Anyone read the latest copy of AIRLINE PILOT, our ALPA magazine? John Prater's column this month is titled "the Elephant in the Crew Room", and in it he is discussing the current issues with USAir and the lobby to decertify the union by some disgruntled US Air folks. The paragraph that really gave me a chuckle (an ironic one--not a haha funny one...) was this:

There is so much more to this story. US Airways pilots from the "east" went through bankruptcies, lost their defined-benefits pensions, and saw half of their members furloughed. It was so bad that captains with 16 to 20 years of longevity lost the left seat.

The way I read that, a guy furloughed and out on the street is bad, but a captain knocked out of left seat is a crime against humanity. Oh, the calamity!

I want to be part of the team that helps fix our problems. I am not anti-ALPA, certainly not anti-union. But somehow we have forgotten that a union is OUR union.... You know, when the flex guys took a hit on the last contract, I was one of the guys who said "quit your *****in', you still got it good..." That was wrong. Because the same angle I am seeing now is "its just the Subic guys..." or "just the junior guys..." affected. If we want to to move forward, it takes everyone benefiting...not just the very senior. We all hope to be senior one day and reap the rewards of a solid career, but I think some of our own have forgotten what its like along the way.

RAC396...I owe you an apology. I should have been more concerned about the changes to section 11.