of a shiny new contract to the line pilot is different than the substance of a shiny new contract to a future ALPA National presidential candidate. Many pilots don’t realize that the Negotiating Committee works directly for the Master Chairman, so while our displeasure is often directed toward that committee, they are merely an extension of the MEC Chairman. They do what he or she directs them to do because the Master Chairman is the MEC when the MEC is not in session. The current MEC Chairman and his immediate predecessor are directly responsible for this mess, trading away contractual provisions that guarantee safety and quality of life, as well as tangible benefits, in exchange for pieces of silver. In this particular situation, the majority of the LEC representatives have been focused on getting our former Master Chairman elected to ALPA National president next Fall. They have been so focused on this singular campaign that they have neglected their most basic and essential responsibilities at the MEC, that of watchdogging the MEC officers and committees. The company’s gift to our most important union representative, our Master Chairman and UAL BOD member, worth millions of dollars, should have raised eyebrows. Reading the fine print, a diligent pilot discovered the “gift” in a large, SEC filing. The Master Chairman and his sycophants denied knowledge of the gift. Some even argued he should keep it. To this day, the MEC has put out no information indicating whether the former chairman still has this massive benefit. A gift of this nature undermines the trust the pilots place in their elected union officials. It creates many concerns, and on the heels of it we have this TA. Considering the history of the last six years, this was inevitable. Many saw it coming. Many ignored it, and many worked to silence voices who were trying to warn us. The various forums were and still are coopted by operatives who banned unionists from speaking their minds. Freedom of speech on the union shop floor is highly protected, and our highest union officials should make protecting that freedom one of their highest priorities, even when that speech doesn’t benefit them. Some LEC council officers have threatened other council officers in order to protect the MEC machine. We have seen committee members who raised questions or who vigorously defended our contract voted out of their positions. We saw fake Facebook profiles act to support the MEC, attacking those who questioned the Master Chairman or the machine. Our entire MEC was aware of these reprehensible actions. The matter was brought to ALPA National. A call for an investigation was brushed aside. How ironic it is that just last night the MEC Professional Standards Chairman said, “Urban Dictionary defines ‘Catfishing’ as: the phenomenon of internet predators that fabricate online identities and entire social circles to trick people . . . I had never heard of a situation such as this before.” Yes, he has. This is the arrogance of our leadership and of the machine. It claims integrity, superiority, and righteousness, but it has none. Judge them by their actions—not their words. What about those on the MEC who were trying to do the right thing? First, there aren’t many. That’s because when responsible members of the MEC demanded accountability, they were “voted off the island.” You’re with us or you’re against us was the order of the day. Responsible MECs of the past demanded accountability from the officers and Negotiating Committees and encouraged dissent in order to get the best product available. How do I know? I’ve worked directly for or with every MEC Chairman since 1985 (the current and former Chairmen when they were in different positions). In almost thirty-eight years as a UAL ALPA member, I have never witnessed this level of sycophancy, patronage, and “by any means necessary,” to achieve a single goal of the ALPA national presidency. It is the same group think mentality that caused two Space Shuttle disasters. It is devoid of CRM and responsible leadership. It is stunning and dangerous, and in organizations like NASA it led to complete house cleaning of upper-level managers. There are members of the Negotiating Committee/Contract Interpretation Committee who haven’t flown a regular or full line schedule in over twenty years. It’s no mystery that they’re out of touch. It would be naďve to believe they understand your day-to-day experiences and struggles under the current contract. Union work is supposed to be volunteer work. How many “volunteers” have been shielded in the ivory tower of the MEC Office by full time flight loss pay? How many total hours do they have since they were hired? To be effective at representing pilots, you have to be in touch with them. You have to be a pilot, and I don’t mean holding a type rating and a medical. Sadly, our MEC has turned into a ravenous machine tooled strictly to ensure every action it takes is focused on the goal of getting positions at ALPA National. Now we see what that has gotten us. Failure. There is nothing inherently wrong with having a national president from our MEC, a United pilot, but it is not worth, to the average line pilot, what many make it out to be. It provides some level of clout, maybe the tip of a scale on a rare issue, but very little in terms of real value for anyone other than those elected and their friends who follow them to Washington. Who on our MEC would be handed positions at National if we took the presidency? Look to those who have most vehemently argued for this TA as well as defended the MEC over the last few years. We start to rebuild by being honest with ourselves. We clean house and start at the top. Just like NASA would do. The house-cleaning must include those who enabled this mess from the beginning, and it must include the MEC Officers who have had a hand in all this mess, as well as the Negotiating Committee. Pay special attention to those who attempt to turn these views around on the author or attack those who defend my words. Those are the enablers and sycophants that caused us to be where we are today. There will be LEC representatives and committee volunteers with excuses. They may offer mea culpas. These may be sincere, and they might deserve your forgiveness, but they do not deserve your continued trust as