Originally Posted by
gettinbumped
This conversation makes me laugh.... Good thing we aren't having it in 2001 or 2009!! I remember an acquaintance and FO of mine who was former military and VERY right wing republican. Talked constantly about crappy social programs, freeloaders, etc... very much like this conversation. And then he got furloughed. No flying jobs to be found. I noticed he didn't turn down the unemployment bennies. I also noticed he didn't object when they extended them.
Hahaha, that reminds me of a friend of mine, hired at AA in 1978, furloughed in 1981 after the ATC strike. He was getting $200/week from the state of Mass and refused to come back to work flying checks at night (with me) for $150/week!
He said, "Why would I take a PAY CUT and have to work my *** off??".
Well, the company got another check run, and another airplane, so they really needed a couple more pilots, they hired him back as my copilot... at $200/week. I was more than pizzed off, as I was 'the Captain' making $50 less per week!
After a few months of flying checks all night, he left to become a temporary ATC replacement (scab?) worker in the BOS tower, working clearance delivery and ground control, late at night. A few years later he was recalled to American, retired from there not long ago.
Point of this story is, he refused to work for less than he was getting on unemployment.