Surplus1,
Actually, beyond the issue of furloughees, Gen. Lee and I rarely agree. in this thread, we agreed that 1) it would suck to sit in the back of an RJ for 3 hours and 2) 767s have large cockpits. feel free to look up some of my past posts.
why do i back bringing the furloughees to Comair? a good friend of mine, who taught me how to fly, is one of them. he's paid his dues and then some, through instructing, flying in the regionals in conditions far worse than i enjoy today. when his hard work pays off, he gets hired at Delta, his dream job. and then 9/11 happens and soon after he's on the street.
I, on the other hand, have had a pretty easy ride in my career. i fell into a sweet corporate gig early on and didn't have to make the sacrifices that he did. so then, with no previous airline experience, i land a job flying at Comair, a great airline, flying a great airplane. it's really been a lot of fun so far. meanwhile, even though he's got years of airline experience, he's unemployed. i just think that's unfair. that's the way the airlines work, and we all sign up knowing it can happen, but it still sucks.
union dues: the actual percentage was mentioned to us at the dinner they held for us in the first week of training, haven't heard a thing about it since. all my manuals and whatnot are in cincy, so i made a guess in that post. i was wrong, so thanks for putting up the correct info. i'm not sure i see the significance though, whatever the percentage is, i still have to pay it. (once i'm off probation, of course)
and, yes, i am willing to disagree with my MEC. is that wrong? am i not able to form my own opinions about things? in large part, i participate on this board to help flesh out my own opinions. as you know, i'm new to all this, so it'll take a while. i don't hold myself out as being some kind of expert on how to make things right, but i'm not afraid to express my view of things. i'd certainly like to hear your take, especially considering your wealth of experience compared to mine, but don't expect me to agree with you until i see the validity in your arguments for myself.
for example, i wasn't here during the strike, so i don't know what went on. did Delta pilots support you or did they try to screw you? it depends on who you ask. what really happened when our MEC met the Delta MEC. Did the Delta MEC try to railroad us into taking their furloughees, knowing we'd react defensively, so they could start a PR war against us? Our did our MEC tell Delta to p1ss off, in retribution for treatment we received during the strike? Or did Delta management nix the whole idea before it was offered, because Leo doesn't want the pilot groups to work together? Or did our management say no because of the training costs involved, and because it might hurt attendance at the Academy if the students think they won't have an interview spot? in my short time here, I have heard either a Delta or Comair pilot swear to me that each of the above was the REAL reason behind the current ruckus. so which is it? and how do you know?
as for being furloughed, i already dodged one bullet by turning down ACA and waiting for a class date from Comair. my gut feeling is that the RJ won't go to mainline. however, if i were to get furloughed, i doubt that simply changing my opinions to match yours would in any way prevent that from happening. still, i'd like to hear your thoughts on things. you may find that we agree on more than you might think.
Captainv
Surplus1: It's amazing captainv, that you're busy agreeing with General Lee, who advocates banning you for life from Delta, but (in another thread) you don't even know what your union dues will be when you get off probation. Nevertheless you are willing to disagree with your MEC. It's little wonder the union is so screwed up.
I hope you realize that when the people you are supporting win the battle they are waging against us, and succeed in transfering our airplanes to themselves, it is YOU that will be on the streets. Ignorance is truly bliss.
