Pilots Strike at Cargo Carrier Serving DHL, Amazon.com

Re:Pilots Strike at Cargo Carrier Serving DHL, Amazon.com by stevehawk on Tuesday November 22, 2016 @06:02PM (#13018455)

The airline industry seems particularly rough. I assume it's because of the high cost of just entering the business. I was on a United Express (ie - a carrier operating under United's name) flight once and sat next to a pilot. I was listening to him talk about their imminent strike and contract negotiations and it just seemed like a bummer. Basically, the minor carrier is only big enough to contract out to one major carrier, which is also all that's economically feasible since the crew need uniforms of the major airline and the plane can't be repainted with every flight to represent another carrier.

With their dependence on United established, United then failed to pay the minor carrier. This caused the minor carrier to go delinquent on bills, salaries, etc. United then agreed to immediately backpay everything if the minor carrier agreed to salary cuts across the board. If they didn't, then United would hold out paying until a court made them.

This is made all the more insulting because United, et al, ask these same pilots not to wear their uniforms when using their food stamps.

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Re:Pilots Strike at Cargo Carrier Serving DHL, Amazon.com by inferiorhuman on Tuesday November 22, 2016 @07:50PM (#13019023)

> Basically, the minor carrier is only big enough to contract out to one major carrier

That depends on the regional carrier. The bigger ones (SkyWest, ExpressJet, Mesa, Republic, Shuttle America, Compass/GoJet/Trans States) have contracts with United as well as other carriers. The pay is still crap and barrier to entry is still very high though.

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Re:Pilots Strike at Cargo Carrier Serving DHL, Amazon.com by vvanders on Tuesday November 22, 2016 @11:56PM (#13020160)

This tactic is common across businesses. Quite a few publishers in the game industry have pulled the same stunt and when the developer goes under re-hire everyone to work on the title at a lower rate.

Most publishing contracts have a clause the the publisher gets source/assets in the event of a developer bankruptcy.

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Re:Pilots Strike at Cargo Carrier Serving DHL, Amazon.com by cylinder on Wednesday November 23, 2016 @01:21AM (#13020518)

Without statutory protection it's a race to the bottom. We can't expect everyone to just duke it out in the courts to sort everything out. Clearly that gives yet another advantage to big pocketed corporations. But it seems the US prefers it this way.

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[dead]

Re:Pilots Strike at Cargo Carrier Serving DHL, Amazon.com by eli_gottlieb on Tuesday November 22, 2016 @07:08PM (#13018827)

No, what we really need is top-to-bottom labor and community organizing to build institutions like unions and cooperatives, even less-than-formal ones, that can wield power on behalf of the working class without getting it rubber-stamped by a local government official first.

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Re:Pilots Strike at Cargo Carrier Serving DHL, Amazon.com by cmdrfred on Wednesday November 23, 2016 @09:35AM (#13022882)

Step one is get rid of identity politics or else it becomes this.

Democrat's response: "but they are all racists"

Republicans response: "but they are libtards”

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Re:Pilots Strike at Cargo Carrier Serving DHL, Amazon.com by eli_gottlieb on Thursday November 24, 2016 @10:47AM (#13030876)

I can agree, at least regarding immaterial identity politics. "He said, she said on Twitter" needs to be thrown violently from our politics. "She couldn't get housing because the landlords are redlining black people" is a real, material problem that must be addressed, as is the displacement of whole communities by urban governments who refuse to build new housing for transplants to live in.

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Re:Pilots Strike at Cargo Carrier Serving DHL, Amazon.com by guard-of-terra on Tuesday November 22, 2016 @06:49PM (#13018721)

"then United would hold out paying until"

We should really be moving away from this bullshit to blockchain-mediated escrow enforced by contract. This way the only case you don't pay upon delivered work is if you're bankrupt.

Which is what should happen here, btw. Don't want to pay? Congratulations, you're technically bankrupt. Get your shares loose.

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Re:Pilots Strike at Cargo Carrier Serving DHL, Amazon.com by cylinder on Wednesday November 23, 2016 @01:23AM (#13020525)

I don't understand the down votes. In Australia, directors are personally liable if they allow their company to trade while insolvent. Good place to start.

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