our pledge to you

As the RightChoice Slate, we are dedicated to bringing you a financially transparent Union that you can have confidence in. You have a right to know where every one of your hard-earned dollars goes. Therefore, we will request the secretary-treasurer to post all union compensation on a monthly basis. Additionally, we will propose a bylaw change limiting the local officials' ability to make capital expenditures without pilot ratification. In our opinion, spending $89,000 on CAPA, a lobbying group in D.C., should have been voted on. We will also propose the inclusion of a 24-month no-compete clause in the bylaws, preventing those who have held union leadership positions from transitioning directly to company management positions.

​

As per our bylaws, we will request your bargaining demands. We believe that a few surveys with canned answers don’t suffice. We need a system to get your demands collected and organized so we can present them to the company. It’s not the world according to the negotiating committee; they should be a conduit for you.

​

We understand that Atlas Air operates under unique circumstances and that the pilots work under those same conditions. Collectively, we have to take a new approach to our way of doing business. The days of airline bankruptcies leaving pilots desperate and willing to work 20 days a month are over. As a company, we should be focused on bringing a high-quality product to the market and eliminating our competition. Instead, we spend millions of dollars in legal fees where the only winners are the lawyers.

​

As our former CEO Bill Flynn once said, “we understand the economics have changed.” Well then, it’s time that we take a fresh approach, one that eliminates inefficiencies, enhances quality of life, and increases our compensation package. To that end, we will not promise you the old cliché of an “industry-leading” or “industry-standard” contract. There is no “one size fits all” contract for the airlines. We are unique in our business model and should have a contract that fits that model and compensates us accordingly.

​

Ladies and gentlemen, we face challenging times ahead. As a Union, we need to get ahead of those challenges. Age 67, single pilot operation, and pilots residing overseas are all part of the landscape of the future. Instead of spending tens of thousands of dollars fighting the inevitable, we should embrace those changes and adapt accordingly.

​

Please join the RightChoice Slate as we move forward into a renewed relationship with the management at Atlas Air. Help us lay a foundation that the future pilots of Atlas Air can build upon and we can enjoy in the meantime.

​

In solidarity,

​

The RightChoice Slate