Originally Posted by
lear 31 pilot
I will be the first to admit I have never been a union member, and understand they can be good and bad. I just wonder everyday why other industries can have a nationwide union, and pilots cant. The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers for example. I am a well paid pt 135 pilot but I am sick of the rules of the job constantly changing and always being told I am overpaid, Screw you I am a professional, as is any nurse, electrician, and many other highly unionized careers. I have a family to support just like everyone else and I dont do this career for the joy of flying. It is time to seriously start looking into some type of pilot representation for all professional pilots.
Like you I too have a family to support and only do this job because of the money and schedule - not because of the "joy of flying".
Inevitably, someone will read my above statement and ask the age-old question,
"well, if you don't enjoy flying then why do you do this?" My answer is simple: because this is my
job and not my hobby. And therein lies the problem with this industry compared to any other - too many people who place job satisfaction above compensation and benefits.
There is no shortage of people in this industry willing to do this job for practically free because of the proverbial "it beats working in an cubicle mentality." Airline managers know this and use it to their advantage. Can anyone honestly blame them? I personally cannot, and I am a union member.
The topic of a nationwide union has been kicked around here countless times. Not only do I believe it will never happen, I also do not support it. Pilot groups would fare much better to form their own independent unions to deal with their respective carriers. Again, the crux of the problem isn't a lack of a big union, the problem is too many people chasing too few jobs and willing to do those jobs for too few dollars for far too long.