So what's up at Polar? (Merged again & again)
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A piece of freight is to be moved by Polar, it has a Polar airbill and Polar will gain commercially from its transport - only they can't get the job done because their crews are on strike. Polar can try to ship this freight on a different carrier- say FedEx, but it's struck goods and stays that way so long as its carriage results in remuneration for Polar.
Since Polar provides "scheduled service," and their direct customers are primarily freight forwarders, it is likely there has been NO 'Polar freight' since day 1 or 2 of the strike. The customer -- the freight forwarder -- merely finds another carrier to carry the frieght that belongs to the customer (NOT to Polar). The freight is never consigned to Polar, so there is NO struck freight to be carried!
Even in the case where a forwarder charters a flight from Atlas to go from NRT, the freight (which MIGHT HAVE been consigned to Polar if they were flying) is never consigned to Polar, so AAWH can accurately state that there is 'no Polar freight' and 'no Polar flight.' You may not like it, but that would be the reality.
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Press Release Source: Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings, Inc.
Polar Air Cargo and the Air Line Pilots Association Reach Tentative Agreement for a New Contract
Sunday October 2, 9:37 pm ET
PURCHASE, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 2, 2005--Polar Air Cargo, Inc. (Polar), a subsidiary of Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings, Inc. (AAWW) (OTC: AAWW.PK - News), and the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), the collective bargaining representative of the Crewmembers employed by Polar, have reached a tentative agreement on a new contract ending a two- week-old strike by the Polar Crewmembers.
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The parties began negotiations in 2003 for an amended collective bargaining agreement. Since July of 2003, the negotiations have been under the direction of a mediator appointed by the National Mediation Board (NMB). On August 16, the NMB released the parties into the 30-day cooling off period mandated by the Railway Labor Act before either party can implement economic self-help. On September 16, 2005, when last efforts by the parties did not result in an agreement, the Polar Crewmembers went on strike.
"I am very pleased that we have reached a settlement in this matter," said Jeffrey H. Erickson, President and Chief Executive Officer of AAWW. "We can now focus our energies on the upcoming peak shipping season and continued extensive work for the military."
Jim Cato, Vice President of Flight Operations and Labor Relations, added, "We thank the professionalism of the ALPA leadership in reaching this agreement and look forward to working with the Association to complete the merger of the two crew forces."
The tentative agreement is now subject to ratification by the rank and file of Polar's Crewmembers, which is expected to be completed by Wednesday, October 5.
Polar Air Cargo and the Air Line Pilots Association Reach Tentative Agreement for a New Contract
Sunday October 2, 9:37 pm ET
PURCHASE, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 2, 2005--Polar Air Cargo, Inc. (Polar), a subsidiary of Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings, Inc. (AAWW) (OTC: AAWW.PK - News), and the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), the collective bargaining representative of the Crewmembers employed by Polar, have reached a tentative agreement on a new contract ending a two- week-old strike by the Polar Crewmembers.
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The parties began negotiations in 2003 for an amended collective bargaining agreement. Since July of 2003, the negotiations have been under the direction of a mediator appointed by the National Mediation Board (NMB). On August 16, the NMB released the parties into the 30-day cooling off period mandated by the Railway Labor Act before either party can implement economic self-help. On September 16, 2005, when last efforts by the parties did not result in an agreement, the Polar Crewmembers went on strike.
"I am very pleased that we have reached a settlement in this matter," said Jeffrey H. Erickson, President and Chief Executive Officer of AAWW. "We can now focus our energies on the upcoming peak shipping season and continued extensive work for the military."
Jim Cato, Vice President of Flight Operations and Labor Relations, added, "We thank the professionalism of the ALPA leadership in reaching this agreement and look forward to working with the Association to complete the merger of the two crew forces."
The tentative agreement is now subject to ratification by the rank and file of Polar's Crewmembers, which is expected to be completed by Wednesday, October 5.
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Polar TA
Hey Mr. Goodbyepolar,
You said:
Actually, we got a bit (not much though) more than the 9/16 offer, including one more airframe than previously promised.
The MEC also agreed not to go after the despicable SCABS who crossed Polar legal picket lines. However, oh hell I'll save that one for later, AFTER the TA is ratified....
