This kind of thinking is why the pilots industry and why pilots pay and quality of life are what it is today, and why union members with this mentality need to be routed out. This "I got mine, too bad for you" mentality is simply selfishness encouraged by management to keep pay low, and to boost airline profits (check out the post on Republic Airlines profits in the forums today. You know, Republic, the airline that can't afford to pay its pilots).

It's greed pure and simple.

As the airline profits, it gives management justification to pay themselves bonuses while our guys starve.Yet no one ever brings up the salaries of the various management positions in the airlines, or more importantly, the assistant managers, and their various bonus and stock schemes that they receive as first and second year employees. Why doesn't ALPA cast a light on this for comparisons?

WHY the unions allow this b.s. of low first years pay to continue is beyond me. This has no place in modern aviation and the airlines can CLEARLY afford to pay people. What other industry has you starving at years one and two while you are on a one year probation? Only pilots can pressure their unions into stopping this whipsawing of pilots.

If enough pilots understood the high probability of their current airline furloughing them, and that they will have to start at another carrier at year 1 f/o with the poor wages, then maybe this kind of thinking would be replaced by taking action in pushing for changes....

Think it can't happen, take a look at the new Envoy! What do you think Envoy is going to do with all those surplus pilots? Get ready for year 1 again at your new operation, and for this cycle to repeat to infinity until labor takes a stand.