Originally Posted by
gloopy
Know your place? Gees man. I haven't seen this level of victimhood since Comair/ASA/etc. Is it really that bad there being a WO? Would you really be better off being in the same position as CHQ or Mesa or SKYW or TSA or ACA?
As for it getting confusing, I could maybe see that for a brand new newbie, at least at first. Maybe. Even then, but maybe I guess.
Branded regionals aren't the same as mainline, even WO's. That's not a dig. I'd like to get more and more of the large RJ flying on the mainline list, with tons of WO pilots here to fly them and anything else we have. Barring that, I'd like to see the strongest possible PWA at Endeavor. DL has arguably lead the industry with dysfunctional regional experiments and it would be nice to see them finally pick one to turn into a good, stable gig with a strong path to mainline for those who'd like that.
But whining about how you're so unfairly treated as a WO simply doesn't carry any water. We know, because its been tried. A lot. And it doesn't work.
Thanks again for explaining about branded regionals and we are not and never will be like or equal to mainline. I'm sure that's what I and others were thinking, like we didn't know it. (Please explain it to the IRS though since they consider us equal for our 401k) I know I wasn't in a minority. It was only about the 2 passes since we were affected equally and nothing more. Very petty overall anyway and yes things have improved after our pay cut.
Why is it regional pilots have to be considered foolish or whining when we complain? Your right, it hasn't worked yet since mainline gave up scope under our antiquated "Jim Crow laws" that we are working under.
"In the past year, mainline pilots – represented by the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) – have largely thrown their regional counterparts under a bus on safety, suggesting that outsourcing to franchises is dangerous. But, in fact, ALPA has been doing that for years. Regional pay scales that shocked so many after the Colgan accident had been set by duly negotiated contracts between regional pilots – also represented by ALPA. This did not result from some stingy, scrooge-like effort by management; it was standard operating labor procedures that used scope as liberalization currency to wrest gains for mainline pilots, which ultimately came at the expense of their regional counterparts. With friends like that..…as the saying goes."
Bill Swelbar, MIT International Center for Air Transportation Research Engineer