Mesabah

Management controls mergers and acquisitions, not the pilots. If Compass had been kept under mainline ALPA, its goals would have been a conflict of interest with DALPA. (regional vs mainline) Plus it is likely Moak knew they were going to be sold at some point down the road.

From what I have seen, ALPA will do whatever it takes to avoid a regional - mainline merger scenario. America West/US Airways is the reason why. ALPA would be immediately wiped off the property.

upndsky

And this is where I disagree. Stagnation in the past decade has forced many at the regionals to become lifers. I came from the regionals and I know many who have been there 10+ years who have resigned themselves to finishing their careers there.

The threat isn't 50-seaters. It's the regional lifers who now want to maximize the size of the aircraft they fly and therefore their paycheck, even if it means at the expense of mainline. And the percentage that want that is greater than 1%, as you seem to imply. Ask the top third at any large regional like Skywest, ASA, ExpressJet, Republic, etc and you will find many who have no intention or hope of moving on and are willing to fight for everything they can get. And since they pay more in dues than a regional newhire trying to build time, their voices will be heard.

Check Essential

This thread is going to drift off into speculative nonsense and irrelevancy if someone doesn't step up and speak on behalf of DPA. I don't know if it will be one of the 3 named officers or someone else, but it better be soon.

If that website is all they got, it will be a darn shame.

Tim? Frank? Ira?

BoilerUP

I understand that...but it doesn't change the fact that Compass was the *best* opportunity Delta pilots had to recapture the large small jet flying that apparently is the biggest threat to their careers.

And they seemingly walked away from it without a second thought.

If Compass had been kept under mainline ALPA, wouldn't it have strengthened DALPA's their case for accreting that flying? Sure, DALPA would have had to take the Compass pilots too (which apparently will happen anyway) but I imagine a staple along with some sort of fence could have been negotiated.

I'll be the first to admit I don't know the ins & outs of Compass/Delta/NWA and certainly don't know the internal politics...but at least for a while, Compass was owned by Delta and their pilots represented by DALPA (unlike Comair & Mesaba)...I'm not sure the process going forward will be any less complicated than that.

johnso29

If Compass & Delta had merged then one NC would be representing both merging pilot groups. This would be a problem, as there were pilots who had been at Compass longer then some pilots had been at NWA/DAL. Do you see the conflict of interest now? How would protect the interests of each group when you represent both of them? Do you recall the whole RJDC mess? Comair guys wanting DOH? Lawsuits coming about?

tsquare

He's absolutely implying that there is no better way than ALPA.

tsquare

You mean like the oh-so-fulfilling promises we get from the latest bunch in Herndon?

tsquare

Yes they are, but there is way too much insulation and bureaucracy for the proletariat to get thru. Just TRY to put through some sort of resolution at a meeting sometime... make sure it one that most of the pilots can get behind.. and watch it die right there in front of your eyes... if not there, it will be beheaded in some comittee before it ever gets to national. I'll help ya start.

BE IT RESOLVED: Since ALPA represents a large contingent of airlines, and whereas the vast majority of those airlines make far less than the legacy airlines, in order for the ALPA MEC to be in touch with his constituency, that his pay reflect the pay of the captains in ALL of those airlines, not just the three highest ones... AND that that pay now be based on an average of the highest paying captain at all member airlines under the ALPA stewardship.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that his retirement hereby be null and void as is the majority of his constituency

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that since NO commuter receives a housing allowance in the city to which he must commute, that that allowance hereby be revoked indefinitely.

Sorry for the run on... but this kind of "take it back" campaign won't even see the light of day in Herndon. Guaranteed

tsquare

THIS^^^ Nicely said sir.

Mesabah

Simply put, DALPA can't put compass pilots on its list. This is because the JCBA allows for Compass to operate. It is up to management whether or not they want to merge the two together. Having compass represented by the mainline MEC is completely independent of scope recapture during section 6 negotiations.

The problem with scope recapture is how management wants to approach it. In the 2012 contract DALPA could theoretically make section 1 one sentence: "All Delta Flying will be done by Delta seniority list pilots under the provisions of this CBA". It is now up to management to comply with that provision, this is where things could get ugly. Management can then say that they will have to merge with skywest/ASA, comair, compass, etc. Since they don't have the cash to buy out the contracts of these companies and operate the jets at mainline. Then you face the SLI of all the regionals with the mainline. This is the situation ALPA will do whatever it takes to avoid.