Mesa pilots picketing...

[marriedanaviator]

Mesa pilots will be picketing in front of the annual shareholders meeting today. The picketing starts around 10am. There will be several news stations there. I've been looking for info online, but can't find anything yet. We'll see what happens....

[marriedanaviator]

some info...

Mesa Air Pilots Plan Picketing
02-07-2005 1:39 PM

(Phoenix, AZ) -- The pilots of Mesa Air Group plan to picket the carrier's annual shareholder meeting tomorrow. The meeting will be held at the carrier's corporate headquarters, near 44th Street and Van Buren Street. Pilots say they're not happy with the way management has refused to comply with their contract. The Air Line Pilots Association, which represents the nearly 17-hundred pilots at Mesa Air, entered into negotiations with Mesa Air management in November 2004.

[marriedanaviator]

from the ALPA website...

Release #05.MAG2
February 3, 2005

Enough is Enough: Pilots to Picket Shareholders Meeting

Mesa pilots demand contract compliance

Who: Mesa Air Group Pilots

What: Mesa pilots are picketing to demonstrate their frustration with management's refusal to comply with their contract. The picketing coincides with the Mesa Air Group shareholders meeting being held at corporate headquarters.

Management touts Mesa's growth and pays lip-service to the employees for its success, yet refuses to follow the mutually agreed upon contract. In fact, they broke off discussions with the pilot group and continue to violate the pilots' contractual rights.

When: Tuesday, February 8, 2005 10 a.m.

Where: In front of the Gateway Plaza 44th Street and the DoubleTree entrance, just north of Van Buren Phoenix, AZ, 85008

Why: Enough is Enough! Twenty-three months ago, the pilot group signed a contract with management that allowed for unprecedented growth in an airline environment of instability and furloughs. Since that time, numerous contract violations have led to an abundance of grievances increasing labor unrest. Pilots entered into negotiations with management in November 2004 to resolve contract violations and agreed to discuss management's issues. Management has since closed the door on these discussions, and has not yet resolved the many outstanding grievances.

The Air Line Pilots Association is the bargaining agent for the nearly 1,700 pilots at Mesa Air Group, which includes Mesa, Air Midwest and Freedom Airlines. Founded in 1931, ALPA is the world's largest pilot union, representing approximately 64,000 pilots at 43 airlines in the United States and Canada. Visit the ALPA website at www.alpa.org.

Mesa Air Group is one of the only profitable airlines today and recently reported record quarterly earnings of $13 million. With nearly 1,100 departures per day to cities throughout the U.S., Canada and Mexico, Mesa Air Group operates independently and under United Express, US Airways Express, America West Express and Midwest Express.

# # #

ALPA Contact: Lydia Jakub, 602-306-1208

[Amanda]

They were going to picket in December but decided it would be best to get the exposure at the shareholders meeting. Nick was working and couldn't make it, but helped by calling a bunch of Mesa pilots last week.

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepu...208mesa08.html

[img]images/graemlins/yeahthat.gif[/img]

[Bigsweetie]

Thank God there are some pilots out there willing to stand up and say NO MORE!!! My DH and I are getting more and more frustrated at the aviation industry and how pilots are treated. There are sooooo many misconceptions out there about pilots and the "lifestyles" they lead (lots of money, etc.). If the general public (and especially my DH's passengers) knew how much he made and how often he is extended on trips, junior manned, etc., most people would be afraid to fly!!

DH and I have always said that it will only continue to get worse until all pilots ban together and stand united. Unfortunately, for every pilot that wants to fight for his/her rights, there are 1,000 more desperate pilots who will take any job, just for the hours/experience. The aviation industry knows that there are pilots who will work for next to nothing just to stay in the industry (my DH included) and will exploit them to the fullest. It's sad, but I don't see anything changing anytime soon.

I hope that the picket is successful for Mesa, however, I doubt that it being on television will do much good. The American public will just say "Oh, look... those rich pilots are complaining again. Boy, they all make $200,000/yr and they're still complaining. I don't feel sorry for them at all. [img]images/graemlins/eusa_boohoo.gif[/img]". Unfortunately the misconceptions are very strong. [img]images/graemlins/banghead.gif[/img]

Good luck to Mesa. You'll be in my prayers tonight.

Tanya

[Kristie]

I dunno.. i'm starting to get the impression now, from people around me, that they're starting to understand more and more about how much the regional pilots make and how they feel that picketing is a good way to grab attention. It's been pretty interesting since our DAL paycut because a lot of my co-workers & friends acutally understand that 32.5% is a hellalot of money and if they lost that much, they'd be ticked off too.. they also understand that the pilots are pretty darn important and a couple have told me that they're pretty disappointed that airline fares havent gone up yet because they want to make sure the pilots are not only well qualified but well paid.

around my people here, it's just been interesting watching them change from a mentality of "who cares" to "i want qualified and well paid pilots when i fly"....

but your right.. until the new pilots change their attitude of "will work for free", it'll remain that way and nothing will ever change!

my big beef is that JO wants to pay the pilots the same wage for flying a 737 and that just isn't even right to ASK! plus, bringing in 737's does in fact impact the mainline airlines and how can JO say that's not true? he's just like any pure businessman, i guess!

[roz]

Who is he planning on flying 737's for? Will AWA, US Airways and United allow him to fly 737's for cheap and undercut their mainline service while they are paying him to fly RJ's for them?

Isn't that what happened with ACA/Independence when they decided to get Airbus jets while flying for United and Delta?

Is he counting on US Airways or United tanking and picking up routes?

Just think, we have 190's with 100 seats which is what the DC-9 and F-100 have. Look at what those with 190's are paying. And pilots are jumping at the chance. They accept PFT. They accept no pay during training. It's nuts!

[Kristie]

that's crazy!

[Amanda]

JO is a liar... and he is not well liked among the pilot group (understatement). He made so many false statements to the media it was frustrating. He even said he didn't know there was a problem with the pilots.

Nick will never stoop to flying the 737 for Mesa for pennies. Yes, he would love to fly a 737, but would never do so at the proposed pay rate.

Most of the picketing wasn't even for more money... the pilots just wanted contract compliance.

[roz]

Mesa Air Group CEO Jonathan Ornstein said his airline will not add 737s to its fleet, an idea it has been considering since last year. "We've shelved those plans for now," he said in a speech to the Aero Club of Washington yesterday. "We have had some difficulty negotiating rates that were acceptable to us." He said the company had considered the 737s for service out of Pittsburgh in conjunction with partner US Airways. He also expressed his displeasure with pilot scope clauses, which place limits on the operation of regional jets for mainline partners, describing them as "an old school concept that doesnÃ*t serve the legacy carriers or the people it is supposed to protect." Additionally, he called for airline management and labor representatives to have an "open conversation" in addressing the issue of labor costs that are significantly higher at legacy carriers than at LCCs. "We need to change the manner in which contracts are negotiated," he declared.
--Sandra Arnoult

Air transport world.

So what's the answer? Have labor pay management for the priviledge of working in the glamour industry?