Avflyer76

What you failed to understand is the question I asked.
That's the same gibberish answer we always get.
A company will never give more than it has to, is also the backside of that statement.
There is a reason for a union and it doesn't appear that ours is very strong.
The answer you just gave me is a standard brain washed - supply and demand rote response.
What is your Union doing for you to get you a fair trade for your time and effort.
It's not hard to realize that your Union sucks when the contract is out of date and there's no public show of them taking a stand.
Hell, even the union guy stood up in front of new hires and said he's going to a new company.
Don't blame the company for unfair treatment!
It's our responsibility to get our union working for us.

prior121

And what you don't understand is with pilots filling classes the union has no leverage to negotiate for anything better.

NovemberBravo

We've been answering and asking the same question for I don't know how many pages. Can we at least go back to trolling and random rumors.

Duct Mon

RJET had a hard time hiring before their TA passed. Even after their offering of $40 an hour "industry leading" they still didn't fill classes.

Let me explain in a simple way.
If Mesa couldn't fill classes Mesa doesn't grow.
No more upgrades
Downgrades to follow
Mesa won't fulfill the contracts they have with mainline
Less flying=less pilots needed

The flying Mesa does for AA and United are the lowest paid contract.
In my opinion the only way we get paid more money is IF these contracts with AA and United can be adjusted. And good luck with that.
Unfortunately we will not see another TA for at least a year if not longer regardless of classes full or not.

Avflyer76

Why do you keep stating the same rote answer our union gives us?
Are you the same union guy that spoke to us?
Where is the money If there is none?
Why isn't Mesa in bankruptcy?

More importantly?
Why do you believe that we should settle for that 9th grade answer they keep giving us?
It's an excuse given by the company that somehow has taken hold and believed by people like yourself.
The money is definitely there and is hidden in the percentages for several years.

FrequentFly3r

Sounds like toy should've done some reading before you signed on at Mesa.

Known Fact: Our "union" is terrible.

Known Fact: We're the lowest paid pilots in the industry.

Known Fact: The company has no reason to pay us a cent more than they do now because people keep showing up for class.

We aren't happy that things are this way, but there is a process to changing them. Why don't you walk into JO's office and demand 55/hr and let me know what he says.

Why did you come here? We've been telling people for months not to do it for these reasons. Why act so surprised by the suck now?

prior121

This is incorrect.

RAH was filling classes after the new TA. Actually, classes were full months out.

However, it was too late to stop the bleeding.

Out Of Trim

Finally, somebody else who "gets it". This has been exactly the point I've been making! That there's so many folks on here who find it very convenient to blame the ineffectiveness (laziness?) in getting any improvement on new hires. I believe the overwhelming majority of those new hires come to this particular company solely for the ability to be based in a suitable location. What other reason could there be, after all? Now, bear in mind that, there are no other regionals exceeding $50K or so for starting pay. Do you really think that somebody with some education and skills is going to be thrilled about moving halfway across the country to a place where they may know nobody for a $50k.yr job? Very few will be willing to do that. I suspect that nearly every person in that referenced Feb. 18th class is there because of where they can base. And, to sit here and hope that that situation will stop in order to hurt the company enough to effect change is to be putting your money on a lame horse. That's just stupid. That's not how you get things done. And, you're right, that's NOT what were paying a union for.

Our wages nearly HALF of what every other company in this sector of the industry are making. That, in itself, should be more than enough reason for ALPA to make Mesa their #1 priority right now and, should give them more than enough ammunition to do it. I'm sure that if our ALPA leadership put their heads together and, with perhaps a little research, they could come up with some pretty novel and successful ways to deal with our issues. That's what we're paying them for and, who knows, maybe some of the ideas would be a win-win for both us and management? It's happened before.

What I do know is that all this whining about new hires and venting at them will get us absolutely NOTHING. If you've got some complaining to do it's toward they company and the union. They're the ones that created this problem and have allowed it to go on for so long.

Nice, Avflyer. I'm glad to see that they're still hiring some capable and intelligent people, as opposed to some of the contrary statements getting posted on here. You're exactly the kind of mentality we need here and I hope I get to fly with you, whoever you are. Good luck in class.

deltajuliet

I asked similar questions in new hire class of our Union reps. One question went: "Hey, a lot of us haven't been in a union before and aren't familiar with the ins and outs and what it's all about or how it works. Would you mind explaining to give us a picture?"

The answer went something along the lines of: "Well, the union works to improve the pilot contract." Okay, but what about dues and hierarchy structure and elections and member involvement? I pressed him a little more and he just reiterated the same thing. Knowing what I do now, I genuinely think this particular Union representative has Asberger's and a tough time with basic communication. You were probably talking to him.

It's true, our Union isn't renowned for its effective and expedient negotiating. Don't hold your breath. We had someone good heading up the Negotiating Committee and they just resigned; the reasons can only be guessed at. She might've been too aggressive for the rest of the union MEC (Master Executive Council, pretty much what it sounds like), maybe she decided it was a pointless uphill battle, or maybe she saw the ugly underside of ALPA and couldn't in good conscience continue working for an entity that actively or at least passively keeps downward pressure on dues-paying regional pilots. Your guess is as good as mine.

Edit: By the way, congrats pilot207. Hope we can all get there someday soon.

word302

At the same time, if you show up to class for the company with the most dismal compensation package and expect things to magically get better, you might be ever so slightly naive. Mesa has a strong history of treating employees like garbage. Not likely to change.