alfaromeo

After doing union work, I have seen many "saviors" appear, those that are going to "be tough", "say no", etc. etc. Usually they end up going two ways. Most end up discovering that it is easier to pound your chest on the webboards when you have no responsibility for your decisions than it is to actually have the careers of thousands of pilots resting on your decisions. When they discover the true responsibility they now have for their actions, they learn that it is not easy, that compromises have to happen, that wanting something and being able to get something are two different things. Reality bites.

Some never get it. They usually spin off on their own, voting no to everything and offering nothing of substance to the equation. Some of those then diminish the organization by writing self righteous pap and sending it out to their pilots. These people usually flash in and out of the organization and are quickly forgotten by everyone, including their webboard cheerleaders. They leave behind no actual work or any contributions to the organization. Many times they show up back on the webboards trying to revive those good old days when they were in the spotlight.

Everyone understands that the union revolves around the pilots. In case you didn't notice, the pilots in the union work under the same contract as you, so there is pretty much a built in motivation to get a better contract. With the exception of some guys who seem to hang in their forever, most pilots work in the union for a while and then head back to the line. By the way, line flying is a much better job.

Listening to the pilots and being able to accomplish 100% of their requests are two different things. If I told my rep I wanted to double my pay rate tomorrow what should he answer back? Is he not listening to me, or is he just dealing in the real world?

I highly recommend that anyone who wants to run the union start out working on a committee. I find it pretty funny that someone will say, "union work is not worth my time, unless I am the boss". I don't get that. If you are serious about changing things, then you need to roll up your sleeves and get to work on the nuts and bolts of the operation, before you try to run the show.

iceman49

All true, its always easier to say no than yes. Good post.

newKnow

Do they publish that in Engligh? Or is it in Martian, also?

iaflyer

No, just Southern. It's easier to understand the AE if you read it with a southern drawl.

newKnow

Thanks ia. You gave me my first laugh for the day.

forgot to bid

if you drop a car battery, a used one, into the water it becomes a whole lot easier to catch fish with your bare hands. Its called "fishing... in the dark... at your neighbors restocked trout pond."

now that you've seen the South AE, how does it compare to the North's monthly system?
...
And I think I just saw the PIT hotel on tv with the G20 protests.

johnso29

Wow. It's quiet today.

Forgot to bid,

Guess your avatar's FO didn't like his CA?

tsquare

It's called "noodling" get with the program.


GO BIG ORANGE

1234

I think that there are pros and cons for both sides. I really like the fact that with the AE, you have a lot more intel as to number of positions initially being displaced and the number of initial vacancies. On the north side we never saw any numbers. I also like the idea of using a VD to get somewhere else.

That said, I don't like the flexibility for the company on when you go to training. I like the ability to use my seniority and bid a different piece of equipment or base and know before I bid what month or two I will be in training, before I put my bid in.

One question: Assume you were the bottom person in a position that is going to get displaced. Is there a chance that you can get stuck in that bottom most spot, even if you want to get displaced or get an award? In other words, say I am the absolute bottom MSP755B and the company says that they are going to reduce the category by 10 pilots, if there are 10 pilots senior to me that have a VD in, will they get the new award before the bottom pilot would get an AE or MD?

slowplay

It depends. The VD pilots would have to be able to use the otherwise MD'd pilots seniority to move. If there were enough folks moved that there were no other outstanding empty positions possible (no AE and no requirement to displace) then the bottom guy would remain the bottom guy. That's a highly unlikely scenario.