representatives. They have failed in their custodial responsibilities. They will continue to go along and get along when the Negotiating Committee and Master Chairman bring you the next just-good-enough TA that they think they can get passed with fifty-percent plus one. They didn’t have the guts to speak the truth when it was needed, so we should thank them and ask them to move on. Then there are those who have defended and will continue to defend the TA. We’ve seen letters from such representatives in LECs. They should be shown the way back to the line without delay. They believe you don’t deserve anything better than this TA. Our new Master Chairman is no different from our former Master Chairman. In fact, he’s his hand-picked successor, put in place to further the ALPA National political aspiration. If you don’t believe this, read Chairman Insler’s words from his farewell letter (emphasis mine): “Captain Mike Hamilton, who served as my trusted Executive Administrator for the last four years . . . will continue building on the foundation that we have laid.” Our MEC Chairman was handpicked by the former. I can’t recall a case of such blatant, orchestrated successorship in MEC history. In his initial letter to the pilots, our new Master Chairman wrote: “Our top priority remains reaching an industry leading contract that protects scope, improves work rules—especially for reserves, and improves pay and benefits across the entire seniority list.” Why in the world would all of these people be so eager to see us pass this TA? In the simplest terms, having a contract—any contract—on his resume in two months at the ALPA National elections would help our former chairman win the presidency. He gets a million dollar a year job with a pension, his friends are rewarded with positions, and you get the Tumi TA as a contract. If you believe you deserve better in a contract than just being a stepping stone for those with political aspirations, here’s what you can do: 1) Never forget that this is YOUR union. 2) Barrage your representatives with phone calls and emails and make them understand that they need to recall the negotiating committee immediately. 3) If they argue and resist, demand again that they recall the negotiating committee. 4) If they continue to resist, begin immediate recalls of these officers. 5) Finally, demand that the Negotiating Committee be recalled. 6) Then it is time to look at the MEC officers. Take your union back. |
Keep up the good work!
|
+1
Filler…… |
Great post. That's about all I can say.
|
Originally Posted by AlettaOcean
(Post 3453091)
The Tumi TA: Time to Unpack the Mess
Have you ever seen a United pilot toting a Tumi bag? I haven’t. Apparently, the Negotiating Committee thought we would love them. How could the Master Chairman and the Negotiating Committee get it so wrong? How could they be so out of touch? The answer is relatively simple, they have all been focused on the wrong goal. A substance of a shiny new contract to the line pilot is different than the substance of a shiny new contract to a future ALPA National presidential candidate. Many pilots don’t realize that the Negotiating Committee works directly for the Master Chairman, so while our displeasure is often directed toward that committee, they are merely an extension of the MEC Chairman. They do what he or she directs them to do because the Master Chairman is the MEC when the MEC is not in session. The current MEC Chairman and his immediate predecessor are directly responsible for this mess, trading away contractual provisions that guarantee safety and quality of life, as well as tangible benefits, in exchange for pieces of silver. In this particular situation, the majority of the LEC representatives have been focused on getting our former Master Chairman elected to ALPA National president next Fall. They have been so focused on this singular campaign that they have neglected their most basic and essential responsibilities at the MEC, that of watchdogging the MEC officers and committees. The company’s gift to our most important union representative, our Master Chairman and UAL BOD member, worth millions of dollars, should have raised eyebrows. Reading the fine print, a diligent pilot discovered the “gift” in a large, SEC filing. The Master Chairman and his sycophants denied knowledge of the gift. Some even argued he should keep it. To this day, the MEC has put out no information indicating whether the former chairman still has this massive benefit. A gift of this nature undermines the trust the pilots place in their elected union officials. It creates many concerns, and on the heels of it we have this TA. Considering the history of the last six years, this was inevitable. Many saw it coming. Many ignored it, and many worked to silence voices who were trying to warn us. The various forums were and still are coopted by operatives who banned unionists from speaking their minds. Freedom of speech on the union shop floor is highly protected, and our highest union officials should make protecting that freedom one of their highest priorities, even when that speech doesn’t benefit them. Some LEC council officers have threatened other council officers in order to protect the MEC machine. We have seen committee members who raised questions or who vigorously defended our contract voted out of their positions. We saw fake Facebook profiles act to support the MEC, attacking those who questioned the Master Chairman or the machine. Our entire MEC was aware of these reprehensible actions. The matter was brought to ALPA National. A call for an investigation was brushed aside. How ironic it is that just last night the MEC Professional Standards Chairman said, “Urban Dictionary defines ‘Catfishing’ as: the phenomenon of internet predators that fabricate online identities and entire social circles to trick people . . . I had never heard of a situation such as this before.” Yes, he has. This is the arrogance of our leadership and of the machine. It claims integrity, superiority, and righteousness, but it has none. Judge them by their actions—not their words. What about those on the MEC who were trying to do the right thing? First, there aren’t many. That’s because when responsible members of the MEC demanded accountability, they were “voted off the island.” You’re with us or you’re against