Originally Posted by
gloopy
I see where you're going with this, I really do. We as a profession in general and at DL specifically do deserve more and we should negotiate hard for it. But be careful with that broad brush you're painting with. There are plenty of ballers out there who are absolute slaves to their maxed out monthly nuts and "can't afford" the slightest pay cut and will therefore vote yes for anything that throws a buck at them.
Those who live below their means in this job may or may not be doing so because they are satisfied and don't want more from this profession, but its definately not fair to assume that. But one thing those folks have in common is that they don't desperately need that next paycheck to keep the churn of their over leveraged credit bubble check kiting master plan from collapsing on top of itself. In many ways that makes those individuals far more potentially hawkish in negotiations precicely because they can walk away if necessary.
Just because someone doesn't blow it all on a "Captain's house" a driveway full of toys and a bunch of 6 figure degrees in Art History Appreciation for their kids doesn't mean they are willing to settle for their current income. The guy that's maxed out, however, just might have no other choice.
I am sorry you have such a low opinion of your fellow pilots. I must hang out with a different crowd. The pilots I know took a long hard look at the reality of the RLA and the industry as a whole. They looked at the options available and the success of other airlines who exercised those options. They looked at history for RLA contracts and how the NMB has handled contracts and their timeline which they made available to all pilots when the head met with the MEC. They made intelligent and informed decisions be that a yes or no vote.
In the end I am always results oriented. This contract broke a over decade long log jam in the industry. Its a huge step forward after 12 long years going in the wrong direction. Its duration was something no other airline has come close to matching and will have us starting work on the next contract in 18 months.
I spend a lot of time with young pilots looking to get into this industry. Delta is the first choice of virtually every single one that I talk with. It was not that long ago that Delta was almost down to a cash level that would have required liquidation. Our contract was in court under a 1113 motion with every aspect of it being decimated. Today we are the envy of the industry and the place everyone except many forum posters here wants to be. We have a contract that gives Delta the highest total block hour costs in the passenger industry in the US. No one has matched it and those who have come close signed much longer contracts. Those that went down the path this forum advocates never produced any results let alone what we have achieved since 2005.
Some on this forum need to pick better friends that they can view as smart and intelligent. My friends tend to be much smarter then me and I recognize that. This forum seems to populated by a group that puts themselves on a pedestal and looks down on all their fellow pilots. I would love to talk to some of you in 25 years and see what wisdom age brings you. I think the results would be surprising.