We have the worst reserve rules in the industry.

We voted in union leadership years ago that was more pro-company and more dishonest than SK. Think about that for a moment.

A PIC at a ULCC comes here to a commuting gig in a WB on reserve for 2 years while having a contract that is years upon years overdue, with a pilot group that doesn’t seem to have a good handle on the collective labor movement as a whole.

There is a lot of risk here for someone that already has an adequate career. United has a lot of wonderful things, but some aspects of the company, union and outlook are disappointing.

Predicting that ULCCs are unsustainable and will go BK? That’s a bold move considering the UAL history. Time will tell if we can learn from our mistakes and have some humility in the future.

 

This is not an issue that’s limited to UA.

I’ve become more and more convinced that pilots in general do not possess the constitution necessary to fully exploit the leverage available to them. The most powerful leverage available to pilots today is the ability to pose the credible threat of, and if necessary, actually using the self help tools made available to us under the RLA.

Unfortunately, however, the overwhelming majority of pilots I’m familiar with are uber-conservative, both politically and otherwise. Whatever the merits are or are not of those conservative values in general, when it comes to the domain of organized labor and extracting worth from our professional skills, those values seem to play the role of a pair of concrete boots.

Maybe staunchly upholding those perceived conservative values by refusing to engage all of the socialistic-ish levers of the RLA is worth lower career compensation, poorer work rules, lesser benefits, and smaller retirement accounts than we otherwise could obtain. Maybe America is a better place as a result of major airline pilots declining to fully engage in the collective labor movement.

Whatever the case, until a majority of pilots can shed the notion that “organized labor” and “unionism” are somehow associated with “socialism” and “anti-Americanism,” I expect to see continued mediocre results across the major airlines.

I hope I’m wrong. The fight at UA to recall their failed MEC and MEC leadership is an encouraging contra-indicator to my thesis. The fact that UA was able to get to the point of the Tumi TA seeing the light of day, though, points toward validity in the point I’m making (well over four years into negotiations without mediation even being filed for, for example, likely helped fuel the birth of the Tumi TA).

 

This is not an issue that’s limited to UA.

I’ve become more and more convinced that pilots in general do not possess the constitution necessary to fully exploit the leverage available to them. The most powerful leverage available to pilots today is the ability to pose the credible threat of, and if necessary, actually using the self help tools made available to us under the RLA.

Unfortunately, however, the overwhelming majority of pilots I’m familiar with are uber-conservative, both politically and otherwise. Whatever the merits are or are not of those conservative values in general, when it comes to the domain of organized labor and extracting worth from our professional skills, those values seem to play the role of a pair of concrete boots.

Maybe staunchly upholding those perceived conservative values by refusing to engage all of the socialistic-ish levers of the RLA is worth lower career compensation, poorer work rules, lesser benefits, and smaller retirement accounts than we otherwise could obtain. Maybe America is a better place as a result of major airline pilots declining to fully engage in the collective labor movement.

Whatever the case, until a majority of pilots can shed the notion that “organized labor” and “unionism” are somehow associated with “socialism” and “anti-Americanism,” I expect to see continued mediocre results across the major airlines.

I hope I’m wrong. The fight at UA to recall their failed MEC and MEC leadership is an encouraging contra-indicator to my thesis. The fact that UA was able to get to the point of the Tumi TA seeing the light of day, though, points toward validity in the point I’m making (well over four years into negotiations without mediation even being filed for, for example, likely helped fuel the birth of the Tumi TA).

 

This is not an issue that’s limited to UA.

I’ve become more and more convinced that pilots in general do not possess the constitution necessary to fully exploit the leverage available to them. The most powerful leverage available to pilots today is the ability to pose the credible threat of, and if necessary, actually using the self help tools made available to us under the RLA.

Unfortunately, however, the overwhelming majority of pilots I’m familiar with are uber-conservative, both politically and otherwise. Whatever the merits are or are not of those conservative values in general, when it comes to the domain of organized labor and extracting worth from our professional skills, those values seem to play the role of a pair of concrete boots.

Maybe staunchly upholding those perceived conservative values by refusing to engage all of the socialistic-ish levers of the RLA is worth lower career compensation, poorer work rules, lesser benefits, and smaller retirement accounts than we otherwise could obtain. Maybe America is a better place as a result of major airline pilots declining to fully engage in the collective labor movement.

Whatever the case, until a majority of pilots can shed the notion that “organized labor” and “unionism” are somehow associated with “socialism” and “anti-Americanism,” I expect to see continued mediocre results across the major airlines.

I hope I’m wrong. The fight at UA to recall their failed MEC and MEC leadership is an encouraging contra-indicator to my thesis. The fact that UA was able to get to the point of the Tumi TA seeing the light of day, though, points toward validity in the point I’m making (well over four years into negotiations without mediation even being filed for, for example, likely helped fuel the birth of the Tumi TA).

 

Hi all,

Interviewing at UA next week. Currently at a ULCC.

I live 30 minutes from Newark. Is reserve so bad that it even sucks living close to the airport? I actually don't mind things like airport standby. It gets me out of the apartment, I can do stuff on my laptop, walk around the terminal enjoying my Starbucks, etc.

Can reserve days be dropped or swapped? Can reserves pick up on days off? Is there an official system for proffering trips in open time?

 

If you live in base reserve is not too difficult. The WB fleets have less TAFB than the NB fleets on reserve, and with a little seniority you can be off most Fridays and Saturdays which reduce the risks of working considerably.

Best of luck.

 

Also, how long to hold a line for EWR 737 and 756 FO?

How about EWR 737 CA? I have a colleague who's in that category and he's still on reserve with 6 1/2 years seniority.

 

My experience the last 30 years of pilots I’ve flown with has been the opposite. (Ok, I’ve been based in CA or NY the whole time.) UA ALPA seems to have been left-leaning unionist the whole time, at least in bluster. With a couple of notable exceptions, I don’t think it’s helped.

 

I came from an LCC where I had to deal with a base closure out of nowhere; by way of an unsigned memo... (totally over it by now...) Then the subsequent bases I was at for the rest of the year were cut by 1/3 each quarter. Also flew with a 6 year captain at said LCC who was in my BI class. Got the base and aircraft I wanted straight from the gate at United. There is no perfect company, but the grass is greener for me. We also had a 60 year old in our BI class if that helps anyone. Which leads me to my advice that has been echoed by others, if you have 10+ years left and less than 5 years-ish at an LCC, I would make the jump. There are unfilled CPT positions, and as of right now it is not unreasonable to expect a CPT position (depending on fleet of course) within a 1.5 - 2 years, if not sooner. Good luck on your decision!

 

Sitting reserve in domicile is the best gig you can get, especially if it's convenient to get to and from the airport. People here will certainly ***** about getting "jerked around" by being put on short call or field standby a few times a month, but if you're fine with getting paid to sit home I'm sure you'll be happy. My experience with commuting to narrow body reserve the past 2 months has been 1 field standby and 2 short call stints, and I wasn't used on any of them. Not a bad gig if you were hanging out in your living room.