us was the order of the day. Responsible MECs of the past demanded accountability from the officers and Negotiating Committees and encouraged dissent in order to get the best product available. How do I know? I’ve worked directly for or with every MEC Chairman since 1985 (the current and former Chairmen when they were in different positions). In almost thirty-eight years as a UAL ALPA member, I have never witnessed this level of sycophancy, patronage, and “by any means necessary,” to achieve a single goal of the ALPA national presidency. It is the same group think mentality that caused two Space Shuttle disasters. It is devoid of CRM and responsible leadership. It is stunning and dangerous, and in organizations like NASA it led to complete house cleaning of upper-level managers. There are members of the Negotiating Committee/Contract Interpretation Committee who haven’t flown a regular or full line schedule in over twenty years. It’s no mystery that they’re out of touch. It would be naďve to believe they understand your day-to-day experiences and struggles under the current contract. Union work is supposed to be volunteer work. How many “volunteers” have been shielded in the ivory tower of the MEC Office by full time flight loss pay? How many total hours do they have since they were hired? To be effective at representing pilots, you have to be in touch with them. You have to be a pilot, and I don’t mean holding a type rating and a medical. Sadly, our MEC has turned into a ravenous machine tooled strictly to ensure every action it takes is focused on the goal of getting positions at ALPA National. Now we see what that has gotten us. Failure. There is nothing inherently wrong with having a national president from our MEC, a United pilot, but it is not worth, to the average line pilot, what many make it out to be. It provides some level of clout, maybe the tip of a scale on a rare issue, but very little in terms of real value for anyone other than those elected and their friends who follow them to Washington. Who on our MEC would be handed positions at National if we took the presidency? Look to those who have most vehemently argued for this TA as well as defended the MEC over the last few years. We start to rebuild by being honest with ourselves. We clean house and start at the top. Just like NASA would do. The house-cleaning must include those who enabled this mess from the beginning, and it must include the MEC Officers who have had a hand in all this mess, as well as the Negotiating Committee. Pay special attention to those who attempt to turn these views around on the author or attack those who defend my words. Those are the enablers and sycophants that caused us to be where we are today. There will be LEC representatives and committee volunteers with excuses. They may offer mea culpas. These may be sincere, and they might deserve your forgiveness, but they do not deserve your continued trust as representatives. They have failed in their custodial responsibilities. They will continue to go along and get along when the Negotiating Committee and Master Chairman bring you the next just-good-enough TA that they think they can get passed with fifty-percent plus one. They didn’t have the guts to speak the truth when it was needed, so we should thank them and ask them to move on. Then there are those who have defended and will continue to defend the TA. We’ve seen letters from such representatives in LECs. They should be shown the way back to the line without delay. They believe you don’t deserve anything better than this TA. Our new Master Chairman is no different from our former Master Chairman. In fact, he’s his hand-picked successor, put in place to further the ALPA National political aspiration. If you don’t believe this, read Chairman Insler’s words from his farewell letter (emphasis mine): “Captain Mike Hamilton, who served as my trusted Executive Administrator for the last four years . . . will continue building on the foundation that we have laid.” Our MEC Chairman was handpicked by the former. I can’t recall a case of such blatant, orchestrated successorship in MEC history. In his initial letter to the pilots, our new Master Chairman wrote: “Our top priority remains reaching an industry leading contract that protects scope, improves work rules—especially for reserves, and improves pay and benefits across the entire seniority list.” Why in the world would all of these people be so eager to see us pass this TA? In the simplest terms, having a contract—any contract—on his resume in two months at the ALPA National elections would help our former chairman win the presidency. He gets a million dollar a year job with a pension, his friends are rewarded with positions, and you get the Tumi TA as a contract. If you believe you deserve better in a contract than just being a stepping stone for those with political aspirations, here’s what you can do: 1) Never forget that this is YOUR union. 2) Barrage your representatives with phone calls and emails and make them understand that they need to recall the negotiating committee immediately. 3) If they argue and resist, demand again that they recall the negotiating committee. 4) If they continue to resist, begin immediate recalls of these officers. 5) Finally, demand that the Negotiating Committee be recalled. 6) Then it is time to look at the MEC officers. Take your union back. Excellent post and history lesson. As a retired 1990 hire, this is required reading for all of our new folks. |
“Our top priority remains reaching an industry leading contract that protects scope, improves work rules—especially for reserves, and improves pay and benefits across the entire seniority list.” - MC Mike Hamilton
Funny how TA2022 accomplishes exactly the OPPOSITE of this statement. Scope weakened by extra weight for CRJ. Work rules weakened by reassignment rules. Reserve made worse by 0600 on first day. Pay not commensurate with inflation. Benefits with higher costs to pilots. I guess that’s what happens when management writes the agreements and you sign them. This is CORRUPTION at the highest level. |
I think scope was weakened more by allowing non SL instructors than the 550 weight increase. Neither is good though. When we were surveyed last decade, I said any decrease in scope was a no vote for me. So I voted no.
