Originally Posted by
TheDashRocks
I appreciate your candor and wish that none of us were facing reduced pay and benefits. Sadly, this cancer has spread throughout many professions. One of the things that is going very wrong in our country is the shrinking middle class. Shrinking in terms of real earnings and in numbers of people living at that income level. I think attitudes like yours are partly to blame. Too many of us continue to smile and assert how "neat-o" the company is as we get bent over. Money that used to go into your pocket is now going into someone else's. I cannot put a smiley face on that.
The real "job creators" belong to a large, expanding, vibrant middle class with a lot of money to spend. The last time in our nation's history the super-rich managed to accumulate so much of the nation's wealth was just before the Great Depression of 1929. [mod edit: delete politics]
The Dash Whisperer
I'm not the reason that most domestic industries, including aviation, have jumped on the outsourcing bandwagon in search of a quick buck. I'm not an extreme anything and am always open to discussion. I'm not drinking the Kool-Aid, I'm just saying I'm as happy with my company as I can reasonably be. It wont matter how much I whine and complain unless the legendary labor shortage really does finally materialize. I think we all hope it does... maybe we'll finally have some leverage. It would be the workforce's world then and things might get a-lot better for us all.
If you have any better ideas for a guy with a two-year degree and no PIC time right now, I'm all ears. I'm pretty sure I'm where I belong within the industry and that I'm at one of the better companies. We'll see, ...things change.
In the mean time, my philosophy is this: If we can try to hold our heads up, and still try to look proud as we walk through the terminal, I think it might work to our advantage. A-lot of guys (and gals) still do this I've noticed. On the other hand, a-lot of us don't now. This is especially true at this end of the industry. I'm not saying that we might not have good reason to look down at our unpolished shoes all the time and talk about being overpaid bus drivers. What I am saying is that it rubs off on the public and that (all-by-itself) makes it easier for the companies to continue paying us the way they are. This is really where my head's at when I try to continue to be proud of what I do, and who I do it for, despite their apparent (industry wide) growing lack of interest in their labor force. ...hope that makes me a little more acceptable, or at least understandable.