This is Eric Edwards with a special MEC
hotline on Tuesday, December 3. Tonight’s topics:
1. MEC Vice Chairman
2. Parker’s Pilot Meetings
MEC Vice Chairman
Meeting in a special session
today, the MEC elected Captain Peter Blandino as MEC vice chairman, effective
immediately. There were several well-qualified candidates who stepped
forward for consideration, and the MEC thanks each of them offering to
serve their fellow pilots in this position.
Captain Blandino, who has been at America
West since 1996, currently serves as one of four members of the ALPA System
Board of Adjument and served as MEC Grievance Committee chairman from
1999 to 2001. In addition, Captain Blandino served as an ALPA LEC representative
at his previous airline from 1995 to 1996. His first priority as vice
chairman will be to improve overall communication between the MEC representatives,
officers, and committee chairmen as well as communication from the MEC
to all pilots.
Parker’s Pilot Meetings
As you probably recall from the recent past, your MEC dis-invited
CEO Doug Parker from a Local Council meeting in protest of foot- dragging
at the negotiating table. The MEC suggested that he have his own meeting
on his own time. If he did this, the MEC would support no formal opposition.
Well, he is throwing his own meetings and your MEC would like you to come
out and talk it up with him. Realizing that there is some debate among
the pilots whether to attend or not, I submit the following reasons, and
further submit that reasoning IS appropriate in this circumstance.
For too long we have complained about and
chided these management teams for poor operational knowledge and lack
of vision or respect for our pilot careers. Nobody ever saw a senior manager
at an airport and some wondered if they knew what an airplane looked like.
We have demanded that management address our concerns and our contract
and we now have Doug Parker coming down to see for himself first hand.
Since problem solving usually occurs when two parties start speaking to
one another, your MEC encourages your attendance. The bottom line is:
If we want these guys to get out then we should get out also.
Nobody is asking anyone to suck up nor
are we orchestrating a lynch mob. You are all professionals, have been
holding this flight operation together for years, and it is time to have
some say if this workplace culture is going to change. Short of profanity,
all questions and subjects should be fair game, and as pilots who have
staked your careers on America West, frank and straightforward answers
should be expected. For all those who let their MEC and Negotiating Team
speak for them, we thank you for your support. We constantly promote this
pilot group as company assets rather than unit costs. In this case, we
would like to see you out – 1,700-members strong – supporting and promoting
that same message. If there is going to be a partnership between the pilots
and management, rather than acrimony and vitriol, now would be a good
time to start. The pilots need an airline and the airline needs the pilots.
See you there.
That’s all for tonight; the next regular hotline update will be on Thursday,
December 5. Thanks for listening.
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