|
Originally Posted by AlettaOcean
(Post 3453299)
“Our top priority remains reaching an industry leading contract that protects scope, improves work rules—especially for reserves, and improves pay and benefits across the entire seniority list.” - MC Mike Hamilton
Funny how TA2022 accomplishes exactly the OPPOSITE of this statement. Scope weakened by extra weight for CRJ. Work rules weakened by reassignment rules. Reserve made worse by 0600 on first day. Pay not commensurate with inflation. Benefits with higher costs to pilots. I guess that’s what happens when management writes the agreements and you sign them. This is CORRUPTION at the highest level. Personally if I was Scott Kirby, I would be extremely disappointed with both Mike and Brian Quigley. It’s the equivalent of Putin‘s generals telling him that taking over the Ukraine will be no problem. I would be trusting in those individuals to create an agreement that could lock in labor for his growth plan. Kirby wants to win, I don’t think he has the same adversarial view of pilots as Tilton, Smisek etc; his ambition is far larger than a golden parachute. This just cost him a bunch of time and will definitely have operational consequences this summer |
Does anyone one know how to get a discount on the that Tumi bag? I was really looking forward to it.
|
Originally Posted by Mudge
(Post 3453318)
Does anyone one know how to get a discount on the that Tumi bag? I was really looking forward to it.
|
Originally Posted by Chowdah
(Post 3453310)
Most of your writing is a little over the top for me, but I agree with all the bullet points except for the last one. This isn’t corruption, it’s just a lack of huevos. I think Mike Hamilton would like to achieve the objectives he puts forth, what’s good for the gander is good for the goose in this scenario, but I don’t think he knows how to do that and therefore should go.
Personally if I was Scott Kirby, I would be extremely disappointed with both Mike and Brian Quigley. It’s the equivalent of Putin‘s generals telling him that taking over the Ukraine will be no problem. I would be trusting in those individuals to create an agreement that could lock in labor for his growth plan. Kirby wants to win, I don’t think he has the same adversarial view of pilots as Tilton, Smisek etc; his ambition is far larger than a golden parachute. This just cost him a bunch of time and will definitely have operational consequences this summer I don't understand how some of the NC staff from 2012 is still there. They didn't do a great job on our last contract and they did a horrible job on this one. If they're not immediately fired after the TA voting closes, I will be ticked off. I've spent more than a few years on reserve and I was aghast that the NC was calling an earlier reserve report time as an improvement for the rest of the reserve block. That's totally clueless on their part - complete incompetence. Both pilots and the company play games on reserves. The company has several very easy workarounds to the FIFO list that anyone who's lived this stuff daily knows and what counters are available as one with a reserve line. This is our DALPA 2015 moment; not much different than the total housecleaning they had to do. |
Originally Posted by Andy
(Post 3453332)
I'd mostly agree with your statement. I agree that this wasn't corruption. The Peter Principle comes to mind, as does the Stockholm Syndrome. We had guys that have lived the full time ALPA life for far too long. That needs to go; a total cleanout of 'lifer' ALPA people at United and replaced with people who have spent a lot of time flying the line. They were and are totally clueless of how us line swine live.
