CapnVegetto
The Prince of all Saiyans
- Joined
- Mar 24, 2005
- Posts
- 1,981
Your argument would hold merit if unions actually meant true unity. Name one instance where it has.
First and foremost, if you are 50 or 60 years old and on the bottom of the seniority list, that is simply a lost cause. I challenge you to find one single instance that could cause a favorable outcome for them. There isn't one.
If you think that JB would get anything but a staple in a merger with AMR or DAL, or ever WN, you are living in a dream world. We are small, they are big. They have resources, we do not. We have been around about 12 years, they have been around much longer. We have 2,300 pilots, they have triple, quadruple, or even more than that in some instances. The best case scenario would that a small amount of super senior captains would get some integration at the bottom of the new list with some fences up for protection, but that is about it. That is reality, and you'd best be prepared to accept it. I was when I took the job. I'm 34. I've got 30+ years left in the industry. I can afford a staple. If you can't, perhaps you should rethink your decision making process, or have taken a job somewhere else. I came to JB KNOWING the health insurance was expensive, the retirement was sub-par, and that it was likely just a matter of time before some kind of M & A activity. I came to JB KNOWING it was not the endgame for me, but prepared fully if it became so. JB is a good job. A damn good job. Anyone that says otherwise is delusional. There's a reason that there are 12,000 plus pilot applications on file here. However, that does not mean that there isn't VAST room for improvement, which is why I am staunchly pro-union.
Here's the difference: I don't lie about why I am pro-union. I don't preach bull$hit about how we are unified, etc. I am pro-union because MYSELF AND MY FAMILY stand to gain from it. Period. I would never cross a picket line because the consequences of doing so far outweigh the benefits. It's simple math.
If others gain from a union as well, that is a charming bonus. I don't really care for one simple reason:
I know for a fact that they don't care about me.
You think the senior captains that run negotiating committees actually give a rat's ass about the junior FO's?
Ask the guys that negotiated $30 bucks an hour and no health insurance for 6 months for first year guys at CAL.
Ask the guys that negotiated unlimited reserve extensions and reassignments at AE for a small payraise.
Ask the guys that negotiated 8 days a month off and unlimited junior manning for the junior reserves at Mesa.
They will likely blame management, but the simple fact is, had they given up some off their top-heavy compensation and thought of someone other than themselves, the guys at the bottom might actually get to see their families once in a while, and might actually get to make a living.
Unity my ass. They are no better than management. The guys at the top of the union take care of themselves, and everyone else can go to hell.
Look at the salaries at ALPA national.
The only saving grace is that some of the scraps that fall downhill might get picked up by the junior guys. For example, health insurance cost is likely to go down. Retirement is likely to get better. But make no mistake about it.....they aren't doing it for you, they are doing it for them.
A truly unified union would be completely unstoppable by managment. There would be nothing they could do but acquiesce to the reality of what the union wants, or go out of business. But pilots are greedy by nature, we always have been. We will never be truly unified because the guys at the top want one thing, the guys at the bottom want another. Retirement is more important to some than heath insurance or pay. Some guys want to work their asses off and credit 100 hours a month, some guys, like me, are totally happy with min guarantee and working as little as possible. As long as that is the case, you will have differing opinions on how things should be done, what should be a top priority, and what is most important. There will never be true unity. Guys right now are pissing and moaning at JB because there is no open time. They are lowering the bid divisors and awarding lines to more people. Senior guys that want to max their flying are pissed, while junior guys like me are happy to be off reserve and more than happy to just fly a 70 or 80 hour line and go home.
Pilots will always be divided, just as humanity always will be. Guys that scream out "you've got the 'I got mine' attitude" like A350 are really saying, "you should be caring about what I care about!! Not what you care about!"
Not a chance, scooter. I have my own life to life, my own family to feed, and my own priorities to take care of. I don't give a damn about yours any more than you give a damn about mine.
The only difference is I don't bull$hit about it.
