I don't follow: In order to be involved with "different aspects" of your company, you are required to kiss-ass and accept benefits not available to a regular line pilot of your seniority?
I'm not anti-acheivement at all -- I, and most of my fellow line pilots work hard to achieve a very worthwhile goal: delivering passengers safely to their destinations. Any other considerations one has in mind while working as a professional pilot are, in my view, strictly extracurricular, and that includes buffing one's resume by taking an ACP job.
This what I am talking about. Just because someone has colored outside of the lines to further where he/she is in their career, generally the rank and file look to tar and feather that person. They are called brown noser and yes-men. In some cases they are, in other cases no. However, when you work for the company and not the contract, you are duty bound to operate in the companies best interest. I can enough arguments about company interest to demonstrate that a happy work group equates to a better product produced. There are still times to say no though.
Most of us have worked hard to get where we are. I've got a wife, kids and mortgage and worked my tail to get where I am now. I still have further to go but I will keep doing it. But once again, whenever someone steps out of line to achieve what is best for themselves and family, they get the back of the hand. It has become the seniority mentality of believing, "Only when it is your turn." Merit completely falls by the way side with that thought structure.
I'll catch a bunch of flack for this but it really doesn't matter. When it comes to bettering my position in life, I have no compunction at all about stepping out of line. If I can get a better job within the company when I beat of a more senior guy, I am all for it. You, the furloughed FO, the super senior captain or anyone else pays my bills or feeds my kids. It is MY responsibility so I if step on someones elses toes in the effort, I'll apologize and mean it but in the end, its to damn bad. I'll help out just about anyone but in the end it comes down to me and and how well I provide for my family.