I don't understand how some of the NC staff from 2012 is still there. They didn't do a great job on our last contract and they did a horrible job on this one. If they're not immediately fired after the TA voting closes, I will be ticked off. I've spent more than a few years on reserve and I was aghast that the NC was calling an earlier reserve report time as an improvement for the rest of the reserve block. That's totally clueless on their part - complete incompetence. Both pilots and the company play games on reserves. The company has several very easy workarounds to the FIFO list that anyone who's lived this stuff daily knows and what counters are available as one with a reserve line. This is our DALPA 2015 moment; not much different than the total housecleaning they had to do. way past time for him to go |
Originally Posted by C11DCA
(Post 3453398)
Even worse is Brad H has been on the NC/Contract implementation team since at least 2006!!!!
way past time for him to go |
Originally Posted by C11DCA
(Post 3453398)
Even worse is Brad H has been on the NC/Contract implementation team since at least 2006!!!!
way past time for him to go |
But guys/gals. We're talking about a Tumi! How can we roll this into TA2?
|
Originally Posted by AlettaOcean
(Post 3453474)
You’re just not seeing it from the company’s point of view.
Why aren’t you mad at the company for pushing forward this TA? |
Originally Posted by StewBlu
(Post 3453479)
Why aren’t you mad at the company for pushing forward this TA?
|
Originally Posted by C11DCA
(Post 3453398)
Even worse is Brad H has been on the NC/Contract implementation team since at least 2006!!!!
way past time for him to go It has been reported that some people in ALPA leadership that have been at UAL for 25 years (never furloughed) only have 2,500 hours of flight time at United. That is easy math… 100 hours a year? We need to clean house in ALPA. It starts with their CCS Qual screen. If you haven’t flown the line you aren’t qualified to lead us. It’s as simple as that. LJD |
Originally Posted by JoePatroni
(Post 3453557)
I expect the company to try and lowball me….not my own union.
That makes sense. It sounds like you’re “seeing it from the company’s point of view”… |
Originally Posted by JoePatroni
(Post 3453557)
I expect the company to try and lowball me….not my own union.
|
TA2
What's the best way to message our counter? Where/when do we ask the union for polling as they relate to TA2 changes and that are relevant to today's line flying and benefits? They were clearly out of touch with our side. While I want to help management streamline and remedy shortcomings, there appears to be a severe shortcoming in what we'd expect in return. We need unified messaging of what is acceptable.
|
Originally Posted by AlettaOcean
(Post 3453091)
The Tumi TA: Time to Unpack the Mess
Have you ever seen a United pilot toting a Tumi bag? I haven’t. Apparently, the Negotiating Committee thought we would love them. How could the Master Chairman and the Negotiating Committee get it so wrong? How could they be so out of touch? The answer is relatively simple, they have all been focused on the wrong goal. A substance of a shiny new contract to the line pilot is different than the substance of a shiny new contract to a future ALPA National presidential candidate. Many pilots don’t realize that the Negotiating Committee works directly for the Master Chairman, so while our displeasure is often directed toward that committee, they are merely an extension of the MEC Chairman. They do what he or she directs them to do because the Master Chairman is the MEC when the MEC is not in session. The current MEC Chairman and his immediate predecessor are directly responsible for this mess, trading away contractual provisions that guarantee safety and quality of life, as well as tangible benefits, in exchange for pieces of silver. In this particular situation, the majority of the LEC representatives have been focused on getting our former Master Chairman elected to ALPA National president next Fall. They have been so focused on this singular campaign that they have neglected their most basic and essential responsibilities at the MEC, that of watchdogging the MEC officers and committees. The company’s gift to our most important union representative, our Master Chairman and UAL BOD member, worth millions of dollars, should have raised eyebrows. Reading the fine print, a diligent pilot discovered the “gift” in a large, SEC filing. The Master Chairman and his sycophants denied knowledge of the gift. Some even argued he should keep it. To this day, the MEC has put out no information indicating whether the former chairman still has this massive benefit. A gift of this nature undermines the trust the pilots place in their elected union officials. It creates many concerns, and on the heels of it we have this TA. Considering the history of the last six years, this was inevitable. Many saw it coming. Many ignored it, and many worked to silence voices who were trying to warn us. The various forums were and still are coopted by operatives who banned unionists from speaking their minds. Freedom of speech on the union shop floor is highly protected, and our highest union officials should make protecting that freedom one of their highest priorities, even when that speech doesn’t benefit them. Some LEC council officers have threatened other council officers in order to protect the MEC machine. We have seen committee members who raised questions or who vigorously defended our contract voted out of their positions. We saw fake Facebook profiles act to support the MEC, attacking those who questioned the Master Chairman or the machine. Our entire MEC was aware of these reprehensible actions. The matter was brought to ALPA National. A call for an investigation was brushed aside. How ironic it is that just last night the MEC Professional Standards Chairman said, “Urban Dictionary defines ‘Catfishing’ as: the phenomenon of internet predators that fabricate online identities and entire social circles to trick people . . . I had never heard of a situation such as this before.” Yes, he has. This is the arrogance of our leadership and of the machine. It claims integrity, superiority, and