Originally Posted by
STILL GROUNDED
Yet another reasonable argument for us all belonging to one union they focuses on the pilots. Structured pay based on Gross Weight. An aircraft weighing xxxxx to xxxxx pays $XXX.XX, an so on. If we all had the same rates then pilot pay would no longer be a bargaining chip for companies. Lets start making deals based on what management gets paid for a change. Let them skin the cat somewhere else besides the employees pockets.
One National union, that was strong (as in "I am afraid if I cross this picket line someone is going to hit me with a lead-pipe" strong) would go a little of the way toward re-regulating the airlines. What to do about a national seniority list, or perhaps just "union scale" based upon gross weight is another question. The issue is that the Union, while giving many things over the years to pilots, is not "strong" like that. As long as people will cross picket lines, pilots will have no leverage. As long as there are no long-term effects from crossing a picket line, people will continue to do so.