UPDATE 6/16/2010: The strike is ending, and the Spirit pilots have secured a fair and equitable contract, its leadership announced. Not one pilot crossed the picket line, and the management of Spirit realized a settlement was in everyone's best interests. Congrats to Spirit pilots!
Here are some relevant links: Associated Press and ALPA.
PEORIA -- The strike by Spirit Airlines pilots may seem far from Peoria. But it's not.
The strike chairman is Paul Hopkins, 39, my son, graduate of Woodruff High School and Western Illinois University. He's been an airline pilot for years, and worked for Spirit for several years. He's a first officer.
His father, my husband, is George E. Hopkins, a nationally known expert on airlines and pilot labor who has written several books on the subject. So Paul has a free consultant, for what that's worth.
Paul and his fellow pilots are members of the Airline Pilots Association, an AFL-CIO union. He's had released time from flying to work on strike preparations for weeks. Every pilot has been contacted to stand in solidarity with their fellows.
So far, none has crossed the picket lines, he said in a phone call shortly after 2 p.m. today, June 12.
The pilots are a very diverse group. Some speak Spanish, to the delight of Spanish language media, he said. Some are conservative Republicans, but also strongly support the union, he said.
That's the key to a successful union strike. Solidarity.
He's confident that the strike will shock airline management into agreeing to a fair contract that will pay Spirit pilots what other pilots flying comparable aircraft now make. That's their goal.
A last minute offer by Spirit management did not reach that level, he
said.
They've had wide support from pilots from other airlines, who have conducted informational picketing with them as the strike deadline approached. They know that their future pay and benefits can be affected by what happens to the Spirit pilots. "We're the tip of the spear," he said.
In a way, the pilots stand for all working people, whose economic welfare rose with the rise of organized labor, and has fallen in recent decades as unions have been weakened.
This is also a labor relations test for the Obama administration. The president has the power to order airline pilots back to work, and presidents have done this in the past. But ALPA endorsed Obama, and the head of the FAA is a former ALPA president and Eastern Airlines pilot. So the political climate is right for a successful strike, it seems.
All unions who supported Obama will be watching to see what happens in this strike.
Spirit is a small airline, owned by investors, not a publicly traded company, and said to be a highly profitable operation. It's headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and flies to Chicago, Detroit, New York City, Las Vegas, Puerto Rico, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Peru and other Latin American destinations.
Spirit canceled most of its flights in the last couple of days so its planes would not be stranded in far flung locations. Paul said about half the fleet is now parked at the airport in Fort Lauderdale.
The company is in meltdown mode, he said. Stranded passengers cannot reach anyone to find out about refunds or rebooking. It announced it would fly through the strike but refused to give details then canceled the flights. So its credibility is zero.
It hoped to hire charter operations to fly its flights, but apparently could not hire any or enough so far. Pilots are a community, and many will refuse to cross picket lines, including those not in unions. Even some Spirit managers have said they won't cross, Paul said.
Spirit is not well liked by its customers who complain of fees that nickle and dime them on top of the fares. It's known as a discount carrier, and competes with American Airlines on its international routes.
It pioneered the extra charges for baggage that many other airlines then adopted, and recently announced it would charge for carry-on luggage, beginning in August.So it's cheap fares are deceptive.
Once again, it's up to the workers to stand and fight for everyone's well being, against the corporate managers whose only goal is to make money at the expense of others.
Pilots are more committed to safety than the managers, and serve as a check on corporate greed. It makes sense to pay them a living wage so it's a career for them and safe transport for the public.
-- Elaine Hopkins
UPDATE: 6/14/2010: Paul is quoted in the New York Times.
And -- most of the national stories focus on stranded travelers. While that's sad, it's been no secret that Spirit pilots were planning a strike. Weeks ago they took out billboards and national newspaper ads to warn passengers.
Strikes are rough, but they're the only way to reach an intransigent management. As Paul has said, "they hate the pilots but love money." So now they have to choose between them.
Good job, Paul!
John Carroll
Peoria
Posted by: john carroll | June 18, 2010 at 11:00 AM