Northwest trying to outsource pilots!

[densoo]

First of all, that should have been "you're a fool", not "your a fool". "You're" is the correct contraction for "you are".

In American English usage the punctuation goes inside the quotation mark:

"you are."

unless you are British, in which case it can go on the outside of the quotation mark. Are you? British?

Same problem here:

we "all hang together", that we can't be defeated.

should be

"we "all hang together," that we can't be defeated"

"It's all the Republicans/Bush's fault"

"Republicans" as you use it is possessive, plural possessive at that. As such, it should have an apostrophe after the "s" thusly: Republicans'

unless, of course, you meant it was the fault of one single Republican in which case it would be: Republican's. You probably didn't mean that, but since you put no apostrophe at all, it is unclear.

Guess what - we still can.

You probably meant to use a dash here:

"Guess what--we still can."

What you used is called a hyphen. It, too, is used improperly as a hyphen has no spaces on either side of it.

First of all, that should have been "you're a fool", not "your a fool". "You're" is the correct contraction for "you are".

Maybe JimDandy meant "your A-fool." Maybe there's a "B" fool, "C" fool, etc. There were many cats in Cat in the Hat.

Maybe there are many fools.

 

[b757driver]

politics is a dangerous game to play...an argument without a solution...I will say this, there is no telling what the Democrats would have done...maybe worse maybe better we will never know...what we do know is the US isn't exactly looking its finest these days...and sometimes the place to look is up top. Overall...i have seen this country in much better shape economically, socially, and spiritually than now. People are split, and morale isnt very high. 9/11 and Katrina were actions without control...the outcome of both is what troubles me...a war with an unknown enemy in Iraq and around the world, and a superpower very vulnerable to disasters...a sociaty that panics every time a hurricane comes 200 miles from shore. What happened in Houston before Rita hit had nothing to do with a hurricane but with a society that is panicking...scary very very scary. Mere mention of a natural disaster and this country goes bananas...the media is responsible for this and so is the government...and just like in private companies...when the ship is broke ask the captain...well the captains name is George W. Bush...doesn't the buck stop there? in 6 years the US is as vulnerable as ever...and we work in an industry that is directly tied to the actions of our federal government...if this keeps going we will all be either furloghed or working for crap. I travel the world for pleasure...been to every continent, and never have I seen soo much hate for this country and this president as now...incredible. Mere mention of America and people cringe...in Europe, South America, and Asia. To me, there is something very wrong with that picture...thats all i have to say.

I have to agree with the above poster.....like him, I have spent several years - as an OUTSOURCED US pilot - flying for a foriegn carrier because I was "not competitive enough" or some other B.S. There is not a single country that I have visited that has anything good to say about the US and that is very telling. Most folks on this board have not had that opportunity of actually living overseas to see all this. It is not very comfortable, that's for sure and right now, the US airline industry is in complete shambles - not so overseas. Again, very sad state of affairs.
Yes, the buck has to stop somewhere, and I would have thought that would be the C-in-C. His poilicies in just about everything have certainly not helped. The one single thing that I'm told by people outside of the US, is that Americans are extremely insular, and mostly do not know about politics outside their own borders. Again, Having seen both sides of the divide, I have to agree to some extent.
Outsourcing is not new, I've been outsourced twice and still can't get a decent job back home; never a problem overseas, just back home. That, too, is very telling.
But there is hope.....just heard today in the foreign press that a certain British bank which outsourced most of their services has done a massive U-turn by NOT renewing the contract which outsourced call center work to Bangalore, India! Why? Because of pressure from their customers, tons of complaints when dealing with the foreign associates in the call center. And they were actually LOSING money in the long-term. Wow, what a concept...

 

[320AV8R]

I see them adding Champion Airlines flights during rush periods, like holidays. Champion, owned by NW, might get some A320s to replace their older 727s.


Bye Bye--General Lee

General-

Champion is NOT owned by NWA.

It is a separate and independent airline.

Like Sun Country, it has a MSP crew base, quite convienent for NWA management.

320AV8R

 

[xjlifer]

In American English usage the punctuatin goes inside the quotation mark:

"you are."

unless you are British, in which case it can go on the outside of the quotation mark. Are you? British?

Same problem here:


should be "we "all hang together," that we can't be defeated"


"Republicans" as you use it is possessive, plural possessive at that. As such, it should have an apostrophe after the "s" thusly: Republicans'

unless, of course, you meant it was the fault of one single Republican in which case it would be: Republican's. You probably didn't mean that, but since you put no apostrophe at all, it is unclear.


You probably meant to use a hyphen here:

"Guess what--we still can."

What you used is called a dash.


