Originally Posted by
fosters
The words "unified" and "equitable" shouldn't be used in the same sentence. As a union, IMO, pilots artificially inflate their value.
If you want to look at what the "true" market value of an airline pilot's wages would be, look to non-union carriers such as jetBlue, Virgin America, and skybus.
You can't negotiate with a public company as a private individual line pilot in todays world. Who would have invested the mega bucks to become an ATP with a future of 60K a year. Not me.
The argument is absurd. If you want to make that argument, I say get rid of the airline management skewed Railway Labor Act. Allow us to strike anytime a contract is infringed upon, and let's see where a true free market gets us when we can shutdown the country's travel anytime we want if we're not happy. Check the value then. Allow us to truly get together and negotiate as one complete entity of 70,000 people at once. Free means free, and guarantee you that when those planes are parked management will come knocking. Right now they can hide behind the RLA for years pitting one group against another as well as get the courts to abrogate contracts, and that is why wages have fallen in the airlines.