I am going to chime in here. I know many have bashed me for my posts, but at this point I do not care whether you do or don't.
What has happened to our profession? We destroyed it. WE ARE OUR OWN WORST ENEMIES!!! We stab each other in the back and show zero unity. "Wear your hats for unity." Oh come on, give me a break!!!! We have taken flying from other carriers and just shrugged our shoulders when asked about the pilots we just put out of work. Why should we care? We are getting our precious growth and more money.
Meanwhile, managment laughs at us and has NO RESPECT for us. Why? Every bankruptcy, and every oppurtunity for growth, management comes running to us, and as stupid and as desperate we are, we agree to concessions for that precious little growth. I make $40K-$45K annually as a regional airline CRJ FO. Yet, my management thinks I am overpaid. Yet they tried to extract paycuts, but thankfully our union finally showed a set and told the company no.
Meanwhile, we as pilots, have destroyed the profession. We have taken jobs at the regional level and at upstarts for subpar wages. We are willing to make very little to try and hope we can advance our careers. In the 1990's there was no shortage of pilots willing to shell out $10,000 for training at a regional which paid $15K. Instead many go and deliver pizzas and work at Costco and Lowe's on thier days off and think nothing of it. I once asked a pilot why and he said, if he didn't enjoy it so much, he wouldn't be doing that. Yet, meanwhile, he is dragging down the profession. Every bankruptcy, the airlines come running to the pilots and ask the pilots to take concessions to finance them and help them after their own inefficiencies and business blunders got them there in the first place, and what do pilots get in return for financing the company? Managment still thinking we are overpaid. When The Eastwinds, Skybuses and Air Souths started flying, they were paying Captains on the 737's and Airbus a whopping $60K a year and sad but true, pilots flocked to these jobs. During the early 2000's, management used bankruptcies to get pilots to finance their growth and the airlines made record profits. when pilots asked about their return on the investment, management laughed at them. At the regional level, contracts were re-worked through bankrupcy courts and yet pilots did not hesitate to take concessions for growth. Did any care that one large regional carrier went away? Did they care long time UAL Express carriers Air Wisconsin or ACA were going to either switch partnerships or disappear, did anyone ever stop to think about those lives that got upended? Of course not. Why? Becasue we are our own worst enemies. We have shown over and over we are pushovers and we'd sell our own parents.
I was once told by an airline executive, they can offer $400 a week for a direct left seat hire in a 737 or an Airbus and tell an applicant they would have to perform fellatio, and there still would be no shortage of applicants. What is so sad? This executive is right!
Until EVERY pilot takes a stand, grows a set and stands up to management and says no to any further concessions, and starts flying the contract and quits waiving their contractual rights, which is not their's to wave in the first place, things will never change. Then maybe management will be forced to re-think their business mottos and treat us like assets and not liabilities.
So, let the basing begin, however, I will not repsond
venting is over
