2014 Pilot Discussion

[lynyrdskynyrd]

Not that it's a feather in my cap, but I actually met Jerry Glass and talked to him for a few minutes before I dead headed back to BWI as a 757 FO right after 9/11, when the airspace was first opened up. He was on the same flight.

 

[nycbusdriver]

...this place will never be the quality of Delta with our current management team...

 
Truer words were never written.

 

[nycbusdriver]

Not that it's a feather in my cap, but I actually met Jerry Glass and talked to him for a few minutes before I dead headed back to BWI as a 757 FO right after 9/11, when the airspace was first opened up. He was on the same flight.

 
Okay....no feather in your cap, but do you have a point?

 

[end_of_alpa]

WELCOME HOME JERRY GLASS...........In case anyone was wondering in what form the company's new culture would take, it was answered. Jerry Glass has been hired to negotiate for the company. The APA has placed a line in the sand with scope. Now the company has placed the most decisive person to deal with the APA. It's going to get messy as 'an unstoppable force meets an immovable object.'

For those new to the company and those that need a refresher course, Jerry Glass is the master at fragmentizing unions. In the past, our management has often stated that they always need at least a 10% employee cost advantage over the competition, so when you hear them say they want us to have parity with Delta, it's all smoke and mirrors. In my opinion, by demanding Scope and knowing that is a 'hot button' item and a non-starter with all unions, Parker has fired his first broadside knowing we will not accept it. It gives him the ability to force this to an arbitrator where the MOU we all signed said that any new contract must be cost neutral. He gets to say we couldn't come to an agreement and he gets his cost advantage contract til 2018. After that, he can stall for at least 5 years.

So, it will be interesting to see how the APA deals with Jerry Glass and the Parker/Kirby we have all come to know.

Hang on, it's going to be a bumpy night!

"The enemy of my enemy is my friend" logic over on the West and Dallas HQ has no clue that the rest of the non-pilot unionized workforce here at the New American have now gotten very good contracts and we are not going to get an amendment to ours until 2019.  Arbitration for the JCBA (or a major APA cave if a JCBA happens) means that when 2019 occurs the pilot demands will fall on deaf ears with everyone else.  As usual they are outmanned and outgunned because they still live in the past.
 
Remember my post from the DCA pilots a few pages back.  Seniority.....WHATEVER THAT MEANS....is,  in the next few years, about to take a VERY BIG TURN FOR THE WORSE.

 

[end_of_alpa]

 
Okay....no feather in your cap, but do you have a point?

The point is he met Jerry Glass and is therefore part of the New American management team.  He has been blessed and anointed as one of the "CHOSEN".  You know, the ones who contribute money to the AOL.

 

[CactusPilot1]

"The enemy of my enemy is my friend" logic over on the West and Dallas HQ has no clue that the rest of the non-pilot unionized workforce here at the New American have now gotten very good contracts and we are not going to get an amendment to ours until 2019.  Arbitration for the JCBA (or a major APA cave if a JCBA happens) means that when 2019 occurs the pilot demands will fall on deaf ears with everyone else.  As usual they are outmanned and outgunned because they still live in the past.
 
Remember my post from the DCA pilots a few pages back.  Seniority.....WHATEVER THAT MEANS....is,  in the next few years, about to take a VERY BIG TURN FOR THE WORSE.

It's pukes like you who are the enemy. A smug group forming a fake union to cheat your co-workers out of an agreement. I'm glad to be a part of a true union of pilots who will finish off Ucrapa once and for all which is stain on the industry.

END___OF___USAPA

 

[Phoenix]

It's pukes like you who are the enemy. A smug group forming a fake union to cheat your co-workers out of an agreement. I'm glad to be a part of a true union of pilots who will finish off Ucrapa once and for all which is stain on the industry.

END___OF___USAPA

 
Your honeymoon will be over when the APA doesn't get you the Nic.  

 

[lynyrdskynyrd]

Okay....no feather in your cap, but do you have a point?

