Delta might offer CRJ70's to Mainline

[embdrvr]

I'm surprised a CMR Cpt would accuse mainline of not supporting them during the strike. The support was indisputable although the motives may have been questionable. I know at least a few DAL mainline pilots hoped that CMR might negotiate themselves out of a job thus allowing mainline to fly RJ's.

 

[FurloughedAgain]

General

Dear General,

General quoted, "That's funny, I distinctly remember personally writing out checks at about $50.00 a month for my husband---supporting your strike.... "

Please excuse my ignorance General. But every ALPA pilot, from every ALPA carrier, was assessed by the association to pay strike benefits to the Comair pilots. All of us.

I admit that I am ignorant of any additional assistance offered by the Delta pilots but I would sincerely hope that your friend's wife was talking about ADDITIONAL checks in support of the Comair pilots, and not simply the same assessment checks that we all -- every ALPA pilot -- paid.

I am certainly interested in learning about any additional support that was provided to the Comair pilots by the Delta pilot group.

I sent an additional $100 to their family support fund. It was not much, but hopefully it helped. It was something that my wife and I decided we could do above and beyond the strike assessment that was mandated by the association. The pilots were, after all, trying to defend the profession. I admire them for walking the line. They deserve to wear that star.

I realize this is beyond the scope of this conversation, but as a reader of this forum and of the almost continuous Comair/Delta argument, I am curious as to what the other divisions of Delta Airlines did to support their striking Comair brothers.

Thank you in advance.

-Furloughed Again

 

[General Lee]

Furloughedagain,


Give me a break! I know that Everyone at ALPA helped write checks---but what else could we have done? Bush didn't let us strike ourselves---so a strike was not an option. We told management that we would not fly "struck work." A lot of our pilots walked the picket line with the Comair pilots. The strike lasted 3 months---and cost Delta $250 million. It was a good try and probably would have outlasted many other airlines---but Delta had the cash at the time to weather the storm. Did I support the Comair guys? Hell yes. I wanted them to get better pay and benefits. Why wouldn't I? Nobody was financially hurting back then. It's not my fault that Leo didn't budge. I, along with 25,000 other pilots from ALPA, gladly paid our monthly checks to help out. (and some people gave more per month into the Comair Family support fund etc.) What else could we have done? Each of us given $500 a month to every Comair pilot? Leo Mullin threatened to shut the whole thing down---he did. Luckily it didn't come to that. ASA would have taken over at CVG if Comair didn't come back. Overall, we all supported the Comair pilots totally---no doubt in that. Everytime I flew a 757 in there during the strike, the place was a ghost town. I hoped it would be over and they would win. It didn't work out that way. Now, after 9-11 and all of our furloughs, some of our guys need some help. What has happened to them? NOTHING. Hey, how about some of the Comair guys returning the favor and giving $50 or how about $25 a month to our furloughed guys that probably pitched in for them? What? Not going to do that? Don't make enough money, eh? Our guys don't deserve any help? They are already rich? What a double standard. And, to top it off---you said that everybody contributed to the Comair fund---all Alpa pilots. Well, Comair is hiring everyone else except us. (yes, they have to give up their senority numbers.....but Delta OWNS YOU AND ME---they make the rules and they have not complained to ASA about not doing just that.....sorry excuse) So, tell me what else we could have done? Our MEC should have done what? The Bush administration came out and said that there would be no strikes from the Majors that year. We didn't fly the struck work, and gave them as much support as we could. And now we have furloughed pilots in the middle---and they are the ones who are really losing out. No one really sees that. No wonder we are trying to get some 70 seaters in our name at a subsidiary. More to come! Thanks for the help Lawson!

Bye Bye--General Lee

 

[FurloughedAgain]

What else could you have done?

Thanks General,

I was just curious to see if the Delta pilots did anything more than any other pilot group.

What could you have done? Thats not for me to say. Maybe some of the Comair pilots who participate in this discussion could answer your question.

General said, "Hey, how about some of the Comair guys returning the favor and giving $50 or how about $25 a month to our furloughed guys that probably pitched in for them?

If ALPA were to assess those pilots as they did all ALPA pilots during the strike I have no doubt in my mind that they would pay. The question I would ask is, if it were optional, how many DAL pilots would have participated?

As a fellow-furloughee (albeit from another carrier) I think its a GREAT idea for ALPA to assess its remaining membership $50, $100, $200 or a percentage of their pay per period to go into a family assistance fund for all furloughed pilots. Thats thinking outside of the box and I think we should all petition Duane Woerth with the idea. Well done!

Anyhow, thanks for answering my question.

-Furloughed Again

 

[46Driver]

NOOOOOOOOOOOO..... How is it that every thread after a given length degenerates into a Comair vs Delta slugfest????