Mel Sharples
Well-known member
- Joined
- Feb 2, 2004
- Posts
- 313
Frankly, it shouldn't even be encouraged at all. When you elect someone to run your union, that should be their primary job. Flying airplanes and taking checkrides is nothing more than a distraction from their primary job of representing your interests.
I beg to differ with that statement.
I agree that being an MEC chairman (or should I say a "good MEC chairman") is more than a full time job. Those guys work a ton during the day and more often than not take calls and emails at home during the night. I also agree that during negotiations, mergers, etc. that the job is even busier.
However, that being said, I think one of the problems that can affect MEC chairmen and company managers and instructors et. al. is that they are "so busy" doing the Lord's work that they don't have time to stay current and fly the line once in a while. No one says you have to be out there every week or even every month for that matter. But it is not too much to ask to stay current. That's something every professional pilot should strive for.
The biggest reason for that is because once you stop staying current and flying even occasionally, you run the risk of losing touch with your pilots (the group you serve). That is why so many managers are out of touch. When's the last time they did a 4-day trip with overheated planes, reduced rest, no lunch breaks, etc.? When is the last time they had to take a PC or go to recurrent ground school? Makes you a lot more humble when even once in a while you have to do what all the others have to do. Plus it doesn't hurt to be seen in the crewroom and engage pilots where they work.
FWIW, I don't work for Pinnacle so I don't have a dog in this fight. But I do not agree for a second that just because someone is uber-busy with union work that they have no need to stay current.
I think the crew out in Herndon should take that message to heart as well.