No I don't really. My post was what one of our long time west volunteers refers to as a TFWOBW. Total $&$&ng Waste of Bandwidth. That said though, I do recall him being very personable. He was the one who approached the group of about 5 pilots i was standing with, Though I knew the name, I really wasn't fully aware at the time what his true purpose was. But now that I know, I can see why he is chosen for what he does.

 

[end_of_alpa]

It's pukes like you who are the enemy. A smug group forming a fake union to cheat your co-workers out of an agreement. I'm glad to be a part of a true union of pilots who will finish off Ucrapa once and for all which is stain on the industry.

END___OF___USAPA

My point....proved once again.  See you on the flight line.

 

[end_of_alpa]

I just went to lunch with a good friend the other day who just got on the line with one of our regional partners. I don't wish to give him away but lets just say he is an extremely successful business man who has a "bucket list" wish to work for a major airline. He was so surprised about the pilot attitudes he was in school with.

His store employees make more than the Regional pilots do (I already knew that) but he also looked at the pilots from the business standpoint (numbers) and we both agreed unanimously on several issues. Pilots don't look at the "career"(especially the unions) as a business.

They don't have ANY control over their product especially now that new hire pilots have to be Captains. He wondered why the new hire pilots were in such a hurry to upgrade. I mentioned to him that he should do the math just like his business. Why did HE think they wanted to upgrade so fast?

I bet you answer the same way he did: WHY, THE MONEY OF COURSE!

I said to him that he was already assimilating the "pilot think" mentality instead of keeping his business cap on (which I told him NEVER remove it even while flying). He definitely understood WHY the seniority issues were going to continue to plague the New American pilots for years to come but for HIM and many other it will be a major opportunity for swift advancement.

Here is what the APA and CAPA have to say:

ATP Minimum Requirements
The Coalition of Airline Pilots Associations recommends the Airline Transport Pilot (ATP) License as the minimum standard for employment as a pilot with a Part 121 or 135 air carrier. The ATP provides the academic coursework, flight training and experience needed for the safe piloting of today’s complex, high-speed aircraft through a congested, multifaceted air traffic control network in difficult weather environments. Mainline air carriers require the ATP for employment and “one level of safety” dictates that all air carriers, regional or otherwise, should require the ATP as well. The 1500 flight hours that the ATP requires develops a mature, experienced and professional aviator who has the foundation to exercise prudent judgment while responsible for the safe transportation of tens or even hundreds of passengers.
Entry-level First Officers have immediate flying duties and are as responsible as Captains for the safe operation of the aircraft; (NEW HIRE CAPTAINS)
ATP requires 500 cross-country flight hours, 400 night hours;
ATP check ride is tailored to commercial operations at large airports;
Achieving the ATP requires more check rides and generates more performance documentation;
1500 hours develops better airmanship skills;
Spatial orientation, physiological factors and situational awareness are finely honed with more
flight time;
Commercial pilot (only) licensed aviators account for 3x the accidents as ATP licensed pilots;
50% of US domestic flights are flown by Regional Carriers;
“Quantity” of flight hours have a “Quality” of their own. (EQUAL PAY FOR EQUAL WORK)
The current minimum hiring requirement for US commercial part 121 and 135 operators is 250 flight hours, a commercial pilot license and an instrument rating. These basic qualifications can be attained in 12 months for about $25,000. The responsibility of 50, 70 or 100 passengers and their safe passage through the congested air traffic control system in challenging atmospheric conditions should not be charged to a pilot with so little flight time and qualification. A doctor who is responsible for one life at a time must complete undergraduate study, medical school, residency and pass board certified exams before practicing as a doctor. Part 121 pilots should be required to have similar extensive training and qualifications.
CAPA’s Position: CAPA supports the ATP minimum requirement for all part 121 and 135 pilots employed by US commercial operators to possess an Airline Transport Pilot license.
Coalition of Airline Pilots Associations
444 N. Capitol Street, Suite 532 ● Washington, DC 20001 (202) 624-3535 (office) ● (202) 624-3536 (fax) www.capapilots.org

Wake up New American Pilots. The pilots already here are getting a haircut.

The new guy sitting next to you can DO YOUR JOB!!!