righteousness, but it has none. Judge them by their actions—not their words. What about those on the MEC who were trying to do the right thing? First, there aren’t many. That’s because when responsible members of the MEC demanded accountability, they were “voted off the island.” You’re with us or you’re against us was the order of the day. Responsible MECs of the past demanded accountability from the officers and Negotiating Committees and encouraged dissent in order to get the best product available. How do I know? I’ve worked directly for or with every MEC Chairman since 1985 (the current and former Chairmen when they were in different positions). In almost thirty-eight years as a UAL ALPA member, I have never witnessed this level of sycophancy, patronage, and “by any means necessary,” to achieve a single goal of the ALPA national presidency. It is the same group think mentality that caused two Space Shuttle disasters. It is devoid of CRM and responsible leadership. It is stunning and dangerous, and in organizations like NASA it led to complete house cleaning of upper-level managers. There are members of the Negotiating Committee/Contract Interpretation Committee who haven’t flown a regular or full line schedule in over twenty years. It’s no mystery that they’re out of touch. It would be naďve to believe they understand your day-to-day experiences and struggles under the current contract. Union work is supposed to be volunteer work. How many “volunteers” have been shielded in the ivory tower of the MEC Office by full time flight loss pay? How many total hours do they have since they were hired? To be effective at representing pilots, you have to be in touch with them. You have to be a pilot, and I don’t mean holding a type rating and a medical. Sadly, our MEC has turned into a ravenous machine tooled strictly to ensure every action it takes is focused on the goal of getting positions at ALPA National. Now we see what that has gotten us. Failure. There is nothing inherently wrong with having a national president from our MEC, a United pilot, but it is not worth, to the average line pilot, what many make it out to be. It provides some level of clout, maybe the tip of a scale on a rare issue, but very little in terms of real value for anyone other than those elected and their friends who follow them to Washington. Who on our MEC would be handed positions at National if we took the presidency? Look to those who have most vehemently argued for this TA as well as defended the MEC over the last few years. We start to rebuild by being honest with ourselves. We clean house and start at the top. Just like NASA would do. The house-cleaning must include those who enabled this mess from the beginning, and it must include the MEC Officers who have had a hand in all this mess, as well as the Negotiating Committee. Pay special attention to those who attempt to turn these views around on the author or attack those who defend my words. Those are the enablers and sycophants that caused us to be where we are today. There will be LEC representatives and committee volunteers with excuses. They may offer mea culpas. These may be sincere, and they might deserve your forgiveness, but they do not deserve your continued trust as representatives. They have failed in their custodial responsibilities. They will continue to go along and get along when the Negotiating Committee and Master Chairman bring you the next just-good-enough TA that they think they can get passed with fifty-percent plus one. They didn’t have the guts to speak the truth when it was needed, so we should thank them and ask them to move on. Then there are those who have defended and will continue to defend the TA. We’ve seen letters from such representatives in LECs. They should be shown the way back to the line without delay. They believe you don’t deserve anything better than this TA. Our new Master Chairman is no different from our former Master Chairman. In fact, he’s his hand-picked successor, put in place to further the ALPA National political aspiration. If you don’t believe this, read Chairman Insler’s words from his farewell letter (emphasis mine): “Captain Mike Hamilton, who served as my trusted Executive Administrator for the last four years . . . will continue building on the foundation that we have laid.” Our MEC Chairman was handpicked by the former. I can’t recall a case of such blatant, orchestrated successorship in MEC history. In his initial letter to the pilots, our new Master Chairman wrote: “Our top priority remains reaching an industry leading contract that protects scope, improves work rules—especially for reserves, and improves pay and benefits across the entire seniority list.” Why in the world would all of these people be so eager to see us pass this TA? In the simplest terms, having a contract—any contract—on his resume in two months at the ALPA National elections would help our former chairman win the presidency. He gets a million dollar a year job with a pension, his friends are rewarded with positions, and you get the Tumi TA as a contract. If you believe you deserve better in a contract than just being a stepping stone for those with political aspirations, here’s what you can do: 1) Never forget that this is YOUR union. 2) Barrage your representatives with phone calls and emails and make them understand that they need to recall the negotiating committee immediately. 3) If they argue and resist, demand again that they recall the negotiating committee. 4) If they continue to resist, begin immediate recalls of these officers. 5) Finally, demand that the Negotiating Committee be recalled. 6) Then it is time to look at the MEC officers. Take your union back. |
Use market solutions first in cases like the reserve rules. They think ad pay will solve that problem? They’re probably right, but the number of hours is probably closer to 3 or 4 than 1. It’s still better than paying out a whole trip at 100% for the company and allows pilots to pick up some extra cash on reserve. Trying to backstop this change by then moving the availability to 0600 was greedy and a tell that they didn’t think 1-2 hours of add pay was enough (spoiler alert: it wasn’t). Hogs get slaughtered.
