Originally Posted by
P-3Bubba
You don't get it. The fence sitter is what defined last ALPA's drive's failure. The newbie is the greatest threat to this ALPA drive's failure. My vote counts the same as yours, and if I am a "NO" vote as you say, just don't bother voting because my vote will cancel yours out.
Bubba speaks truth here. There's a difference between the old-craniums who claim to be "fence sitters" but just don't want to explain why, and the newbies who are fence sitters because they're trying to make an educated choice on limited experience.
The ELT recognizes this, and that's why they're engaging us younguns so heavily. A lot of pro-Union pilots have figured this out as well, and are doing a good job of explaining the very good reasons why it's time to get a union.
I think we're going to win this thing, but again, a 51% and a 75% and a 90% win will lead to different outcomes.
To get to those higher margins, we must engage young pilots with factual information, stories real-life experiences, and measured reason. That's how I was won over to the "Yes" side.
We must avoid intimidation and hysterical emotion and other signs of desperation, which is how the ELT pushed me away from their side of the debate.
So to Bubba and others like you, I say welcome. Let's talk this out and really look at the debate. I think you've done a great job in your earlier post going over a lot of the things I considered in much the same way.
I don't have the same confidence you have in company-line regarding the merger protections - I put more faith in the PVC's lawyer's assessment (a third-party lawyer, btw, paid for by the company to give objective advice). But I think you've got a good pro-con list.
A couple things I think you're missing:
- ALPA legal - this is huge. Chances are better than even that some day you're going to end a flight (hopefully still walking down the jetway) realizing that, whether through your fault or not, you're going to need legal representation. If that happens to me, I sure would like to be able to turn my ID card over and dial an ALPA lawyer vs trust the company to represent my interests above theirs. JB's history on this has been checkered. Some times they've really taken care of the pilot. Others, not so much. Talk to your fellow pilots about the cases like the "Parking Brake" the CPs don't talk about during meet-and-greets.
- ALPA aeromedical - again, huge.
- The one-sided changes to health benefits. Not sure if you're a retiree like me, or a current reservist under TriCare, or the spouse of someone with a better plan, but here's another place where I think we need to look beyond our own shells. I am appalled at the pilots not protected like me who are dealing with a substandard health care plan for themselves and their families. I believe this should be the #1 emphasis in negotiations.
Let's keep talking!