If you haven't been furloughed and know how hard it ison the family, maybe a little consideration should be in order.
In six years of full time flying, I've never been furloughed. However, in blue collar jobs I had before I got into flying, I got LAID OFF a couple of times. In fact, one time I got laid off (the paper converting plant moved their machines to Alabama and the plant closed it's doors...labor costs drove the move) and eventually dam near went homeless. Before it was over with, I had no power on in my 200 dollar a month apartment and no hot water. I lifted weights by candle light in the evening and ran a tub of water during the day, so it would warm up to room temperature before I came home in the evening to take a bath.
It eventually got so bad, I had to wipe my ass with a wash cloth and wash it out in the bathroom sink with a bar of soap because I couldn't afford toilet paper and I don't even remember how I could have afforded that bar of soap. I was still broke and powerless for a while, EVEN after taking a menial labor low paying job in an ice cream novelty manufacturing plant, as a machine operator.
Eventually, I was able to secure one of the most sought after and highly lucrative paper mill jobs in town, even though they had 7,000 resumes on file. Six years of that nonsense and I was actually able to sell the house I had bought for a profit and pursue a career in aviation. This obviously was a mid life career change...before the advent of the information super highway. There I was, a two year associate degree graduate and 4 year navy veteran and I had been that close to living on the street.
There's a lot of people out there LAID OFF from "pedestrian jobs", that don't have the benefit of a seniority number at a major airline, marking their place till they return. In fact, in my area there is a meat packing plant out on strike and have been for quite some time now. The company that owns them had been showing profits well before and during the strike and still couldn't see eye to eye with the workers to offer a livable contract.
When the foreclosures stop, when the workers have jobs again and can afford airline tickets, when businesses are sending employees out into the traveling world of work again, you guys will be back to the grindstone. Till then, keep in mind you aint the only ones sucking hind tit.
Good luck to all those that are furloughed or displaced from flying jobs and your families...best wishes to the American economy and it's return...for all of us...big or small.
