Crusoe

Not what you were hoping for perhaps - but nevertheless- for your (& others) consideration. As told by a friend:

Imagine a hypothetical world where a nameless, faceless, hypothetical company was locked in a protracted labor battle with their largest hypothetical labor union and have been hypothetically engaging in a full court press of hypothetical workplace abuses, mindless delays, theoretical lawsuits and arbitration demands against said employees & blatant (albeit hypothetical) CBA violations despite a (rumored) ever increasing pilot shortage. Now imagine this hypothetical corporation had a hypothetical Achilles heel in the form of massive attrition which was in sharp contrast to their fantasy growth plans & that their only real saving grace that allows them to simultaneously continue daily operations and continue delaying any serious negotiations...was [drum roll...] attracting fresh bodies to fill the seats...hypothetically that is. As long as the hypothetical businessmen at said hypothetical company can keep all the theoretical metal moving they have little to no need, or desire, to bargain in good faith with this imaginary pilot union. Now further imagine if the hypothetical potential candidates hypothetically decided (organically & of their own volition) to no longer reward this (purely hypothetical) bad actor & instead only sought gainful employment at more “enlightened” companies? What would hypothetically happen? How would this hypothetical situation effect this theoretical time-line for the imaginary 1700+ that are locked in this fantastical battle with no end in sight? For the career/industry as a whole? For some added context - Imagine if this hypothetical company had (supposedly) been in business for >25 years and had only allowed their hypothetical pilots to actually vote on a contract only once in that entire quarter of a century. Do you suppose, hypothetically, that barring any significant leverage, these fantasy league businessmen would ever want to change this pattern of allegedly bad & intransigent behavior? And most importantly - isn’t it interesting how in this hypothetical scenario the group with the most power is actually the ones currently on the outside looking in, who can pick & choose where to offer their services, skills & labor ...hypothetically. The choice of short term (relative) pain/inconvenience vs long term gain is a hypothetical conundrum for the shortsighted (if even considered at all) but a pretty clear choice for those with a modicum of situational awareness and a little backbone (made considerably easier in a hot labor market). Hypothetically speaking of course.

Perhaps it’s all just a recurring fever dream, but there are interesting & important choices to be made. May you choose wisely for both yourself & your fellow trade unionists so that this career raises all boats. So to speak.

ps- Allegedly.