Maybe JimDandy meant "your A-fool." Maybe there's a "B" fool, "C" fool, etc. There were many cats in Cat in the Hat.

Maybe there are many fools.

Gotta love it.....I is a fool ...but I know it....he is a fool...yet he knows it not!

 

[Rez O. Lewshun]

Please cite, in detail, the exact actions that Bush took that has placed the airline industry, and airline unions in this position.

One clear and deliberate action the Bush Admin took was to change the financial reporting requirements for unions. From general to detailed requirements, unions had to divert and devote much more man hours and funds to comply with this change. (that is your union dues). Why was the old way bad and the new way good?

Hows that for detail? Now I'm sure you can put some spin on it, but before you do, how about the burden of proof be put on you. Tell us how the Bush Administration has helped airline unions. Cause if W. isn't helping us he is hurting.

Now, of course, this change in union reporting requirements isn't the reason the whole airline industry is in this position. But as an airline pilot with a pension, wouldn't you rather have an Administration that will at least listen to your concerns about your retirement going away? Perhaps you don't have a pension, but as an Air Line Pilot you do have issues. Do you want to be heard? Or simply shut out?

When Clinton was in office, ALPA could pick up the phone and talk to a White House policy advisor. Since the Bush Admin, there is no contact at all. How can you work your issue if you aren't allowed to speak?

When ALPA endorses Kerry or Gore or Clinton is just pisses the hel! out of Air Line Pilots. "God Damm! I am a meat and potatoes, Type A personality, pick up driving, red blooded American! How dare ALPA endorse a democrat! I'm not for gay rights, animals rights, Hollywood stars etc... I'm just going to have to resign from ALPA. ALPA is messing with my identity!"

As Air Line Pilots we have got to get off this identity branding. Just becuase Kerry supports Air Line Pilots doesn't mean Air Line Pilots support gay rights. This basic understanding is very difficult for many.

We have got some serious issues in the next 5-20 years. Many pilots have the mindset that we are in tough times but they will be over soon. I disagree, the worst is yet to come. During these tough times, the concerned parties are going to influence the politicans to make changes to the CFR. Once those changes are made it might not matter whether to good times are here or not.

Here is a short list of what we have to look out for. Each one of these has complex issues. There are no easy fixes...

• Foreign Ownership
• Foreign Labor
• Cabatoge
• Pilot Career Protection
• Collective Bargaining Rights
• Flight Duty Times
• Age 60

I believe the Air Line Pilot Profession is in the balance. I also think we can save it. But we have to get educated and informed on the issues, how the system works and what to do to envoke change in our favor. The more of us that understand this, the more effective we can be.

 

[pilotyip]

REz O, this is a pilot board, stop dealing in reality

 

[AA717driver]

You guys are a hoot!

You act like everything would be ok if MY side were in control in D.C. It's not a case of "either/or". It's us against them.

This country is ruled by an oligarchy of the wealthy who control the politicians by throwing them some crumbs (in the form of the politician ending up with a net worth of several million dollars at the end of his or her career) so long as they stay in line and do their bidding.

Congressman's wives are placed on corporate boards of directors with absolutely NO qualifications. Others become partners in prestigous law firms after their terms are up without having ever practiced law. Politicians are rewarded for making it possible for the wealthy to increase their wealth. This comes at the detriment of those of us who just want to have a decent life and enjoy ourselves a little before we croak.

The politicians do what they need to do to stay in office. They spend like drunken sailors (their retirements and medical benefits are secure, unlike ours) in order to placate the voters. They leave loopholes in every law to allow their benefactors to continue with business as usual. They get in front of the camera and pontificate--doing battle with those evil (insert political party here) on the other side of the aisle to make it seem that they are 'fighting the good fight' to protect their constituents. They do whatever it takes to maintain the status quo.

Our jobs are being outsourced because people in Asia are willing to do it cheaper. That adds to the corporate bottom line which adds to the bank accounts of the wealthy. Part of this is our fault. Our labor contracts make it much more expensive to use us. The American auto industry is on its last legs because of both ineffeciency of the working agreements and low quality. Same with the legacy airlines. The performance at those airlines didn't increase with better CBA's. It just got more expensive to operate.

So go ahead and cheer for your team. Revel in his or her victory. Then sit back and watch how your life improves... Or not.TC

 

[Thedude]

General-

Champion is NOT owned by NWA.

It is a separate and independent airline.

Like Sun Country, it has a MSP crew base, quite convienent for NWA management.

320AV8R

That is not completely true. Champion is kinda owned by NWA, but not on paper. In reality NWA really pulls the strings, so seperate and independent go too.

 

[Thedude]

The cat was let out of the bag with NWA flying mainline routes with Champion crews and aircraft.....

