Originally Posted by
Bananie
Okay, yes, I work for money. What do you get paid in, bananas? I admit that being a capt. I don't get any OE trips so that doesn't affect me, but it doesn't seem too far a reach to expect someone to actually come to work to get paid when they are making 150 to 200k per year. The rest of the agreement is positive. Sick leave, I call in sick once every three or four years so who gives a crap. If you are sick 200 hours a year you probably need to get a doctors note or go to a hospital or something.
The piloting profession is unique. Very, very few spend as much time away from home as pilots do. If you are Jr, you likely miss a lot of important events with your kids and family. You get your ass kicked switching time zones and so on. If there are provisions in the contract that allow a pilot to gain flexibility and buffer the downside of being a pilot that is OK.
We don't need our union calling it's membership lazy and pushing to change work rules to increase productivity. It costs pilot jobs, progression, pay and flexibility.
Example: If a pilot elects to bid reserve making less money to spend more time with family that is OK. He is not stealing from the company. No doubt he has been and will be hammered on his schedule later during re-routes and exhausting trips where the company fails to build decent schedules. A good contract allows pilots to work smarter, not harder.
Pushing pilots with more productivity (there has been an onslaught from management for many years now) leads to more sick calls. Now management wants to use fear to get guys to fly sick. This is moving in the wrong direction. ALPA needs to pull their head out of their ass and fix these things, not make them worse.
Our union should not be pushing for more productivity. We have given enough. We don't need shills like you promoting more time at work.