 

[Claxon]

former america west pilots update, April 2012
 
"The enthusiasm with which the Allied Pilots Association (APA) is promoting the possibility of a merger, and their eagerness to sign the contract offered to them by Doug Parker, should come as no surprise considering the alternative that is staring them in the face courtesy of the bankruptcy court.."
 
"However, many of the provisions the APA has already tentatively agreed to with US Airways management amount to serious concessions from the America West Contract"
 
"But, we believe most West pilots would view vast swaths of the APA Agreement with Doug Parker as major, unacceptable concessions."
 
west pilots (attitude) think they saved you APA pilots, get used to their rhetoric in future legal filings.  Just ask west pilot russ webber, former america west alpa negotiator.
 
http://leonidas.cactuspilots.us/7-uncategorised/213-leonidas-update-april-26-2012?tmpl=component&print=1&page=

 

[EastUS1]

It's pukes like you who are the enemy. A smug group.....

 
Given that "you'se" likely weren't even born when many of us first flew, but all should (of course) seek "enlightened" guidance from your sorry sorts as to what/how/etc the industry was/is/should be like for Pilots, as if we don't remember and fully know far better than "you'se" can ever imagine, well...no matter. Given that we're "you'se" "enemy", mighty "spartan": Sigh!...What's it to be? Xbox or Playstation? "popcorn, Top Gun"?  😉
 
"It's pukes like you who are the enemy." Whew!...Speaking of "A smug group"; such as "you'se" self are childish jokes. Any real "enemy" can and does try to actually kill you, not just pluck the unearned Nic pacifier from your eager mouths, but the very breath of life it's self. That's how the real world works outside of "Sparta"/Fantasyland/movie theaters...just sayin'.  That futilely offered up solely in the vain hopes of furthering your education and awareness a bit. I'd again offer the suggestion to simply grow up...but what's the even possible point in doing so?

 

[EastUS1]

I'm glad to be a part of a true union of pilots.....

 
Don't forget to proudly instruct them all on exactly what the AWA bunch has always done for the advancement of both respect and renumeration for the industry's pilots...Which would be, umm...What exactly?...Ever?

 

[Beancounter]

former america west pilots update, April 2012
 
"The enthusiasm with which the Allied Pilots Association (APA) is promoting the possibility of a merger, and their eagerness to sign the contract offered to them by Doug Parker, should come as no surprise considering the alternative that is staring them in the face courtesy of the bankruptcy court.."
 
"However, many of the provisions the APA has already tentatively agreed to with US Airways management amount to serious concessions from the America West Contract"
 
"But, we believe most West pilots would view vast swaths of the APA Agreement with Doug Parker as major, unacceptable concessions."
 
west pilots (attitude) think they saved you APA pilots, get used to their rhetoric in future legal filings.  Just ask west pilot russ webber, former america west alpa negotiator.
 
http://leonidas.cactuspilots.us/7-uncategorised/213-leonidas-update-april-26-2012?tmpl=component&print=1&page=

That's not what I got out of that quote. It's frustrating to watch valuable things that were negotiated for in the past, by hard working indivuals, given away because the other group was/is facing a bankruptcy contract. AWA pilots have had to watch/endure this twice.

I certainly don't feel like we're saving them. Just like the AWA/US merger, in the long run this is good for both groups. Just because I'm happy about and support the merger and the APA doesn't mean I need to be happy about giving up things that, in my opinion, we don't need to give up.

Just my two cent rant for the day.

Beancounter

 

[Beancounter]

Don't forget to proudly instruct them all on exactly what the AWA bunch has always done for the advancement of both respect and renumeration for the industry's pilots...Which would be, umm...What exactly?...Ever?

Ok....... how about our safety record. I don't know about the other ex AWA pilots, but I'm pretty proud about that. Granted I wasn't at AWA for a long time prior to the merger, but I was very impressed with the safety culture. Especially when compared to the likes is Southwest which was another low cost carrier, that friends flying there told me stories about. Don't forget we wore hats prior to our merger with US too🙂

Beancounter

Ok I promise last rant for the day.