Originally Posted by
echelon
I don't know how you got that impression but nobody's pretending, I hate this place. I spent time at two different $hitty regionals before Alaska (my third regional) and they BOTH had stronger scheduling language than the hot garbage contract at this place. I said I'd be there in 20 years to strike... That's only if fate dooms me to actually have to spend my future waiting on this God forsaken dump to turn from a job into a career. I've been here coming up on two years and am doing everything I possibly can to leave because I have absolutely no desire to be around to find out how this story ends. So settle down, they won't be getting any favors out of me in the meantime.
My point is that I hear an AWFUL lot of people who are "building a strike fund" and are "ready to walk," etc, etc without realizing how getting released to strike takes almost a literal act of congress. And if anyone thinks a bunch of pilots making more than 95%+ of other Americans are going to get any sympathy from the public to help catalyze that process, they need to wake up from their self-absorbed fantasies and think again.
You are correct sir. A strike just isn't going to happen. We have to get B&B's attention through other means.
Even if we were to get released to strike, (years and years and years from now), all it would take is one phone call from a native councilmen from OME, OTZ, BRW or BET complaining that the days rations of soda pop didn't make it in - and you can consider the strike to be over. The local native politics leaning on the governor, senators and congressman of Alaska is all it would take to shut a strike down in no time at all. I doubt a strike would even be allowed to start as these politicians are probably smart enough to make the phone calls before we are even officially "released" to strike.
So rather than waste our time on things that won't help, I hope that we can focus on what we can do. The only thing that B&B will pay attention to is when jets stop moving. They buried their heads in the sand and denied that there was a problem last summer at QX. They ignored it until it imploded and shut itself down. That is what has to happen here to get them to pay attention. It must fail, then they will wake up and try to fix it. As long as we keep making them money, they will keep ignoring us. When the jets stop moving, they will suddenly be very attentive.
Extensions, working on a day off, working on vacation, selling back vacation, picking up premium, for that matter - picking up any time at all, VSA, sick leave make up, working when your back is a little stiff or your nose is a little stuffy and you are not 100%. These are the easy things that would make a huge impact and all completely within our individual control.