....the "bad stuff":
- We're not hiring. I sat through the roadshows, spoke to the negotiators, and to the guys that were "in the room." I spoke to my reps. I genuinely believe that they all thought we would be hiring by now. It is delayed a little longer than I would like to see,
but it is coming; probably sooner than later. My take is the company is pushing so hard to show a massive profit for the investors, that they have pushed off as many non-essential costs to the 11th hour. It might turn out to bite them in the form of crew shortages. We will see.
- The displacement shuffle continues. This is similar to the first point. Once the airplanes start showing up this will hopefully ease some of the angst that many guys are feeling with the lack of progress.
One thing I know for certain. I was never lied to. The "they lied to us" theme is just the latest tactic from Carl's crowd to try and gain support, which only divides us further. I read the contract. Yes, actually read it, not relied on a slideshow, and made my decision. It wasn't perfect, but it was certainly an improvement.
The repeated suggestion to "talk to your reps" or "volunteer" is simply asking guys to engage in the real world, with the way things really are. If my main source of information was this thread, I might think the sky was falling too. It is vitally important, especially for us junior guys that have awhile to go, to step away from the keyboard and have some real world contact with our union.
I filled out a card for Carl's group several years ago because their talking points sounded good. As I've dug a little deeper, I've come to realize that ALPA is not the root of all evil (nor is it perfect.) Progress is slow, but steady. Just take a look at the massive legislative effort that took place last month on Capitol Hill. It would be years before a new union is in a place to mount such an effort - not that it sounds like Carl thinks we need to. Much better to let our demands be known then head down to the bank to cash our big checks...
Back to my drink and what's left of the 4th.
Happy and Proud to be American, and a Delta Pilot!
LeineLodge