PSA Airlines, dispatchers agree on contract

[CrippleHawk]

WASHINGTON (AP) — The union for dispatchers at PSA Airlines said Friday that it has reached agreement with the company on a 5-year labor contract that includes raises and retention bonuses........




http://www.usatoday.com/travel/fligh...ers-pact_N.htm


All BlueStreekers (Especially dispatchers) what's your take?

[ljg]

Good faith negotiations take 2 plus years? Honest question.

[BigFellor]

Originally Posted by ljg

Good faith negotiations take 2 plus years? Honest question.

When you have a company delaying as much as possible, yes.

[ljg]

I guess it'd be a nice retroactive paycheck.

[granlistillo]

Originally Posted by BigFellor

When you have a company delaying as much as possible, yes.

Congrats guys, I'm glad you got a deal done...

[manniax]

Originally Posted by ljg

Good faith negotiations take 2 plus years? Honest question.

AA has been in negotiations with its dispatchers for well over two years. I think they've been in mediation for over two years, actually.

Contract negotiations can really drag out when the company and union have a different view of things. Especially for first contracts, I'd say taking two years is not uncommon at all.

[ljg]

Originally Posted by manniax

AA has been in negotiations with its dispatchers for well over two years. I think they've been in mediation for over two years, actually.

Contract negotiations can really drag out when the company and union have a different view of things. Especially for first contracts, I'd say taking two years is not uncommon at all.

Very interesting, thanks. When they drag out, is it just that one side leaves the table in frustration then weeks and months go by? I know at some point the NMB gets involved, then there's a cooling off period, then self-help activities.

Are there any instances of dispatchers striking? I wonder how the public would view a DX work-stoppage since the profession is little-known, and often misunderstood by the flying public. I can already see the media's take on it - Imagine a video clip of Grandma stranded on Christmas eve because some selfish regional dispatcher wanted more $$.

[dispatchguy]

Closest thing I can think of was blue flu at American Eagle/Executive (The Caribbean Operation); they had to cancel around 30-40 flights due to short DX staffing.

I wanna say this was in 2003 or 2004...

[manniax]

Originally Posted by ljg

Very interesting, thanks. When they drag out, is it just that one side leaves the table in frustration then weeks and months go by? I know at some point the NMB gets involved, then there's a cooling off period, then self-help activities.

Are there any instances of dispatchers striking? I wonder how the public would view a DX work-stoppage since the profession is little-known, and often misunderstood by the flying public. I can already see the media's take on it - Imagine a video clip of Grandma stranded on Christmas eve because some selfish regional dispatcher wanted more $$.

I don't know of any instances of dispatchers striking, but it would be unlikely to be very effective...it's very likely that the government would give the airline emergency authority to fly its planes without being dispatched within a week or two...especially if it's a major airline. A regional, perhaps there wouldn't be an intervention right away but they could also hire strikebreakers and put them through an accelerated training/OJT where one manager was supervising all the releases being done. So in short, I think it's pretty rare to see a strike. It may happen but then again...I don't think it's likely. This is just my opinion, though, so take it for what it's worth.

For the NMB to get involved both sides have to agree they are at an impasse...this is a possibility, I suppose, with AA right now. I don't know all the details on how a strike occurs after that point...if binding arbitration is offered first, etc. but I think the government can prevent a strike for 30 days or so using its emergency authority (at a major, at least.)

As far as things dragging out, in my experience it's most often the company doing the dragging...but it just takes time to go through each article and agree, especially when it comes to total compensation. There is a lot of back and forth. Usually both sides meet once a month or so and if the company keeps putting things on hold it can take a lot longer to come to terms.

[ljg]

Originally Posted by manniax

I don't know of any instances of dispatchers striking, but it would be unlikely to be very effective...it's very likely that the government would give the airline emergency authority to fly its planes without being dispatched within a week or two...especially if it's a major airline. A regional, perhaps there wouldn't be an intervention right away but they could also hire strikebreakers and put them through an accelerated training/OJT where one manager was supervising all the releases being done. So in short, I think it's pretty rare to see a strike. It may happen but then again...I don't think it's likely. This is just my opinion, though, so take it for what it's worth.

For the NMB to get involved both sides have to agree they are at an impasse...this is a possibility, I suppose, with AA right now. I don't know all the details on how a strike occurs after that point...if binding arbitration is offered first, etc. but I think the government can prevent a strike for 30 days or so using its emergency authority (at a major, at least.)

As far as things dragging out, in my experience it's most often the company doing the dragging...but it just takes time to go through each article and agree, especially when it comes to total compensation. There is a lot of back and forth. Usually both sides meet once a month or so and if the company keeps putting things on hold it can take a lot longer to come to terms.

If it ever came to be, I would personally have a few qualms about riding on a major operating flights without a dispatch function. I think I'd go with carrier B that day.

[F9DXER]

Remember, all most all airlines have other people that remain current to dispatch but that there function is not as a dispatcher.

This could inlcude the Manager of Dispatch/SOC, Trainers, Shift Supervisors, ATC coordinators, etc etc. The operations would not stop but would be severly restricited.

I seriously doubt that the FAA would give permission to operate without them.

F9DXER

[ljg]

Originally Posted by F9DXER

Remember, all most all airlines have other people that remain current to dispatch but that there function is not as a dispatcher.

This could inlcude the Manager of Dispatch/SOC, Trainers, Shift Supervisors, ATC coordinators, etc etc. The operations would not stop but would be severly restricited.

I seriously doubt that the FAA would give permission to operate without them.

F9DXER

Gotcha, so the work would be scabbed out.

[manniax]

Originally Posted by F9DXER

Remember, all most all airlines have other people that remain current to dispatch but that there function is not as a dispatcher.

This could inlcude the Manager of Dispatch/SOC, Trainers, Shift Supervisors, ATC coordinators, etc etc. The operations would not stop but would be severly restricited.

I seriously doubt that the FAA would give permission to operate without them.

F9DXER

You'd be surprised what the FAA will do to get planes flying...in the last non-pilot strike I know of, at AA, the FAA signed off on replacing the striking flight attendants with ones who had been through an extremely limited training course about 1/4 the length of AA's regular course. Reasons like this are why FA's generally do not do walkouts anymore and now generally threaten a CHAOS strike (create havoc around our system) by randomly not showing up for flights.

In the case of dispatch, it's likely that the FAA would sign off on some kind of replacement workers preparing the paperwork (either without a license, or without having been through the complete airline training) and then having them be reviewed by a licensed supervisor before being sent to the crews. So yes, the work would basically be scabbed out....that is my prediction anyhow.

The FAA has been known to verbally authorize arrangements with airlines that went against the regs and then backtrack later...this happened at Southwest with their planes when they were flying them without the required inspections having been performed (I'm sure most people reading this forum are familiar with that mess.)

The FAA was also close to allowing contract dispatching before the ADF and various other groups contacted the Aviation Subcommittee in Congress. (Contract dispatching would allow any airline to contract out its dispatch function to a company like Jeppesen that would prepare the flight paperwork.) The FAA didn't even have dedicated dispatch representatives on staff until about 10 years ago...

Bottom line, don't be complacent and assume that the FAA always has your profession's interest at heart...especially if a prolonged strike is occuring and they are being heavily pressured by politicians to get the planes flying again.