Originally Posted by
Denny Crane
I agree scope is the only way we have relevance. It defines our jobs. We need to make it painful to the company to violate scope so they don't do it again. I think most, if not all guys get that. The question is: If money is not the solution then what is? What is a better avenue to pursue for scope violations? This is assuming we get the company to come into compliance with scope and not negotiate it away.
The only solution to a scope violation is
forcing them to comply with the language
they signed. Anything else is justifying the loss of our jobs by accepting some quid. This is
exactly what the young folks that come on here mean when they say we're selling our futures for money. In the Atlantic, they have three choices: Force the JV partners to fly less, fly Delta more, or cancel the JV. I'd prefer a cancel. In the pacific, they have two choices: keep the exact same number of flights to NRT, or cancel the JV. I'd prefer a cancel. No amount of money or "other improvements" can EVER be tied to our scope. We can't sell our jobs.
Think of it like fuel. Say fuel allocations were totally government controlled. And we had a signed deal allocating us X number of gallons per year. Then we get to December and we're told our remaining allocation has been forever given to Southwest. We sue the government, and they offer us a monetary settlement equal to the amount of fuel we were going to be shorted forever. Do you take the money? Or do you realize that without fuel, we have no airline. And if they do this 12 more times, we might have 12 more checks, but no more fuel to operate. The only answer is to accept no settlement other than our full allocation of fuel...because fuel is an airline's life blood. Likewise, jobs are a union's life blood.
Sorry for the rant. Does that make any sense?
Carl