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Old 08-06-2007, 11:46 PM
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skypine27
Proponent of Hysteria
 
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Joined APC: Jun 2007
Position: "Part of the problem." : JL
Posts: 1,052
Default "It aint that bad..." My final thoughts

Unlike some of my previous posts, which are cut and pastes of info and/or emails I have found informative, this one is entirely my own words. It is aimed at those who have not voted, those who have voted yes (hey, you can change your vote...), and 11 members of the union.

"IT AIN'T THAT BAD"

Is that really the package that this pilot group deserves, in light of FedEX's financial situation?

I've flown for an airline that was in Chapter 11. During my employ there, we had not one, but two LOA votes. Both were for concessionary LOAs that pilots occasionally remarked, "It ain't that bad." And both votes passed. But, there was a huge difference between then and now. That airline was WAAYY in the red, and the company's threat (if you vote No, there's a good chance we'll go from Chapter 11 to Chapter 7) was a valid one.

FedEX's financial situation is far, far different. How many times have I logged onto pilot.fedex.com, checked a stock quote, logged onto a message board, etc... and read a blurb about FedEX's huge 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, Quarter profit??? Does anyone think our profitability is on the brink of disaster? Does anyone actually not recognize that these new FDA's will strengthen FedEX's balance sheet even if we got a halfway decent ex-pat package? I'm not trying to bankrupt my company with a United or Delta "Blue Skies" type contract. I'm just asking for a package that elicits responses other than those ranging from "It ain't that bad..." to "Jesus H, are you kidding me??" That is WELL within FedEX's financial reach.

The bottom line: With FedEX's financial situation, this pilot group should not settle for a substandard, somewhat concessionary, "It ain't that bad" LOA. We are well within reason to expect, and demand, a LOA that 80 % of the pilot group can read and say "Man, that's a pretty good deal". This "C-" spec LOA is for companies in, or on the edge, of Chapter 11. Not for one making record profits.

I'm not an unreasonable man. I don't necessarily have "Full Pay to the Last Day" stickers all over my flight bag when the unemployment line is staring me in the face. But, as a reasonable man, I also don't agree with using my paycheck to subsidize my highly profitable company's soon to be highly profitable expansion plan.

Let's not act like a beat dog who's happy simply when his owner decides not to kick him in the ribs on any given day. Stand up and demand what's reasonable.

C- LOA = No way

Last edited by skypine27; 08-07-2007 at 01:30 AM.
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