320AV8R

I believe that only happened one time on one route with one aircraft.

 

[pipe]

As an ex TWA guy, I was hoping that Delta would buy NW and staple Duane Woerthless as the bottom co-pilot. It appears however that he may be junior to some new-hire Thai crew. He should call ALPA -- they should be able to square this travesty away for him.

 

[Rez O. Lewshun]

As an ex TWA guy, I was hoping that Delta would buy NW and staple Duane Woerthless as the bottom co-pilot. It appears however that he may be junior to some new-hire Thai crew. He should call ALPA -- they should be able to square this travesty away for him.

Right on!! Then he'd take that pay cut that most of you despertly crave just to make things right!!

 

[Rogue5]

Strength in Unity?

Finally got to the new Air Line Pilot mag and just about choked on my Cheerios trying to swallow the spin regarding the NWA MX strike.

Check out the horrendous ironically-titled article "Northwest and Champion Pilots Show True Strength in Unity," and catch the last two paragraphs after two pages of unity grandstanding:

But what about interunion unity? Why did a pilot sympathy strike to support the mechanics not materialize? Ironically, it was for other “strength in unity” reasons, in the wake of the pilots’ hefty pay concessions in December 2004 to keep Northwest afloat.

“Crossing another union’s picket line is obviously distasteful to us,” F/O Myers says. “But we’ve been trying for two years to get the other Northwest unions to join with us in creating a solution to Northwest’s cost problems. If we had joined in a sympathy strike, Northwest management very likely would have grounded operations and filed for Chapter 11 immediately. And we still think that, if we can get through these tough times, Northwest can avoid Chapter 11, but only through a joint solution. A sympathy strike would have closed the door on that.”

Weeks later, the company is in Chap. 11 anyway, one union is dead and the others are completely unable to rely on each other's support, and NWA management is coming after each group, one at a time.

Divide and conquer, right?

 

[HowlinMadMurdoc]

Right on!! Then he'd take that pay cut that most of you despertly crave just to make things right!!

Rez, Rez, Rez...you just don't get it because of your blind cheerleading of ALPA.

Excellent and effective leaders are those that lead, NOT manage, by example. While Airline management has failed to follow this very basic management philosophy, so too has ALPA National leadership, starting with Duane. Whether or not you agree, ALPA National has turned into a political atmosphere. Duane and his friends are only interested in preserving status quo for themselves. To think otherwise is delusional.

Duane and company should take a paycut just like everyone else if they are true to their beliefs in supporting airline pilots. In fact, I think Duane should only receive an ALPA-based salary, in addition to his NWA pay, that is an average of the three lowest paid Regional Captains.

ALPA Leadership has a golden opportunity to enhance their credibility during these trying times. Accepting a paycut is the right, fair, and honorable action.

I'm sure you'll disagree with me and that's fine. I'm just tired of the "rah-rah, GO ALPA" cheerleading.

HMM

 

[Draginass]

Right on!! Then he'd take that pay cut that most of you despertly crave just to make things right!!

Don't worry. Duane has "his" full share of the pie regardless of what happens at NWA.

 

[Rez O. Lewshun]

Rez, Rez, Rez...you just don't get it because of your blind cheerleading of ALPA.

Excellent and effective leaders are those that lead, NOT manage, by example. While Airline management has failed to follow this very basic management philosophy, so too has ALPA National leadership, starting with Duane. Whether or not you agree, ALPA National has turned into a political atmosphere. Duane and his friends are only interested in preserving status quo for themselves. To think otherwise is delusional.

Duane and company should take a paycut just like everyone else if they are true to their beliefs in supporting airline pilots. In fact, I think Duane should only receive an ALPA-based salary, in addition to his NWA pay, that is an average of the three lowest paid Regional Captains.

ALPA Leadership has a golden opportunity to enhance their credibility during these trying times. Accepting a paycut is the right, fair, and honorable action.

I'm sure you'll disagree with me and that's fine. I'm just tired of the "rah-rah, GO ALPA" cheerleading.

HMM

Nope, No blind cheerleading of ALPA. The problem is I've taken time to inform myself, so when I speak to the issue, I come across as an ALPA cheerleader.

The ALPA National Guys have taken paycuts. There are ALPA National guys from UAL, USAIR and DAL. Pensions...gone! Pay...slashed.

When NWA takes their (2nd) cuts and gives up their pension, that will include DW.

You guys are so pissed off you don't even know who to fight... You need a good b1tch slapping like Denzel in Glory.

The general ALPA membership is so ignorant, paranoid and skeptical they are like poor Iraqi's... can't read so they count on street stories.

ALPA National has turned into a political atmosphere

Case and point. Get educated...it will do all of us good....