I promise you'll like it!..... or not
You said:
Yes, there is a T/A. After all the acrimony these guys generated, they ended up agreeing to what was on the table before the strike. 10.5% and an 18 month extension.
The MEC also agreed not to go after the despicable SCABS who crossed Polar legal picket lines. However, oh hell I'll save that one for later, AFTER the TA is ratified....
I promise you'll like it!..... or not
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Actually, we got a bit (not much though) more than the 9/16 offer, including one more airframe than previously promised.
Oh, and maybe the possibility of having Turkee instead of boiled eggs for Thanksgiving.
Do you really think ratification is guaranteed? Bobb has a lot of backtracking to do if he's gonna sell this TA in 3 days.
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They also got an extra month of the back pay raise, June vs July.
None of us knows what was on the table when they walked into the room on Friday. Could have been a lot less than the 9/16 offer.
The MEC vote of two for and one against may spell trouble.
After a two week strike, Polariods may not be interested in a 10.5% raise, since they could have had that without the strike.
Polaroids...note that Atlas had a T/A voted down and AAWH sweetened the deal to get it by. When the second T/A was in trouble, AAWH sweetened it again.
None of us knows what was on the table when they walked into the room on Friday. Could have been a lot less than the 9/16 offer.
The MEC vote of two for and one against may spell trouble.
After a two week strike, Polariods may not be interested in a 10.5% raise, since they could have had that without the strike.
Polaroids...note that Atlas had a T/A voted down and AAWH sweetened the deal to get it by. When the second T/A was in trouble, AAWH sweetened it again.
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Here's my take:
Some might see the 4% bonus, when added to the 10.5% raise, as equivalent to a 14.5% raise. Okay, I'll concede that some might consider 14.5% a good raise. I wouldn't, but that's not the point. The catch is that the 4% is just a one-time deal. I, for one, do not like the idea of taking a 14.5% raise only to have the company take back 4% next year and be right back at Cato's crappy 10.5% in perpetuity. If we merge, the corresponding raise and when we get it is indefinite. If we don't merge, 10.5% is all we have until we negotiate another contract. We've all seen how smoothly that goes. I'm not satisfied with a 10.5% raise and being stuck with it for the next 5 years. I didn't just spend the last 2 weeks picketing in LAX, ANC and FAI only to approve a TA that is only slightly better than what the Company offered at the beginning of the cooling off period. We initially made HUGE concessions to avert a strike and they hardly budged. That was to AVERT a strike. Now that we've been at it for 2 weeks the price tag should go up. Let's get what we deserve now.
Three and a half months of retroactive pay adds up to 227.5 hours. The difference in pay (old scale vs. add'l 10.5%) for a 1-yr. FO/PFE is $5.94/hr. That FO/PFE gets a "signing bonus" of $1351.35, before taxes. A 10-yr. Captain's difference is $13.93/hr. His "signing bonus" is $3169.08, before taxes. Bonuses like this are annualized and taxed accordingly so you can safely count on getting only about half of it in your check. That results in checks for about $675 and $1600, respectively, for the two examples above. Sorry if I'm not getting too excited.
The 401(k) isn't bad but it isn't great, either. As it stands, the company matches 100% of your contribution, up to 2% of your gross pay. The new deal matches 50% of your contribution, up to 10% of your gross pay. In other words, 5%. The catch is this: If you currently just contribute 2% to get the company's match, now you'll have to put in 4% to get the same amount out of them. You want to maximize the company's match? You have to put in the full 10% to get their 5% match / 3% increase. There goes your big, fat 10.5% raise.
We've already come this far, and we've been extremely effective, so why put our tails between our legs and crawl for cover? So many things are working in our favor. Contrary to some opinions, I believe that we did stop a lot of freight. We're getting even deeper into the busy season. The clock is ticking on the Narita slots. Capacity in Asia is hugely affected. Fuel surcharges are catching up with fuel costs. The Company simply can not afford to have us strike much longer. If we vote down this TA we won't necessarily even have to go back to picketing. Maybe we would, maybe not. Even now, Cato thinks that we're a bunch of 'kitties' and that we don't have the resolve to fight for more than he's offering. But in the end they really do have much more to lose than we do.
