What a surprise....another backroom deal between Covenant Aviation and SEIU.

Covenant and SEIU have joined forces once again to stick it to the employees!

Information that we have received, that was dated 9/17/15, disclosed a cozy and convenient arrangement.  SEIU wants to guarantee that they are the union that will represent the workforce, whether Covenant retains the contract or not. So, what does Covenant get in return? How about the political clout of SEIU?

And why has the union asked for -- and been granted by Covenant -- access to the last four digits of our social security numbers? This information is "personally identifiable information." Is this even legal? What gives Covenant the right to make that decision?

We have submitted this information to the appropriate parties for review.

Letters, We Get Letters About Life in the SPP

We've recently been contacted by some people out in federal TSA land. They are worried about their airports' showing interest to go private and they are worried about their futures. One thing they want to know is if it's true there are no shift differentials at SFO, as reported at this blog. It seems that the differentials are an important part of their overall package.

Well, they are correct to worry and to start asking questions. John Pistole has been hinting that 10% higher costs in the SPP is not cost-effective in his eyes, which might give TSOs hope that Pistole will reject SPP applications. But in Washington, Pistole will be an army of one with that kind of thinking. In Washington, 10% is within reason. He's likely to lose in the long run (as planned by Obama's good pals in labor, of course). The possible exception is small airports where the contractors can't cut essential staff and claim enough efficiencies to pocket the difference.

Our new contacts have honed in on a very important detail. Where's the differential? It must be implemented, and it must be factored in!

Highlights from the Union Meeting

Well, it's a little disappointing that more didn't show. Even if you're not a big union supporter it's all the more reason for you to show. We need to let the union know where we feel they are failing.

Enough of that. Let's get into some of the highlights. First was the acknowledgement that CAS screwed up. Great. We know that already.

It was also stated that the airlines have noticed our 100% SOP usage, i.e., longer lines. But it's still not enough! We need to be doing that more! Anyways it also got the attention of Gerry Berry which is what prompted his earlier willingness to have a meeting until he canceled.

There is also a suggestion of having separate bid lines for female and male PAX TSOs. They want to put this to a vote before it is formally presented to management.

The other idea tossed out there was joining a larger union. This one we're not personally on board with. Bottom line it is going to cost more in union dues. It's a little more complicated in their dues figuring, but anything that costs us more money without a proven track record of positive results makes us skeptical. The one distinct advantage is this union has a hotline that you can call for any grievance you may have. And they will get the paperwork rolling right then and there. We'll see on that one.

All in all the meeting didn't really accomplish much. So it's really going to come down to the rest of us. What are you willing to do?

Gerry Berry to Make an Appearance?

Apparently a PAX TSO was to have a meeting with the big boss himself and select union members. Surprise, surprise when he canceled! He is sending his second in command instead, Pamela Pearson. The meeting is still going to happen with Berry but not until July. Perhaps the weather in Orlando is too nice right now to visit San Francisco? Better to visit when the Florida summer is in full effect.

Well, it seems that a particular Direktor got wind of this meeting and inquired about the "rumors" they were hearing about "issues" that this TSO was having. Fortunately, this TSO was too savvy for this particular Direktor and volunteered no information.

The story is still developing so stay tuned for details.

On another note, please do not forget about the two union meetings tomorrow.