Another thing that bothered me was the 8 weeks of leave for birthing pilots. I’m new here, but I thought that was such a small get. Honestly I was surprised it wasn’t already in there. What percentage of the pilots does this effect? Want to be an industry leader? How about 4 weeks paid for the non-birthing pilot (including adoption) and 8 weeks for a birthing pilot. This seems like the bare minimum for a company that purportedly cares about their people. |
Expect turbulence ahead. There will probably be motions to recall various union reps & replace the NC over this. (I for one am of the mind that the way things played out preclude further NC activity w/ the full faith of the pilot group.) How that all plays out is anyone’s guess, but once the dust settles, there will likely be multiple polls by the new representatives (or a chastened NC) before negotiations resume in earnest.
|
Make maternity leave…paternity leave.
No to scope No to reserve changes before 10am day one. Add pay double what’s offered. |
Originally Posted by Finessed
(Post 3453779)
You call this a lowball offer? What AA management just did was a lowball offer to kick off negotiations. Scottie just sent a big FU package to your door with a “Read It And Weep” TA inside. Yeah you have two big problems Joe, your representation sucks but so does your management.
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Originally Posted by Finessed
(Post 3453779)
You call this a lowball offer? What AA management just did was a lowball offer to kick off negotiations. Scottie just sent a big FU package to your door with a “Read It And Weep” TA inside. Yeah you have two big problems Joe, your representation sucks but so does your management.
The overtime provision I’m sure was quite expensive to negotiate… But if you asked any pilot if they would trade our scope on the 550 or our PI‘s for that, you would get a resounding NO (as the vote will show) Or if you asked most reserves if they would rather have a shorter, later showing work block, but be messed with for four days or have a longer work block but more predictability within said block… almost all would choose the former. Not understanding what the early upgrades or the 777 pilots were going through because of the Pratt issues, is the epitome of the issue here: their priorities were completely screwed up. I’m sure the TA was worth a significant amount of money, but the union completely miss managed our priorities. I honestly don’t know how you fault Kirby for any of this. Except that he put his trust in people that did not deliver him close to palatable TA |
RSV with industry leading days off. 13-14 minimum
16 seems better VDO to improve coverage |
Originally Posted by nfo99
(Post 3453849)
RSV with industry leading days off. 13-14 minimum
16 seems better VDO to improve coverage |
Originally Posted by ytumama
(Post 3453817)
Use market solutions first in cases like the reserve rules. They think ad pay will solve that problem? They’re probably right, but the number of hours is probably closer to 3 or 4 than 1. It’s still better than paying out a whole trip at 100% for the company and allows pilots to pick up some extra cash on reserve. Trying to backstop this change by then moving the availability to 0600 was greedy and a tell that they didn’t think 1-2 hours of add pay was enough (spoiler alert: it wasn’t). Hogs get slaughtered.
The whole TA stinks of this. The add pay is always both an incentive and a penalty, and it's fixed. The company has 100% control! If we're going to allow cost variability in the form of add pay, don't give them control of it! Give them control of the price and give us control of our schedule. Better, give them control of my schedule and I'll set the price lol! That's how you divide up cost variability in an equitable manner. Then answer how much variability do you want and which demographics might benefit and how to spread the opportunities. These parts are where we can give and take with the company. But for the sake of everything holy don't give them control of both add pay and schedule. That's what being exploited looks like. |
Originally Posted by Chowdah
(Post 3453857)
Money is one thing to negotiate, but bodies are another. This a finite resource that the company cannot negotiate away. If they do, it would have as many negative consequences for us (long term) as for them. Money on the other hand (retirement, LTD, PPU rates, hourly, vacation, sick bank, etc) is essentially infinite from our standpoint.
