Originally Posted by FNine

Ok. Agree and disagree with some of the above. First of all your job is more secure now then ever. You are playing with rich people's money and they don't want to see it threatened. They also have big eyes (greed) for a huge IPO payoff. If you are not willing to put pressure on now then you never will be. Sure, you might talk tough sometimes but in the end you will do nothing but what the company asks/wants.
So...next point. The union can do very little to pressure the company when we are not in negotiations. Request, complaints, even grievances are laughed off by this owner and managment team. As long as you jump when they say jump, and as a pilot group we still do, then you have no leverage or hope of slowing the erosion of our contract. If we, as a pilot group, completely stop helping and going the extra mile then it is a start. Fly the contract and absolutely no more. No extensions, VJA, answering for JA, accepting reassignment you do not have to, or helping in any way you do not have to contractually. Then if guys quit bending over backwards on going overboard to minimize APU usage/fuel burn then maybe you get their attention and you are not violating the contract.

You need to ask yourself if you are really willing to make a point because if the above seems too extreme to you then you are kidding yourself and doomed to be the lowest compensated narrow body pilots with schedules that keep getting worse and work rules that are continually reinterpreted for the company's benefit. Also comments as to us having better work rules and schedule then others now is dilusional. Talk to you other airline buddies. We are not special in any way. Just the opposite.