Ponchus pilot
Well-known member
- Joined
- Feb 28, 2004
- Posts
- 140
Every time talks about unions come up on the boards we keep hearing the same negative comments over and over. The same rhetoric about how Delta had to give concession and how some other airline had their contract abrogated in court. We also keep hearing about how some non-union airlines management is so great and that there has never been furloughs, etc...Now I’ll be the first one to tell you that a union won’t fix everything and ALPA does not claim this. The above examples are only half truths by individuals who either don't have correct knowledge or would like distort the facts. I strongly recommend a book by Marty Levitt "confessions of a union Buster". You will see that all of this negative talk is straight out of management playbook. We also keep hearing from these same folks that unions have failed to protect workers in all instances as if there was a claim by any union to be able to fully protect employees from all things harmful to their profession.
A union is not a cure all but it sure beats not having a contract. Think about this scenario for a moment. What if all the majors were not unionized and 9/11 had happened. Do you think they would not have cut pay and benefits as they saw fit without having to negotiate with the union? Do you actually think that there would be such growth at the regional level? What about furloughs out of seniority and retraining? If management could do as the wished they would pay a 737 Capt. at DAL or UAL $60/hr (you know there would be guys lined up for the job and it has happened before), at that point would there be any need for the regional pilots at the current level?
As pilots we have always tried to save our jobs and profession. Another book for the newbie’s is “Hard Landing" by Thomas Petzinger and "Flying the Line II" by George Hopkins. I grew up in a family where my father hated unions (was management) so I had the same mentality. When I listened to certain media or read most of the news it was the same thing, unions are corrupt, mafia, or communists. The same rant went on while I was in college earning a business degree. Now I don't know about all Unions but I know a little about ALPA. As ALPA pilots we do not fall under the same regulations as other unions nor do we represent any other profession besides piloting. As I started to work in this industry (I have worked union and no union) and researched more on the subject I realized that there is more to it than meets the eye.
Once again ALPA will not make all your troubles go away. You the pilots group are ALPA. If the argument that ALPA won’t do anything is true, then why does management of many companies spent millions each year fighting unionization? If you and your union were so useless then management should not care about it as they could do as the wished, right?
Unfortunately when union talk comes up it turns into a personal attacks or talking $hit about another pilots company. We all take pride in our profession and the companies we work for. After all our hard work has had a lot to do with the position of our company and we deserve to be compensated accordingly. We need to leave the mine is bigger than yours attitude behind. What management has done successfully for years is to make a union look like an outside entity, where your union is made up of your pilot group only. The old saying is that management likes to take the “U” and the “I” out of the word UNION. I know it sounds cliché but it’s true. We need to realize that when we become unionized we are not being taken over by some foreign entity but rather becoming united.
It is human nature to look out for ones own best interest first. That is why you need the collective to level the playing field. Many of us have thought at one point in our career that we are god’s gift to aviation and that certain pilots in our company are not good enough and do not belong. The old saying is “You are only as good as you last landing”. Everyone deserves to have their job protected and you should only be judged by your peers and not an individual. Collective bargaining and having a contract has many benefits. One should leave the politics aside and look into the roots of why ALPA was formed and the transformation it has gone through the years. The books I mentioned above give you some great insight on our profession and ALPA (Hard Landing is hardly a pro-union book). Management spends Millions on law firms to fight you each year, spend a few bucks on some books. Even better attend the meeting and ask questions. It does not matter what conclusion you come up with, the least that could happen is you gained some additional knowledge. I wish everyone luck with their careers.
A union is not a cure all but it sure beats not having a contract. Think about this scenario for a moment. What if all the majors were not unionized and 9/11 had happened. Do you think they would not have cut pay and benefits as they saw fit without having to negotiate with the union? Do you actually think that there would be such growth at the regional level? What about furloughs out of seniority and retraining? If management could do as the wished they would pay a 737 Capt. at DAL or UAL $60/hr (you know there would be guys lined up for the job and it has happened before), at that point would there be any need for the regional pilots at the current level?
As pilots we have always tried to save our jobs and profession. Another book for the newbie’s is “Hard Landing" by Thomas Petzinger and "Flying the Line II" by George Hopkins. I grew up in a family where my father hated unions (was management) so I had the same mentality. When I listened to certain media or read most of the news it was the same thing, unions are corrupt, mafia, or communists. The same rant went on while I was in college earning a business degree. Now I don't know about all Unions but I know a little about ALPA. As ALPA pilots we do not fall under the same regulations as other unions nor do we represent any other profession besides piloting. As I started to work in this industry (I have worked union and no union) and researched more on the subject I realized that there is more to it than meets the eye.
Once again ALPA will not make all your troubles go away. You the pilots group are ALPA. If the argument that ALPA won’t do anything is true, then why does management of many companies spent millions each year fighting unionization? If you and your union were so useless then management should not care about it as they could do as the wished, right?
Unfortunately when union talk comes up it turns into a personal attacks or talking $hit about another pilots company. We all take pride in our profession and the companies we work for. After all our hard work has had a lot to do with the position of our company and we deserve to be compensated accordingly. We need to leave the mine is bigger than yours attitude behind. What management has done successfully for years is to make a union look like an outside entity, where your union is made up of your pilot group only. The old saying is that management likes to take the “U” and the “I” out of the word UNION. I know it sounds cliché but it’s true. We need to realize that when we become unionized we are not being taken over by some foreign entity but rather becoming united.
It is human nature to look out for ones own best interest first. That is why you need the collective to level the playing field. Many of us have thought at one point in our career that we are god’s gift to aviation and that certain pilots in our company are not good enough and do not belong. The old saying is “You are only as good as you last landing”. Everyone deserves to have their job protected and you should only be judged by your peers and not an individual. Collective bargaining and having a contract has many benefits. One should leave the politics aside and look into the roots of why ALPA was formed and the transformation it has gone through the years. The books I mentioned above give you some great insight on our profession and ALPA (Hard Landing is hardly a pro-union book). Management spends Millions on law firms to fight you each year, spend a few bucks on some books. Even better attend the meeting and ask questions. It does not matter what conclusion you come up with, the least that could happen is you gained some additional knowledge. I wish everyone luck with their careers.