The one positive thing that I can say about this TA is that it proves that the company's threats of selling the certificate, terminating and furloughing crewmembers, transferring aircraft, etc. are empty and meaningless. It was all bluffs. We will never have another opportunity to do this again. If we're going to do this, we have to do it now. It was all true 2 weeks ago before we went on strike. It is a proven fact. We have shown our unity and our demonstrated our resolve, now let's take our just reward.
We all want to get back to what we love. None of us wants to go back out on the picket lines. But now that the uncertainty is gone let's do what we came here for and take what is rightfully ours!
One crewmember recently suggested putting Cato's crappy 10.5% offer up to vote. Some opposed the idea, others encouraged it. Well, guys and girls, here it is. Any question on which way I'm voting?
Some might see the 4% bonus, when added to the 10.5% raise, as equivalent to a 14.5% raise. Okay, I'll concede that some might consider 14.5% a good raise. I wouldn't, but that's not the point. The catch is that the 4% is just a one-time deal. I, for one, do not like the idea of taking a 14.5% raise only to have the company take back 4% next year and be right back at Cato's crappy 10.5% in perpetuity. If we merge, the corresponding raise and when we get it is indefinite. If we don't merge, 10.5% is all we have until we negotiate another contract. We've all seen how smoothly that goes. I'm not satisfied with a 10.5% raise and being stuck with it for the next 5 years. I didn't just spend the last 2 weeks picketing in LAX, ANC and FAI only to approve a TA that is only slightly better than what the Company offered at the beginning of the cooling off period. We initially made HUGE concessions to avert a strike and they hardly budged. That was to AVERT a strike. Now that we've been at it for 2 weeks the price tag should go up. Let's get what we deserve now.
Three and a half months of retroactive pay adds up to 227.5 hours. The difference in pay (old scale vs. add'l 10.5%) for a 1-yr. FO/PFE is $5.94/hr. That FO/PFE gets a "signing bonus" of $1351.35, before taxes. A 10-yr. Captain's difference is $13.93/hr. His "signing bonus" is $3169.08, before taxes. Bonuses like this are annualized and taxed accordingly so you can safely count on getting only about half of it in your check. That results in checks for about $675 and $1600, respectively, for the two examples above. Sorry if I'm not getting too excited.
The 401(k) isn't bad but it isn't great, either. As it stands, the company matches 100% of your contribution, up to 2% of your gross pay. The new deal matches 50% of your contribution, up to 10% of your gross pay. In other words, 5%. The catch is this: If you currently just contribute 2% to get the company's match, now you'll have to put in 4% to get the same amount out of them. You want to maximize the company's match? You have to put in the full 10% to get their 5% match / 3% increase. There goes your big, fat 10.5% raise.
We've already come this far, and we've been extremely effective, so why put our tails between our legs and crawl for cover? So many things are working in our favor. Contrary to some opinions, I believe that we did stop a lot of freight. We're getting even deeper into the busy season. The clock is ticking on the Narita slots. Capacity in Asia is hugely affected. Fuel surcharges are catching up with fuel costs. The Company simply can not afford to have us strike much longer. If we vote down this TA we won't necessarily even have to go back to picketing. Maybe we would, maybe not. Even now, Cato thinks that we're a bunch of 'kitties' and that we don't have the resolve to fight for more than he's offering. But in the end they really do have much more to lose than we do.
The one positive thing that I can say about this TA is that it proves that the company's threats of selling the certificate, terminating and furloughing crewmembers, transferring aircraft, etc. are empty and meaningless. It was all bluffs. We will never have another opportunity to do this again. If we're going to do this, we have to do it now. It was all true 2 weeks ago before we went on strike. It is a proven fact. We have shown our unity and our demonstrated our resolve, now let's take our just reward.
We all want to get back to what we love. None of us wants to go back out on the picket lines. But now that the uncertainty is gone let's do what we came here for and take what is rightfully ours!
One crewmember recently suggested putting Cato's crappy 10.5% offer up to vote. Some opposed the idea, others encouraged it. Well, guys and girls, here it is. Any question on which way I'm voting?
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Polar TA
WhaleDriver,
You said:
If understand you correctly, you can be extended up to 23 days, no overtime pay until you break garruntee in hard flight time regardless of how many days you worked, you get 1/3 deadhead pay credit instead 1/2 like everyone else, scheduling can move a portion of your days around without your consent and your taxed to death on gateway basing....
