Originally Posted by
alfaromeo
What a statement. The one thing I agree with is your statement by Sun Tzu. Why don't you read the whole book and find out the rest of his theory. What Sun Tzu said was that you need to know more than your enemy and you need to understand both the shape of the battlefield and the shape of your enemy. That takes study and thought. Not fantasy, but real work.
How do I know exactly what long term debt American has and Carl has to read some stupid number out of the Fort Worth Star Telegram. I have no special talents beyond the average Delta pilot. I take the time to read financial statements, I take the time to listen to company webcasts all of them not just Delta, I take the time to study the industry and not just read the dreck on Motley Fool and Seeking Alpha or in the general business press. I merely went to Edgar, pulled up the last quarterly statement from American and read the number. It took me about a minute.
Not only that but I helped take the time to try to educate my fellow pilots about how to read these documents and what the underlying information means. This is studying the battlefield and knowing the enemy. If the average Delta pilot takes the time to read and understand these documents then they will have a better understanding of their negotiations than most union leaders in most other labor groups. Here is what is funny, we write a paper to show Carl exactly how to read what a company's long term debt is and he whines about how his expectations are being managed. Then when he tries to pontificate about debt at American, he can't even find out the real number. Irony at its best.
You call it managing expectations down because you don't want to take the time and energy to understand the reality of the situation you want to complain and moan until the rest of the world accepts your reality. A reality that only exists in your mind. That tactic has been tried at numerous carriers over the last few years and the result is doodly squat. But hey, let's ignore reality and create our own little world.
What blows my mind is that there are perfect examples for you to study out there on how to get steam rollered by the other side and yet you keep looking the guys that have gotten their butts kicked and continue to say "hey let's be like them." Why should we continue the tactics that have produced the best results over the last five years when we can copy the guys that have gotten nothing. Excellent plan.
So I am sorry if actually studying the real battlefield and the real enemy gets in the way of your fantasy world. You quote Sun Tzu and then you ignore everything he says about strategy and tactics. Read the whole book. I have read it at least four times. Study the industry. Quit complaining from behind a keyboard. Do some work. If the pilot group needs more communication then join P2P and sit your butt in the lounge on your off days and find out what people are saying. Pass the info up to Steve Rose or Munster and the MEC will get it. I am not sure you want that. Maybe you don't want to hear what the pilots want, you want everyone else to think just like you.
If you really have creative ideas then let us know. In general, when I hear "you need to think outside the box" it shows a person out of airspeed and ideas and running on testosterone. You claim to have a magical formula where we can get everything we want easily. Let's have it.
So Mr. Manager, our white knight who is managing expectations upward, get off the couch and let us know your creative ideas. You talk about unity and yet you do nothing but sit behind a keyboard and throw rocks at people that are working on your behalf. What a convenient a job. You talk about how everyone else has a duty to create unity, what about you? What are you doing? Oh, I see, you are monitoring from a distance and calling people out.
So I will call you out, until you start doing something then you are just full of bs.
Sorry it has taken me a day to respond. Have been doing the Dad thing with my daughers and my wife. You know how it gets- volleyball practices, Christmas tree and present shopping, putting up lights, homework, Costco and Home Depot runs. Then when we finished all of that, my wife and I rewarded ourselves with a night on the couch and a copy of the newly released 'Hangover 2.'
Best line, "Whats this... a magic show?" See it.
I degress. Wow. I never have seen so many arrogant assumptions and such animated diatribe in a post as contained in the one above.
However, it is no surprise that it comes from you. Lets get right to the salient point. The sad truth is Alfa that people here:
* associate you directly with DALPA.
Your post contains one of the basic and common DALPA responses. Admit nothing, deny everything, make counter-accusations and attack the messenger. It is not a surprise as it follows the logic of DALPA's top down, non communicative nature in pursuit of their own brazen self interests.
This is exactly why we face a competing organization on the property, one that has garnered the support of over 1/3rd of the pilots. I suggest that you carefully re-read my post, and then particularly your response, if you have any questions as to why this alternative group is seeking to represent the fine aviators of Delta Air Lines.
In order for the pilots to attain a fair and aquitable contract for their families and themselves, they must be unified. Presently, the group is fractured among competing interests. One is going to have to emerge and lead this group effectively. It can be done. It must be done.
Right now, it is DALPA's contest to either win or lose. Presently, DALPA, or to be completely accurate, the commitee structure and leadership, is struggling.
They are driven only by their brazen self interests in pursuit of political survival. They are struggling to perserve that authority. They can not lead and unify if they are only interested in their regime. Introspective thought and change is needed.
This is important:
DALPA and DAL have close relationship that contain rewards. Kind of like rewards that governments provide to other governments. All aid money is dispersed not to alleviate poverty,
but to purchase loyalty and influence.
Think about that. Now we all know why FPL is such a third rail political issue. We can not succeed if we are not unifed or have effective leadership. We can not be unifed or led when there is question as to the loyalty and influence of our leadership.
I'd rather pay more dues money and cover FPL (with a monthly accounting) than have DAL in the equation. Think of the impact a change like this would have.
Finally, remember this. Information infrastructure is politics.
The best way to bring down a corrupt dictator or regime... hand out cell phones. Folks, it works the same way here. whoever has the higher ground has the advantage.
Why do you think AMR went public on their websites and in the press with their disengenious proposal to their pilots? Why do you think Alfa and DALPA are here?