Well, not to be a jerk but more to try and refresh the memory of the old farts and to promote dialog and to educate the half wingers and Marvins,
Times were also pretty good when we -
Enjoyed Deadhead travel in First Class,
Had a lucrative Pension,
Had Vacation Override, ("can you say more time at home"?)
Paid MUCH less for Health Insurance,
Got paid MUCH more per hour when adjusted for inflation and COLA,
Bid actual lines and didn't have to deal with QOL life sucking PBS, ("can you say more time at home"?)
Could actually trade and or drop trips,
Had the Big Dump,
Had Trip and Duty Rigs with teeth, ("can you say more time at home"?)
Got paid more for training,
Enjoyed crystal clear and SIMPLE payroll accounting,
Understood FIFO and your spot in the stack,
Could EASILY Non-Rev, (often in First and for... bupkis!),
Didn't have to deal with AMS and Pilot Pushing, (did someone say, -"Captains Authority"???)
Weren't taxed on a whole MESS of stuff like we are now - at the behest of MU.
etc.
etc.
etc
Yes...I am a cranky malcontent. But, before we all start willingly and gleefully smoking what they're offering while patting ourselves on the back, let's not forget what we
used to enjoy and HOW it was wrested away during the giant Ponzi scheme that was our "bankruptcy". Tell me, where did that last big avoided pension payment money go? Yes(!), things have improved. But lets not relax our sphincters and lose sight of what we once had. And of what the recent retirees fought so hard for AND WON when times were merely ordinary and MU wasn't the juggernaut that it is today.
There are apples, and there are oranges. I prefer citrus myself.
