ALPO Whisperer

Assuming we get released, I fully expect a strike...

In fact, I feel so strongly about it that I'm withdrawing all my funds from two Fidelity accounts Monday morning. I would rather be over-prepared instead of falsely believing that Bill Franke will cave in the 11th hour. I don't see that happening.

I think its entirely possible that the company has probably done an assessment on how long they can withstand a strike without going completely under.

The reality is we could go on strike, but most guys here are not expecting that to happen. That's a dangerous position to take. I'm preparing now, and hoping for the best later.

Normann

That is just my feeling, or opinion. You know everybody has one. I have no hard evidence to support it. I THINK it is unlikely because: The company is not in a position to survive a long strike. Perhaps a few days. The pilots are also not exactly the hard core crowd that will vote down a last minute TA as long it has some improvements.

Although we may have survived this recession, the morbid fact is that we are still a small vacation airline with 28 frames. Lots of crap still going against us. We have JB in FLL trying to cut our throat. We will need to grow to fight them off. The economy is still weak, and will stay weak for who knows how long. Oil is way up there again. Most pilots will weigh this when voting on a TA. 98% voted for a strike. But how many will vote a TA down and walk an hour later? I guess it depends on the TA.

So my money is on a last minute TA with some improvements but it will be still below industry average. I am glad the Blue guys got that raise with or without a union. That will help us a lot. If we could get close to the JB pay and keep most of our QOL stuff, perhaps next the Airtran guys could get a bit more leverage also. Wishful thinking...

At the moment we are not even released.

Left Handed

You probably can wait a while. Even if we get released, which I think is not going to be soon, you will have 30 days of the cooling off period to decide what to do. And see if there is a fee to do it. Ask if there is a "hardship clause" that would allow you to take it out without the penalties. I don't know, I never enrolled in the plan.

Kubota

Sounds like it is time to do a little "a la carte, edgy, viral, marking" via the traditional Spirit way of a tacky advertisement.... ah stracth that! Walking the line..... besides it is better for your heart and waste line.

Remember boys, "you just did an incredibly brave thing. What you should have done was land your plane with 3.7 FOB. You don't own that plane, a leasing company does! Son, Indigo is writing checks your family can't cash. You've been busted, fired, NOI"ed, you lost your 4 days off, 709'ed twice by the FEDS, with a history of not so high speed taxi's over 9 knots, and one admiral's daughter had to pay for water on your plane!

"That's right! Game... guy. Spirit Pilot are dangerous"

ALPO Whisperer

Your analysis may be correct Normann. This could explain why the union folks keep saying things are going "good." They may be trying to suppress our expectations, much like Contract 9000 was meant by the company to keep our union realistic about what they asked for. Maybe the best they think they can get is a 10-15% raise with minimal change in work rules?

But, therein lies the problem: Many of us are EXPECTING a raise that at least brings us in line with other carriers (not Allegiant's scale, but more so JetBlue and Alaska's pay scales). If the union leadership agrees to a TA package that still keeps us well below our peers, then a lot of us are going to be really unhappy with our union.

My fear is that we get a crappy TA and 50.1% of our pilots vote YES for all the reasons you mentioned in your post. Now, if the union holds out and doesn't settle for a small raise, THAT'S where I can see us going towards a strike.

For a year now we've been beating the 98% YES vote drum without much action behind that rhetoric. If we don't have an agreement at the end of the 11th hour, I would not be surprised to see Franke and Sons "test" that strike vote. We will then find out if there is any muscle behind our rhetoric.

Normann

Agree COMPLETELY! I was not going to bring up the MEC's role in this to keep that can closed. But since it is open, I think the MEC is playing a crucial role in this. The question is: Will the MEC have the balls to keep a ****ty TA away from us, and ask for a better one in the last minute, or will they let the pilots vote on it and let them reject it if they don't like it. (I understand last time around the MEC let the company shove a poor TA down their throat. Which is now the contract. The pilots voted it in due to the bad economy.) If they let us decide I see a ****ty TA being voted in by 50.1%. If they hold their ground we may get something better. Hawaiian just got a raise btw. Alaskan did too. JetBlue got a better contract. Not to mention SW. I am not saying we have a lot in common with these companies, but we should be able to improve our contract, albeit the economy.

Anyways... Time will tell. We can just speculate. But I would love to get sim current and plane current ASAP rather than later. Strike or not strike, for many of us Spirit is a lifeline back into aviation. Without that I can go right back to a regional. So yes. I would rather be back if for nothing else just so my logbook shows 121 recency.

Balder

Hope we get you guys back to work as soon as possible, Normann. As far as a TA is concerned, I think it will be voted down by a sizable majority of the pilots if it does not have pay improvements up to industry standard. So the Nego. guys might not TA anything short of that.
IMHO, we have the best nego. leverage we could ever hope for right now. Spirit is actually a niche carrier, highly profitable, IPO in near future, ready to grow. Yes, our operation and customer service is messy, but as long as the money is rolling in, I don't Indigo cares.
So they do have an interest in settling the pilot contract, but they will play hard as long as they can. If we play hard, too, and let the process play out without caving, I believe we will all come out good.

captscott26

Great post! I agree 100%.

Normann

I wish nothing more than me being wrong, and you right. I also have faith in the MEC. The few I have met, I liked a lot.

In addition, if I will have a chance, I will vote NO for anything that is not above industry average. But I am just one very so stubborn shizebag.. has always been like that.

nerd2009

Hang in there, play tough...been there 1998 strike. Wish you great folks at NKS the best. I think alpo said it best, "it's time to take it back"!