...every job that I left was because of the WONDERFUL things that UNIONS do for it's pilots. For the TOP group of pilots, piss on the young and upcoming, they can go elsewhere...
And
that, right there, shows you how little you understand about how 1108 works. Our contract and our leadership's methods are living proof of a system that
isn't stacked to favor only the senior pilots on the backs of the most junior.
Look at our current contract versus the one that preceded it. First-year pilots got a wage increase of ~46%. 14-year G200 captains, just to pick an example of a senior pilot, got about a 13% raise. We've worked to
eliminate the extreme top-heavy wage scales, and make them much more linear as your career progresses.
The biggest complaint you'll hear about 1108 is that it does too
much for the junior, and not enough for the very senior. Which is pretty much the exact opposite of what you said above.
I'd rather take my chances with non union companies than with a company that has a UNION. But that's me. YOu can have your union.
And that's certainly your choice. Having worked for both types of companies, you can have your non-union carrier.
My quality of life is
dramatically better with a union carrier, because our fellow pilot volunteers are watching out for us. Just to name a few things, they make sure we stay in quality hotels, that we eat well on the road, and that we can get extra rest if we're too tired for a min turn. They've made
huge strides in making sure our training is consistent and fair. And so on.
You'd rather go it on your own. That's fine. I'd rather go it as a team with my fellow pilots. I like it better.
And yeah, it sure beats digging ditches. :beer: