Originally Posted by
Night Hawk 6
So it is quality of life or a large W-2, really? If your only concern is your W-2 then I guess you will also stretch those pesky safety rules also as we all know how important it is to carry that write up so as not to screw up your sequence. Work rules pertain to safety. Quality of life is a result of these safety rules. The reason we have a rest seat is to provide a place for a pilot to rest so he is alert and fully ready to perform his required duties upon return to the flight deck. Having to endure a seat mate who is ill, talkative or on any way disruptive of your rest break is a safety issue. A few years ago we had a captain that regularly reminded us of how large his retirement was going to be and how he went out of his way to maximize his w-2. Just before his 60Th birthday he was diagnosed with cancer but with all his unused sick time he was still able to maximize his pay while he recovered. We flew together not long after he returned to work and he told me that his wife was retiring from her 33 year career as an educator and that she was looking forward to not returning to work in the fall. When I asked him why he did not join her and enjoy life he responded "Do you know how much money I would leave on the table." Within six months of our conversation his cancer returned and he was dead. Now that's quality of life for the w-2 chasers. ( ORD 767I AA Captain, about 4 years ago.)
1. Just because I, and the much of rest of the CAL pilot group, chose to maximize W2 does not make us unsafe. I do admit that giving up the rest seat was a stupid idea. On the other hand, I guarantee that I could cherry pick the old U contract, and find stupid stuff. As yet, no one has told me how to make a deposit at the bank with work rules!
2. You assume that ALL work rules are safety related, and that is just not true.
3. We can all find an anecdotal example(s) of why one thing or another is great or sucks. Sorry your friend got cancer, but only a broad examination of the evidence would even provide a clue.
Further, I didn't try to state that U was wrong in their approach, only that it was different from Cal. And therein lies the point, I was simply trying illustrate what I perceive as a vast cultural difference, and you chose to bash the CAL side, and wrap the U side in the flag of safety.
Everyone has to get over the "my team/heritage/lineage/uniform/training/younameit is better than yours" schoolyard taunts because we are all on the same team now.