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Don’t forget This was crafted this back in 2018/2019 pre Covid. Look at the list of Company wants…They darn well complied with most things the company wanted. For pennies! We were sold out. The ones sitting up in the MEC and NC have not and do not have our best interests.
This was the “Right Contract for the Right Time”? Something that was asked for pre Covid, pre inflation. Back when everything was “GME to the moon and NFTs” the company wanted this. It wasn’t because of Covid or the doom & gloom economy. No it was a sell out from the top and the must resign or be recalled! |
Originally Posted by Chowdah
(Post 3453857)
Money is one thing to negotiate, but bodies are another. This a finite resource that the company cannot negotiate away. If they do, it would have as many negative consequences for us (long term) as for them. Money on the other hand (retirement, LTD, PPU rates, hourly, vacation, sick bank, etc) is essentially infinite from our standpoint.
Overwork people and decrease QOL and they'll get less bodies. If there aren't enough bodies to fully staff the flights then it's time to cut back on flights and charge more money to the customers. Given the amount of passenger traffic this summer, it's clear that ticket prices are too low. But these aren't my problems to solve. FUPM. |
Originally Posted by Mudge
(Post 3453782)
What's the best way to message our counter?
With all the teeth clinching and recall talk, it’ll be a year before we have a functional MEC, then, we’ll see how willing the company is to negotiate. If we’re even close before 2024 it’ll be a miracle. Don’t worry about sending anything to the union, I think they know to poll us now. |
Originally Posted by StewBlu
(Post 3453453)
I don’t disagree entirely that some of these folks are out of touch. However, we have to be careful about losing the institutional knowledge that they have as a consequence of being in their roles for as long as they have.
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Originally Posted by Andy
(Post 3453890)
Pay more and they'll get more bodies.
Overwork people and decrease QOL and they'll get less bodies. If there aren't enough bodies to fully staff the flights then it's time to cut back on flights and charge more money to the customers. Given the amount of passenger traffic this summer, it's clear that ticket prices are too low. But these aren't my problems to solve. FUPM. In the same way if we are enjoying a growing, profitable airline that is expanding its footprint across the world and has growth opportunity for the pilots as well as plenty of premium pay… is it gonna be hard to keep having the leverage we have if pilot supply was keeping up with demand. The reason we are here at this inflection point, is because there are not enough bodies in the system. That will likely change in the next 10 years, but I would take Delta and their morale has a great learning lesson. They have a good contract, make a lot of money, but are a stagnant airline that is not growing, and puts a higher premium on their margins, then their marketshare. If you look at our ticket prices right now, I don’t think the yield and generating money is an issue. But if we really want to restrict their ability to grow (through lower reserve and line pilot utilization), which of course is an option, I think that may have some negative effects for us as well. I don’t know the right answer, but I would be careful just throwing out road-blocks to the company, and saying it’s not our problem. “Hurdles” are one thing, such as where they allocate their profits and directing more of it to our pockets, but “roadblocks” that are actual preventative measures on growth, are another |
The CRJ550 scope provision was insulting. That's an airplane the company cooked up to get around our EXISTING scope clause. It has issues and they want UAL pilots to pay for the fix? Good lord that's rich. GTFO!! I was "HELL NO" when I read that alone.
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Originally Posted by Finessed
(Post 3453779)
You call this a lowball offer? What AA management just did was a lowball offer to kick off negotiations. Scottie just sent a big FU package to your door with a “Read It And Weep” TA inside. Yeah you have two big problems Joe, your representation sucks but so does your management.
If we limp across the line with 60/40 NO we will have shown that we can be bought. It is important that we collectively vote thos down. |
Originally Posted by bottoms up
(Post 3453881)
Don’t forget This was crafted this back in 2018/2019 pre Covid. Look at the list of Company wants…They darn well complied with most things the company wanted. For pennies! We were sold out. The ones sitting up in the MEC and NC have not and do not have our best interests.
This was the “Right Contract for the Right Time”? Something that was asked for pre Covid, pre inflation. Back when everything was “GME to the moon and NFTs” the company wanted this. It wasn’t because of Covid or the doom & gloom economy. No it was a sell out from the top and the must resign or be recalled! |
Originally Posted by Mudge
(Post 3453782)
What's the best way to message our counter? Where/when do we ask the union for polling as they relate to TA2 changes and that are relevant to today's line flying and benefits? They were clearly out of touch with our side. While I want to help management streamline and remedy shortcomings, there appears to be a severe shortcoming in what we'd expect in return. We need unified messaging of what is acceptable.
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