Originally Posted by
satchip
Neither party is pilot friendly. We are not Labor, at least not the Labor the Dems favor. We are above median income, and tend to vote conservative as a group. They are interested in the Government Employees unions and the Service Employees Unions. So to say that the Ds are more "labor friendly" may be true but they ain't talking about us.
The Republicans (not RINOS) may not be labor friendly but they are for policies that foster growth and a robust economy. Since our jobs hinge on such an economy you can say that Conservative policies espoused by some Republicans is more pilot friendly than the stagnation culture of dependency established by the Dems. I submit into evidence the last 6 years.
Now if we could find a party or politician that would fight to repeal or remove us from the RLA? That would be pilot friendly.
And Buzz I'm with you. I don't contribute to the PAC because of the list of candidates they support. I remember seeing Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid at the top of the list lately. Not gonna do it. Wouldn't be prudent....
February 15, 2008
John McCain and the pilots
Sen. John McCain may have the Republican party nomination wrapped up, but he still has some convincing to do with one group of traditionally Republican voters. No, I'm not talking about evangelical Christians - I'm talking about commercial airline pilots.
McCain co-sponsored legislation in 2003 that would have changed the Railway Labor Act to include mandatory "baseball-style" arbitration in airline contract negotiations. That's a method whereby a mediator makes the final decision on disputed issues, and there is no appeal. Unions have long opposed any attempts to force that type of arbitration, because it removes their greatest form of leverage - the ability to strike.
McCain's 2003 effort failed, but lots of pilots still remember it. One told me recently that he will never vote for the Arizona senator, and he believes many of his colleagues feel the same way.
"Look, most pilots are ex-military, they're professionals, most of them vote Republican and have all their lives," the pilot said. "But when it comes to McCain, most of us all remember how he backed airline management and tried to screw the pilots. That's going to cost him some votes."
- Trebor