Originally Posted by
Whidbey
From a lurker and occasional poster-
Great discussion about pay and contract expectations.
One thing that I think we're losing sight of is that there are literally thousands of pilots that want jobs at Delta that are willing to work harder than we are for much less money.
The company's position is a direct result of that fact. It's simple economics. Deserve has got nothing to do with it.
One other thing. Delta has been hiring a good number of folks with zero PIC. Safety arguments aside, that strategy is going to have an impact on the pilot group. Those pilots have less opportunity to gain employment elsewhere and I believe their votes may reflect that.
Tsquare's statements about youth entitlement in this case are dead on, IMHO. The pilots in the top half of the seniority list are a product of a much more selective process than us youngsters.
It's much harder to get an electrician's apprenticeship than to gain admission to a puppy mill. If those flight hour requirements don't get implemented and enforced, what used to be a profession will have been irreversibly changed to more of a trade.
Excellent thought! However, I think we all busted our asses to get where we are and are willing to protect this job as a professional career and not a trade. At least I am. Speaking as a junior guy who knew no one at this airline and managed to get on I am extremely grateful to be here. I don't feel entitled to anything except what we are worth and nothing less. Right now we are nowhere near where we need to be.
How we perceive ourselves is what it's all about. If we have the attitude that we should accept less because someone else will do it cheaper is not the right attitude. Hundreds of people trust us to fly them in a multimillion dollar thin metal tube at 35,000 feet going 600mph over great distances every time we go to work. Stop and think about that. The level of trust and responsibility the public and our management places in our hands is not comparable to any other "trade." There are many other professions that pay more with much less responsibility.
The new flight time requirements are a great idea.
NA