Lear/YPF,
True, the downward spiral of this profession is us, the pilots. Management tries to do it, and we let them. When a company has an inherent fiscal advantage, like foreign government subsidies or significantly lower labor costs then it has the advantage. With so many wannabees out there, management thinks that they can replace us all with much lower paying employees that just want to 'break in,' even if it is at lower wages than what the current standard is.
Conclusion--if you take a job for low pay or under some crazy* pft scheme then you contribute to the spiral. If you work for a non-represented carrier and buy into the 'we've got to take it in-the-can so that our company can win/outlast and we'll reap the benefits,' then you're sadly mistaken. Another bunch of guys will come along and undercut you once you are on top and there you're job will go...
Oh yeah, if you have no other skill than flying...if you wonder what the heck you'd do if your flying job went away. I encourage you to get a skill as a backup plan, that way if they come to you wanting the 75% pay cut, you can just go do your other job, not take it on the chin and allow the spiral to continue. If you fly airplanes for a living, you are certainly savvy enough to do something else; let's all have the self-respect to say when enough is enough. The problem is that we'd all have to do this, and we know that's not going to happen, so I guess it's just wishful thinking.
Our only chance is to stick together, and I'm just not sure pilots can do that in large numbers.
*when I say crazy, I don't mean getting a type or signing a short contract for having a company pay for yours. If you can't feed your family on you income or are locked into some crazy work contract this means you!