I dont mean to be rude but WHERE is the SWEETENED part?
Dont get me wrong, I'm NOT doing handsprings over this TA, and I'm not sure I'll vote for it.
I defintely wont vote for it until the SCAB list gets published. The MEC may not be able to instigate punishment, but no one said the membership cant.
Call me old fashioned, but that means a lot to me...
You said:
Polaroids...note that Atlas had a T/A voted down and AAWH sweetened the deal to get it by. When the second T/A was in trouble, AAWH sweetened it again.
I dont mean to be rude but WHERE is the SWEETENED part?
Dont get me wrong, I'm NOT doing handsprings over this TA, and I'm not sure I'll vote for it.
I defintely wont vote for it until the SCAB list gets published. The MEC may not be able to instigate punishment, but no one said the membership cant.
Call me old fashioned, but that means a lot to me...
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the letter says POLAR MEC can not initiate any actions agains those on the scab list, however the list is there, we, the membership can initiate any action. we, the membership,can receive guidance from our MEC to have National add those scabs on the master scab list. we , the membership, can publish those names and give them to all othe MEC airlines. it only states that the MEC ca not do that. we , the membership, will make sure those names are made public.
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Miafr8r, Go for it! Let us hear how you really feel about it and don’t hold back this time. Me thinks you should heat up the tar pot and get some feathers, or better yet, an old fashioned lynching might be in order.
grazydedog that goes for you as well
grazydedog that goes for you as well
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Fr8Dog, regarding your well thought out post:
You are either a wannabe, or and Atlas pilot....
Easy to "stir the pot" from the comfort of your lazyboy.
If you actually fly for a living and are an ALPA member, you should've carried one of our picket signs. Other carriers did...
Maybe then would you sound less child-like and more like a responsible adult who actually has a clue.
When you get old enough to start shaving, go electric. You'll cut your baby fine skin with a blade.
Miafr8r, Go for it! Let us hear how you really feel about it and don’t hold back this time. Me thinks you should heat up the tar pot and get some feathers, or better yet, an old fashioned lynching might be in order.
Easy to "stir the pot" from the comfort of your lazyboy.
If you actually fly for a living and are an ALPA member, you should've carried one of our picket signs. Other carriers did...
Maybe then would you sound less child-like and more like a responsible adult who actually has a clue.
When you get old enough to start shaving, go electric. You'll cut your baby fine skin with a blade.
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ALASKA U.S. Attorney
Anyone having any information or PICTURES of Polar Air pilots harassing Atlas pilots please forward them to:
Timothy M. Burgess
U.S. Attorney
Federal Building and
U.S. Courthouse
222 West 7th Ave, Rm 253, #9
Anchorage, Alaska 99513
(907) 271-5071
Timothy M. Burgess
U.S. Attorney
Federal Building and
U.S. Courthouse
222 West 7th Ave, Rm 253, #9
Anchorage, Alaska 99513
(907) 271-5071
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the only photos are the ones of the atlas crews that scab. the list has been completed. tomorrow evening , after the TA is ratified, they will begin investigating each case. after that, the list will be made public for any polar and /or/ atlas crewmember to file a grievance against those scabs. after that there will be an arbitration hearing( it has nothing to do with the hearings on normal company matters and will happen fast), and those guys who did cross the picket lines in spite of their mec asking them not to will be expelled from alpa. then they will be added to the master scab list, and finally, since both polar and atlas are closed shops, the company will ask those non union members fro their resignation.
have fun working at CAT in about 6 months scabs
have fun working at CAT in about 6 months scabs
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I suspected grazydedog was full of BS, and that post confirms it. NO airline in the US is a "closed shop"!
So, now we can expect that the rest of his spew is no more than total BS as well.
So, now we can expect that the rest of his spew is no more than total BS as well.
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Polar TA
Oh Goatherder....
Oh please, you're just trying to cover your rear end. That's quite surprising considering you've given Cato easy access to it for the past several years!
I guess it's pretty easy when you dont have a spine....
Anyone having any information or PICTURES of Polar Air pilots harassing Atlas pilots please
I guess it's pretty easy when you dont have a spine....