Union authorization cards (A-cards) are the tool unions use to schedule an election. Union A-cards are not simply requests for more information. If you don't want a union, don't sign a card. When you sign a union A-card you authorize a union to speak on your behalf and to schedule an election. The union will submit your signed card to the National Mediation Board (NMB) as proof that you want a union to represent you.

Signing the card = authorizing a union vote. Your signed union A-card will remain valid for one year, and there is no obligation to give the card back. If you don't want a union, don't sign a union A-card. If you sign and change your mind, then you will have to actively vote against the union later if an election takes place.

No one, not a union or SkyWest, could tell you what kind of contract you may end up with. The proof is in your existing contract: no union has secured better pay and work rules in the regional industry. And no union can guarantee you anything that must be won at a bargaining table. In negotiations, wages, benefits and work rules can go up, down, or remain the same. In fact, the only thing a union can guarantee is that you pay union dues and assessments.

SkyWest's Employee Councils, like SIA, were created by employees to help advocate and negotiate for the top-tier pay, work rules, and benefits that are part of our legally recognized collective bargaining agreements. The representative groups that make our SkyWest Employee Council were created decades ago – by frontline employees, for frontline employees. SkyWest's unmatched culture and open-door policy also allows for all employees to have a voice, from the frontline to the CEO. Conversely, employees under union representation cannot speak for themselves or work flexibly and collaboratively with management on their own to solve problems.

There is no set timeline for contract negotiations and history has shown they often take years. Once ratified, the extended contract limits employees' flexibility to seek changes until it becomes amendable in four to six years. By contrast, SIA routinely negotiates with the company on a regular basis.

Absolutely. Under the Railway Labor Act (RLA), an employee representative can be a committee, an organization, and even an individual who bargains with the Company to create a legally enforceable contract.

No. By law, the union becomes the exclusive representative for all of the employees in the bargaining unit, including those who did not want it. You would be restricted from pursuing a grievance or complaint on your own – contractually the union representative usually has the right to be present even if the employee does not want them there.

No. The union is not contractually liable. Its promises are not legally enforceable.

First, don't sign any cards circulated by a union. They are not harmless. These cards are used to schedule an election. Second, let your co-workers know that this is how you feel. You have just as much right to express your opinions as the union supporters have to try and sell their union. It is important that your co-workers understand that it is just not SkyWest management but the majority of our employees that don't want a union to represent them.

During a strike, the Company has the absolute right to continue its operations. It can do this by using management people to perform the work, subcontracting the work, or hiring replacements for economic strikers. (Alaska Airlines continued to operate during its last mechanics strike). What “permanent replacement” means is that after the strike is finally over, the Company is not required to take back striking employees and displace the replacement employees. Strikers must wait until there are openings.

Yes, but this is not a quick or easy process. Under the RLA, the union is prohibited from striking during the bargaining process. Once a deadlock is reached during negotiations, the union or Company can apply for the services of a mediator. Once the mediator is appointed, the bargaining process continues with the mediator present. Still, under the RLA, the union is not allowed to strike. Only when the mediator determines that the parties are deadlocked and arbitration is rejected, can a thirty-day cooling off period run, at the end of which the union is finally free to strike. This is typically years from the time of the original election.

Yes. Employees have the same rights as the union pushers have. Whether they exercise their rights is strictly up to them but employees do have every right to do so.

Every union in this country is required to file an annual financial report with the federal government. This report details the assets and liabilities at the beginning and end of the fiscal year. This report shows the salary of each officer and employee, and other expenditures, such as country club memberships for union leaders. Union financial reports are public records and maintained by the U.S. Department of Labor.

One of the biggest priorities for any union is negotiating what is known as a "union security clause." A union security clause requires that all employees in the group must pay dues or what are known as "agency fees" to the union even if they choose not to belong to the union. In many cases it also requires the employer to fire any employee who refuses to pay. In such cases, if the individual refused to pay, the union could demand that the employee be fired and the employer would be required to oblige.

No. A union can only ask that SkyWest consider its proposals. The Company does not have to change any job standards or rates just because a union asks.

If a union was voted in, the pay and benefits in your current SkyWest contract would become frozen until a new contract can be negotiated. From there, everything we currently enjoy would be on the table. In negotiations, wages, benefits and work rules can go up, down, or remain the same. In fact, the only thing a union can guarantee is that you pay union dues and assessments.

There is no set timeline for contract negotiations, and history has shown they often take years. Once ratified, the extended contract limits employees' flexibility to seek changes until it becomes amendable in four to six years. By contrast, SIA routinely negotiates with the company on a regular basis.

If a union is voted in, it is very difficult to get rid of it. Plus, under NMB voting rules, the minority could vote in a union that would be virtually impossible to eliminate.

You don't. In negotiations, wages, benefits and working conditions can go up, down, or remain the same. No one, not the union and not the Company, can tell you in advance what kind of contract you could end up with.

No. No union can guarantee you anything. If the union won an election, the only thing they would win is the right to bargain with management and the right to collect union dues - nothing more. There are no other guarantees. No one knows what will happen in the give and take process of collective bargaining. You could end up with more, you could end up with the same thing you started with, or you could end up with less.

No. It is your right to vote against the union. No one can be fired because of his or her support, either for, or against union representation.