shadesofBS
Well-known member
- Joined
- Apr 26, 2005
- Posts
- 118
For twenty years I've watched pilots adjust their perceptions and beliefs to fit their current realities. When they're on reserve - seniority sucks. When they get seniority - furloughs are fine. When they're in the regionals - SCOPE sucks. When they're at the majors - outsourcing sucks. When they're making 100 credit hours in the left seat - the pay system is fine.
What I see on this board and others is a noble attempt by my colleagues to defend Jetblue and its pilots from those who would use us as a punching bag. Pitting our reality and our personal decisions against the reality and personal decisions of others.
A word of advise though: you won't win the credibility card if you denigrate ALPA in the same post that you claim that Jetblue has nothing to do with the problems in the industry.
Many of you offer summary explanations of how ALPA ruined everything and then throw in a line at the end about how pilots didn't ruin the industry. Since ALPA is run at the local level by democratic processes how can we claim in one breath that ALPA is our "demon dujour" and then say that pilots are not?
What Jetblue pilots have to realize is that ALPA is as much a punching bag right now as Jetblue is. It's an easy and convenient way for pilots to feel better about their individual realities. Neither ALPA nor Jetblue can be blamed as the cause of the industries problems.
One thing that IS true is that ALPA and its members have contributed immensely to our profession and to the entire industry. Decades of volunteers have made huge changes to a profession that was headed in a very troubling direction. Now, with our "what have you done for me today" mentallity, it's popular and convenient to blame ALPA or Duane. Simplistic to say the least.
We may have been the latest to give customers rock bottom prices and great emenities but we're not out there improving the piloting profession. Maybe you don't think it's the role of pilots to improve things, but ALPA does. Their cause is pretty clear. Before we start making noble statements about "guiding" the profession back to a respectable state - we need to start with the unwavering belief that pilots are NOT the reason that airlines go bankrupt.
What comes first: the ticket price or the labor cost? Is a $20 transcon ticket fair? When do we stop giving it away? When we rule the world? When everybody else is out of business because they let their workers do the unpardonable and get OLD - will we then raise our price and the pilots of Jetblue can be free to fight for a better wage? Great Karma. So 20 years from now when the brand new version of an LCC comes along and guts Jetblue, will we still be singing the praises of the free market? Let's outsource the 190 and see if we can get the price down to $10 a ticket.
We get angry when people don't get their facts straight about Jetblue or throw out accusations that are completely false and yet some of you turn right around and engage in ALPA/union/legacy bashing. Some of you blame the pilots of legacy carriers for their greed but you completely discount any suggestion that we contribute to the CASM disparity.
I love this job and Jetblue saved my career as my previous airline failed. Jetblue didn't cause it to fail any more than I caused it to fail. It got old and the storms of capitalism beat the crap out of it. I am still however, dedicated to every single building block of this profession that was laid by volunteers and yes - UNIONS. Because WE contributed. I take great exception to people who come along with a brush of their hand and say - it's a new world buddy - get used to it.
You want to be treated fairly? Start by taking a more realistic view of ALPA and the legacies.
Here's a claim that is far more factual than either "Jetblue is the problem" or "ALPA is the problem" : Pilot unions in this country are primarily responsible for the good wages and good working conditions that we all enjoy today. The fact that we are moving backwards cannot be laid at the doorstep of ALPA.
What I see on this board and others is a noble attempt by my colleagues to defend Jetblue and its pilots from those who would use us as a punching bag. Pitting our reality and our personal decisions against the reality and personal decisions of others.
A word of advise though: you won't win the credibility card if you denigrate ALPA in the same post that you claim that Jetblue has nothing to do with the problems in the industry.
Many of you offer summary explanations of how ALPA ruined everything and then throw in a line at the end about how pilots didn't ruin the industry. Since ALPA is run at the local level by democratic processes how can we claim in one breath that ALPA is our "demon dujour" and then say that pilots are not?
What Jetblue pilots have to realize is that ALPA is as much a punching bag right now as Jetblue is. It's an easy and convenient way for pilots to feel better about their individual realities. Neither ALPA nor Jetblue can be blamed as the cause of the industries problems.
One thing that IS true is that ALPA and its members have contributed immensely to our profession and to the entire industry. Decades of volunteers have made huge changes to a profession that was headed in a very troubling direction. Now, with our "what have you done for me today" mentallity, it's popular and convenient to blame ALPA or Duane. Simplistic to say the least.
We may have been the latest to give customers rock bottom prices and great emenities but we're not out there improving the piloting profession. Maybe you don't think it's the role of pilots to improve things, but ALPA does. Their cause is pretty clear. Before we start making noble statements about "guiding" the profession back to a respectable state - we need to start with the unwavering belief that pilots are NOT the reason that airlines go bankrupt.
What comes first: the ticket price or the labor cost? Is a $20 transcon ticket fair? When do we stop giving it away? When we rule the world? When everybody else is out of business because they let their workers do the unpardonable and get OLD - will we then raise our price and the pilots of Jetblue can be free to fight for a better wage? Great Karma. So 20 years from now when the brand new version of an LCC comes along and guts Jetblue, will we still be singing the praises of the free market? Let's outsource the 190 and see if we can get the price down to $10 a ticket.
We get angry when people don't get their facts straight about Jetblue or throw out accusations that are completely false and yet some of you turn right around and engage in ALPA/union/legacy bashing. Some of you blame the pilots of legacy carriers for their greed but you completely discount any suggestion that we contribute to the CASM disparity.
I love this job and Jetblue saved my career as my previous airline failed. Jetblue didn't cause it to fail any more than I caused it to fail. It got old and the storms of capitalism beat the crap out of it. I am still however, dedicated to every single building block of this profession that was laid by volunteers and yes - UNIONS. Because WE contributed. I take great exception to people who come along with a brush of their hand and say - it's a new world buddy - get used to it.
You want to be treated fairly? Start by taking a more realistic view of ALPA and the legacies.
Here's a claim that is far more factual than either "Jetblue is the problem" or "ALPA is the problem" : Pilot unions in this country are primarily responsible for the good wages and good working conditions that we all enjoy today. The fact that we are moving backwards cannot be laid at the doorstep of ALPA.
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