2017 W2 Earnings

Southerner...I’m gonna call you out again brother. I want you to tell me you’ve read that thread, you’ve read the union emails, and you still think it’s ok to not wear a lanyard. You should post your info in there and see how it stacks up. You sometimes seem like a level headed guy who argues for the sake of making sure the other side’s voice is heard so this isn’t an echo chamber like bluepilots, and I know how juicy you instructors become down there. But if you see 2-3 year legacy FOs who are making more than our CAs, especially after PS/retirement, and think wearing a lanyard doesn’t matter, that our culture is good enough to make up for that, you are insane.

You realize the company that says they care about you (second value) underpays you by 30-40%? You realize they bought back $500mil in stock in the last 2 years and are buying back $750m in the next 2? You realize that’s $1.25billion that neither adds value to the company, hasn’t appreciated the share price, doesn’t invest in the company’s fleet/infrastructure/people but merely is used to increase C suite bonuses? You realize that other “good” companies that actually care about their employees took the Trump tax windfall and gave it, or at least a portion of it, back to employees? What did JB do? Announce buybacks! We didn’t even get a raise in line with inflation yesterday...every other airline did. So we just lost another 3% of pay yesterday. Other airlines are giving raises outside of section 6 negotiations. You realize our $500mil cost savings program just means slashing budgets, running leaner, and continuing to do more with less ont the backs of labor? Management has had AMPLE opportunity to negotiate in good faith and give us MARKET RATE pay. Not leading, not unsustainable, not breaking Joel’s piggy bank rates...market rate.

Do you realize JetBlue management spends MILLIONS of dollars on union busting and anti-labor efforts? The company they pay to keep labor costs down actually takes whatever measurable and quantifiable metrics they can and advises JetBlue what they can get away with labor wise. That’s what they get paid millions to do. Guess what the biggest metric is? That silly lanyard you refuse to wear, as well as the social media campaign # of likes and shares, and rally/picket attendance.

I grew up not liking labor/unions. And I think ALPA has had significant issues in the last couple decades and isn’t perfect, or even particularly good in some cases. But it’s what we have and it’s the ONLY group that has our best interests in mind. The company doesn’t and you can’t say they do...not when they refuse to accept market rate and single handedly pushed us into a labor dispute. I was juicy for a while here. I really want jetblue to be a good place to work. I want the culture that you think exists here to actually exist. I want to not wear a lanyard, get along with management, potentially even be in management one day, and be a part of the best airline to work for. But dam, we are in a full blown labor dispute, the management greed is sickening, and we STILL have guys who refuse to wear a lanyard and do the one thing the union asks. A free, easy, and effective tool to help us get a contract. And even if lanyards aren’t effective (which is false), what is the downside to wearing it? Not offending management, the same guys who refuse to pay you what your peers make? Honestly I’m curious as to how you justify your decision. Unbelievable.