Union Facts

Unions thrive on creating an adversarial relationship with management and with colleagues or peers who disagree with them. Our industry is full of countless examples of how unions create hostile work environments, stalling progress and even pay increases for years.

History also has taught us that powerful unions, particularly in our industry, will not hesitate to place their companies in financial peril, ultimately costing thousands of hardworking men and women their jobs.

No one, not a union or SkyWest, could tell you what would be agreed to within a contract. In fact, a union can guarantee just one thing: the payment of union dues and assessments.
Voting in a union means all aspects of a pay and benefits package are up for negotiation. There is no guarantee that pay, work rules, or benefits will improve with a union contract.
Unions job protections only apply to non-probationary employees. In fact, union contracts typically have no sway over employee discipline or termination hearings until after you complete probation. And here's a nice bonus they don't want you to know: unions can require the company to terminate your employment if you fail to pay your dues.
While union organizers want you to believe they have your best interests at heart, they have no responsibility to listen to you or any of your peers. While they may act like your “friends,” they will represent your priorities and decisions in a way that best suits the national union.
Know Your Rights
You may have been told that signing a union authorization card (A-card) is risk-free.
Unfortunately, this is simply not true.
When you sign a union A-card, you are providing your confidential information to a union with no restrictions on how it is used, sold, or transferred.
Signing a union A-card = authorizing a union vote. There are no returns.
Your signed union A-card will be used to schedule an election; it is not a request for information.
Your signed union A-card will remain valid for one year, and there is no obligation to give the card back. A union has zero obligation to discard a signed union A-card, even if you ask. Once signed, the union can use it to schedule an election against your wishes.
If a union is voted in and you realize it is less than what you hoped for and are paying for, it will be nearly impossible to restore our current, working relationship.
If you feel that you are being harassed, bullied, intimidated, or pressured into providing your information, report it immediately by calling 888.273.9994.
Bottom line: If you don't want a union, don't sign a union A-card.
Labor Representation
MYTHS and FACTS
Filing disclosure forms with the Department of Labor (DOL) does not make a labor representative group a union. The DOL’s definition of a labor organization is not limited to unions. It includes, “any organization of any kind, any agency, or SkyWest labor representative groups are legally recognized representatives of SkyWest people, founded by and for employees. It is important to understand that while all unions are labor organizations, not all labor organizations are unions. Like many other airlines, SkyWest provides in-kind support to its labor representatives and does not direct their positions. It is common practice for union-represented airlines to support those unions with services or goods that employee representation committee, group, association, or plan so engaged in which employees participate and which exists for the purpose, in whole or in part, of dealing with employers concerning grievances, labor disputes, wages, rates of pay, hours, or other terms or conditions of employment.” Federal law specifically allows for representation by labor organizations that are not unions. • The Railway Labor Act (RLA), which governs the airline industry’s labor relations, states specifically: “The term ‘representative’ means any person or persons, labor union, organization, or corporation designated either by a carrier or group of carriers or by its or their employees, to act for it or them.” have monetary value. For example, according to reports filed with the U.S. Department of Labor, other airlines consistently provide office space, travel, and other in-kind support to facilitate conducting union business. By this logic, then, a “union” wouldn’t be “independent” of airline management either.