General Lee said:
I could go on for days...you know that)
Yes, we know that. I can do the same, but it won't change much of anything.
"Hey look, we've got them---let's see if we can get them to throw away the scope, and then we'll put their guys at the bottom of our list, flying the crappy trips. Good idea." Am I wrong here?
In a word, YES.
Here's how it went. Act 1 Scene 1.
Delta MEC -- "So, you don't want the Eagle flow-thorugh to the bottom of our list so that we can use you as furlough protection? Who the h*ll do you think you are? Fine, have it your way. Just so you'll know, were taking ALL your seventy seaters and on top of that, we're going to restrict your 50-seaters enough to where you'll be laying off pilots. Your growth is over and if you're lucky you'll have another upgrade in about 5 years. We're gonna Scope your a$$ right off the map."
Act 1 Scene 2
You tried to take all the 70-seaters, but you failed. The Company said no. However, they did give you a cap at 57 -- spread among ALL the DCI carriers. (We alone had 90 on order/option before that). You did succeed in capping our 50-seat flying and placing all types of restrictions on it. All designed to prevent our growth. We were just lucky that you didn't get what you wanted, but you sure tried. What's more, you're planning to try again.
Act 2 Scene 1
Your Company bought our Company. We asked for the implementation of ALPA's merger policy. Your MEC hired a lawyer to block it. You called us names, told us we were unqualified to work on your list, had skeletons in our closets, no education, DUI's and everything else derogatory you could think of. You corralled your "buddies" in the national union against us. You told us, over and over again, that you wanted no part of the likes of us on your list, period. You won.
Act 2 Scene 2.
Your EVP on the Executive Council actively took action to limit our funding, deny us access to the OCF and leave us without enough money to run even a skeleton MEC .... in the middle of our negotiations. You're powerful and you forced it through the Executive Council and through the Executive Board by a weighted vote majority. You told us "Sometimes you have to eat a sh!t sandwich."
We countered by assessing ourselves an additional 1.5% of gross in dues to our MEC, paying our own way. We continued to pay the assessment (except during the strike) until after our new contract was signed. Your direct action cost our pilots an additional million dollars, directly. But you didn't win. It pis*ed you off more. You called us more names.
The union helped you by delaying our contract to ensure that you could sign your contract first. Your MEC declined to support a joint effort that would coordinate with us to pressure the Company as a whole.
Act 3 Scene 1.
You signed an "industry leading contract" that included most of the items designed to stop us from growing. We were just lucky that circumstances beyond both our control prevent it from happening.
When we struck, you paid the assessment --- just like every other ALPA pilot did. Unlike every other ALPA pilot, you have constantly reminded us that you met your obligation to the union. NO other pilot group has reminded us every day!
Some of you gave to our family fund. Considering there are 9000 of you, you in fact gave little. Truth is the pilots of American Airlines, by themselves, gave almost as much as ALL ALPA PILOTS COMBINED! Still, you remind us on an almost daily basis that you gave and we should be beholding to you.
You didn't fly struck work. You keep reminding us of that too. Guess what; no one else flew struck work either and NONE of them reminds us every day like you do. The truth is you didn't fly struck work because you didn't want to be called Scabs ... so you can stop pretending it was to "help" us .... it wasn't.
A handful of you walked the line with us ... the majority of you walked through the line ... without a nod. That's OK, we didn't expect you to stick your necks out for us... and you didn't.
In short buddy, a few, a handful of you, gave support during our strike (thanks very much). The majority of you, by a wide margin, did what you have always done in a strike .... nothing more than you HAD to.
It wasn't much different during the Eastern strike. In that one,
nearly a thousand of you refused to pay the assessment, and you were making relatively big bucks then too. Guess what? Almost ALL of us paid, even though the strike benefit was larger that what we ourselves were being paid to work. We paid because it was right. You paid because you HAD to. In fact, the number of you that didn't pay, was greater than our entire seniority list, at the time.
Act 3 Scene 2
Now you're in trouble. We're sorry and we wish you were not. We don't like to see any pilot furloughed, not even you. You want assistance, but you don't really just pick up the phone and ask.
Instead your MEC writes a threatening letter, orchestrates a publicity stunt in advance, makes an "offer" that it knows it can't deliver and, when it gets the answer it knew it had to get, uses it to incite the rank and file against the Comair MEC and Comair pilots.
You're still trying to incite, trying to force a wedge between us and our brothers at ASA, trying to divide us from our own MEC, bad mouthing our MEC Chairman and in general, behaving like the spoiled brats that you are.
It's time you got the message. You can work with Comair pilots, you can work with the Comair MEC. We will help you whenever you choose to make a legitimate request.
What you cannot do and what your MEC cannot do is threaten or intimidate Comair pilots. That will NOT work, no matter how often you stomp your feet and roll on the floor.
As long as you are trying to coerce and intimidate and take from us for yourselves, you will get nothing.
As long as your MEC continues to attempt to take from us and to threaten and intimidate us, there is no reason whatever why we should want even one of you on our list. In other words, we don't need you on our list any more than you need us on your list. You have made it abundantly clear that you want no part of us repeatedly. Why on earth do you expect us to want you?
As for the ASA guys "giving" you something, yes you are wrong. Remember, the ASA guys are our friends and brothers. We KNOW what their MEC did and what it didn't do.
The truth is ASA Management made a unilateral decision to hire furloughed Delta pilots. They did NOT do it because the ASA MEC asked them to. There is also NO AGREEMENT between the ASA MEC and the Delta MEC about preferential hiring. That just isn't true and you keep saying that it is. You're trying to make political hay. Own up to it. Your MEC made a bogus "offer" and you're spreading bogus propaganda.
The ASA MEC did not object to what the Company did, no more no less. The CMR MEC doesn't object to what our Company did either. It just happens to be different.
I'm sorry to burst your bubble General, but you aren't shooting straight. I'm not afraid to tell you so as you can see. I've been around long enough to tell everyone that there is no Pony in the horse manure you're putting out.
If you want us to join hands with you and help, then stop dealing from a marked deck. I'm just as tired of you guys as you are tired of us. We won't get anywhere by keeping this up. Your own pilots are the victims of your MEC's politics. Wnat to help them? Stop it!
Hope you have a good day and everyone gets recalled soon.
