This is an interesting reading about the unions, management, pilot relations. It becomes important after the Freedom Air issue.. BAHA ACUNER - CFI,CFII,MEI www.bahadiracuner.com www.acuwings.com Strike! Wow. When I got on with Comair in '95 I never thought that I would participate in one of the longest strikes in aviation history (89 days) just a few short years later. I don't know what you'd like to hear about labor/strike issues but now that it has been over for about 18 months, I think I've gained some perspective but you'll have to recognize and excuse the fact that it remains an emotional issue for me on some levels. Also understand that what you are about to read is from ONE pilot's perspective. It is a fairly well-informed perspective as I was quite close to one of our negotiators, but, nonetheless, it is only my limited perspective. The senior management of Comair hired what I perceived to be three hired guns to come on board and "deal" with the pilot group at Comair prior to the contract talks. These three were at Continental Airlines and, as I understand it, had been "protege's", if you will, of the infamous Frank Lorenzo. Their job, as I saw it, was to demoralize and if possible, break the pilot union at Comair utilizing every tactic out of the "I WAS A UNION BUSTER" book.....a good read by the way and one that should be followed up by "FROM WORST TO FIRST" by Gordon Nethune who turned Continental around from the dark days of Lorenzo and company. The tactics employed by these three amigos had been tried and used before and, I think that was what made them so ineffective. The pilot group knew what to expect and sometimes even laughed at the transparency of the efforts that were so well documented in previous airlines' labor dilemas. It was like seeing the opposing teams playbook before you got on the field. You knew going in what to expect and chuckled when you saw a particular "formation" on the field. It did, indeed, PRESSURE, the pilot group, but the result was one of cohesion rather than disintegration. The more tricks they pulled, the angrier and more unified the group became. What kinds of tactics were employed? Well, pilot profiling for one. This is where you, as a pilot, are told that the company is aware of your taxi times to specific runways from the terminal and if you should start exceeding your "average" you would be may subject to disciplinary action. Or perhaps your flight times to various destinations would be tracked with the same message. There were "Customer Satisfaction Teams" made up of management personnel who would "interrogate" you at your aircraft regarding a write-up that you made. One captain was confronted with group so many times in a day that he chose to go home rather than be subjected to any more of the harrassment. He felt that his mind was no longer on flying the aircraft and wasn't safe to continue. He was then disciplined for going home. They tracked our "write-ups" of discrepancies with the aircraft, number of sick-days and anything else you can think of. This was all designed to demoralize and fracture the unity of the pilot group. It failed miserably which is one strong testimony to the fortitude of the Comair pilot group. Of course, the pilots had their own tactics in retaliation which I won't go into here. But, it reminds me of the story at United where management had the bright idea of charging crews for the "cokes" they drank during a flight. Fifty cents a coke, I think it was. Well, the crews didn't think much of this and when charged for their coke, would run the engines up to the stops for a few seconds as payback. Well, obviously it costs a lot more than fifty cents to max out the 4 fans on a 747. Once management heard what was going on, the fifty cents a coke policy was dropped. Suffice to say that there are a multitude of things an angry pilot can do to cost the company money which the company is generally too ignorant to recognize the cost of. We had little, if any, support from ALPA. Personally, I found the strongest support from the crews of other airlines that had gone through a strike themselves. The pilots and flight attendants of Northwest, United and TWA were wonderful. And what a feeling to be greeted by a captain on another airline and be ushered to a first class seat because you were fighting the fight and had gained the respect of your peers who had been in the trenches themselves. After utilizing every delay tactic available in negotiations and through the federal mediation process that the company could muster, the strike came in late March of '01. The feeling of comraderie with your fellow pilots is like nothing else. Walking the picket line standing tall and proud for what you believe in with 1350 others was an experience not ever forgotten. There were the quiet followers but also the cheerleaders of the group who made it hard to keep a straight face when walking the line. The support from our flight attendants brought tears to the eyes of many a jet jock with their raucous drive-by's and endless contributions of food and moral support to the strike centers. There isn't a Comair flight attendant who isn't absolutely first rate in my book. And that's something I don't think that the company expected. And it hurt them in the media. As did their own distortions. Now, you need to understand that Comair was one of the most profitable airlines in history making money with their "flying ATM machines" called Canadair Regional Jets. The profit margins were running in the 20%-28% range while mainline Delta was at about 11%. The director level people at Comair were all made VERY wealthy by their shrewd decision making and management though some would argue that they just got lucky with launching the RJ. Doesn't matter, they were all multi-millionaires. And you know, I never heard one pilot ever think that was a bad thing. But, what angered them so much was management's complete unwillingness to share in those phenomenal profits. We were told that we were just "regional" pilots (yea, like Cincinnati to Mexico City was a "region"). We only flew "small" jets. We hadn't "paid our dues" (like flying a Metro in the Florida heat in the summer wasn't a "dues-paying experience"). It was all calculated to make us feel less worthy while management paid themselves bazillions. The pilots knew that they were generating those huge profits with hard work and long hours and up to 8 legs per day in the saddle.They took it to the strike and hoped to elevate the regional airline pilot and they did it on their own. But, what you need to understand that for management, it's not about the money, it's about power and control. ALPA recently estimated that the Comair strike cost Delta about $780 millon. Now the entire 4 year dream contract would have cost them somewhere around $250 million, I think it was. So, Delta blew well over a half a billion dollars to make a point. And the point was, that regional airline pilots were not going to make a significant jump in their wages and quality of life on the road or at home. My guess is that in retrospect since 911, DAL probably wishes it had that several hundred million back in the bank, but at the time, their choice was to stand firm, regardless of the cost, to set the standard that they wanted for the regional pilot. There was even the distinct possibility that had the strike gone on much longer, Delta was prepared to pull the plug on Comair and start from scratch. Now, are we talking about money with a move like that, or power and control? Were improvements achieved by the strike? Absolutely. In many areas of wages and working conditions. Did it meet the expectations of the pilot group? I won't answer that. Ask a Comair pilot. They fought one helluva fight and made some gains. And Delta will not soon forget what it lost as a result of letting it go as far as it did. It is now using a mish-mash of scheduling between its wholly owned and affiliated code-share partners. Comair is no longer the exclusive partner in Cincinnati. ASA flies there and Comair now goes into Atlanta. ACA goes everywhere and Delta just agreed with another carrier to be its affiliate out of Orlando. It's not even using its own wholly owned subsidiaries to do all of its flying. The message is clear. Should another strike come, Delta doesn't plan on getting caught with its pants down as it did last year. It will utilize every other carrier it can to keep routes going. What did I learn? That there is avarice beyond imagination. That you are nothing but a number or "revenue generator" as far as some people are concerned. That profits don'talways come first when they get in the way of power and control. That your fellow pilots and flight attendants are some of the most upright people you will ever have the pleasure of being associated with. That walking with your fellow pilots around in circles for hours at a time creates permanent bonds that are untouchable. That few outside this business understand this business. While at my age I doubt the oppportunity will come to fly for an airline again and frankly, I'm not sure that I want to, but I know that I would only work for those that value their people such as Southwest or Continental. I am very fortunate to work for a company that seems to value my contribution and seems willing to look out for its people when they need help. That's worth a lot and I would urge you find a place like that and stay with it. The other article here urges you to NEVER cross a picket line. I have to reiterate that sentiment here. Crossing a picket line in this business has many implications, not the least of which is finding yourself to be an outcast amongst your peers. Not a pretty place to be and one that would stay with you for life. The "scab list" goes back many, many decades and is carried by some in their cockpits. Woe to him/her that has crossed the line and ends up being known. Judas probably had it easier......