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Originally Posted by PCL_128  To clarify, it's not "my" contract anymore, as I haven't been there in over a year. I used to be a union rep there, however, and this purchase of CJC took place while I was in office.
To answer your question, it isn't really a matter of whether the union can be forced upon you, it's a matter of who the flying must be done by. According to the PCL contract, all flying for Pinnacle or any company who owns Pinnacle must be done by pilots on the PCL seniority list. The CJC pilots aren't on the PCL seniority list, so it's a violation of the PCL scope clause. The arbitrator ruled on this at the beginning of the year. The only question at this point is whether the arbitrator is going to force Pinnacle Corp to comply with the language that he's already ruled that they're violating. If he forces them to comply, then they'll either have to merge the lists or come to an agreement with PCL ALPA on a fence agreement. If the CJC pilots are smart and vote in ALPA, then PCL ALPA can work with CJC ALPA to develop a mutually beneficial fence agreement. That would allow both pilot groups to continue to prosper while eliminating a whipsaw. If the CJC pilots make the mistake of voting in the Teamsters, then it will be virtually impossible for the two groups to work together and come to a mutually beneficial agreement if the arbitrator rules that he company must comply with the scope language. |
Sorry, I assumed you were still with PNCL. Thanks for taking the time to give a clear answer to the issue at hand. Unfortunately, it brings us back to the fact that there is no easy answer here. It would be one thing if we knew for a fact that a list merger was going to happen, or not. If so, I would think the best course of action would be to vote in ALPA. If not, then it wouldn't matter (for this issue) if we had the Teamster's or the Fraternal Guild of Landscapers representing us.
This is not an easy subject to tackle, and it can be especially difficult to see other people's side of this problem. There is a fear of ALPA among many Colgan pilots, and whether it is a justified fear or not, the fact remains that it exists. Our ALPA supporters need to recognize this or you will simply turn more people away.