I think if this conversation were being conducted face to face with a round of cold beverages it would play out quite differently, with a lot of smiles and head nods and handshakes, and guys slappin' each other on the back. This is just an example of how hard it is to communicate accurately on the internet. What we intend to say doesn't always get said. What the Captain meant to say was . . .
If you pay dues, you've earned the right to express your opinion. Serving the union in other ways doesn't give you any more of a right to a voice, but it might bump up the volume a bit. At the same time, a guy that's not serving doesn't have to
listen to anybody else's opinion. Someone serving is going to listen to a lot of opinions, and he won't have a volume control.
fdxflyer said that he plans to serve when the kids are kids are gone. Please don't construe this comment as criticism, but rather take it as food for thought, and not just for you, but for anybody else that might have similar plans. If everyone waits until they're senior to serve, we'll have a senior MEC -- with senior priorities -- and senior biases -- that will be criticized for favoring the senior pilots. We need junior guys, too.
Like I said, it's food for thought, and not an attempt to send anybody on a guilt trip. We get out of it what we put in.
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