Originally Posted by
baseball
Here's the deal...….Remember after 9 11 concessionary contract...Remember what management said. Both CAL and UAL...
"We just need these temporary concessions until we get back on our feet."
In reality, no carrot and stick required.
Just hold firm. Our demands are reasonable and consistent with the mindset and goal of "taking it back."
You don't need a carrot and stick to take back what you already had. You just need firmness of conviction. You need resolute leadership, and lock-step solidarity.
These MBA woosies haven't slept on hangar floors, haven't slept in cars in snowed in airport parking lots. Haven't driven trucks at night and flown during the day. They haven't stocked shelves at Walmart at night and flown 135 in the day time. They haven't juggled waiting tables and traffic watch, they haven't flown pipe line patrol and balanced turning wrenches in the air force reserve. These guys aren't battle tested. They don't know what it's like to dig in and push all your chips to the middle.
If the company doesn't want to give it back nicely, OK, that's fine. Lets party.
In traditional bargaining, there is "trading"..."give and take." In this kind of bargaining, there is only TAKE. We are just asking, very nicely, and very patiently mind you, for what is ours. We are simply asking for the dignity, career progression, and career expecations, and job security of our profession to be properly restored in proper recognition and reward for us SAVING the airline. Not just one airline mind you, but two separate airlines.
With out the CAL and UAL concessions neither airline would have been in a positon to survive much less thrive. We, the pilots made it possible for both airlines to rise above and be in a position for a merger of equals and the concessions we took, should be re-paid. O
Our carrots were stolen from us shortly after 9-11 and the sticks were all shoved up our arse. So, We can re-use the old carrot and sticks if we need to, but in reality, we've done all the groveling and begging we need to do.
Any mandate for a carrot and stick approach by the pilots is an insult to the concessions we took and delivered on a silver platter. FUTIB, FUPM, FUIWIB.
Temporary concessions to get back on their feet, while they were nearing bankruptcy, was the carrot. A bitter, medicine-tasting carrot, but when you’re starring down unemployment and starting over elsewhere at the bottom of the seniority, if that’s even an option, you do things like that to protect yourself.
But whatever. I see you like to talk a big game, but I also don’t see any big game on your part, at least in regards to scope. Holding the line on scope isn’t a big game. If you want to take it all back in one contract, what’s your strategy to taking scope back down to 50-seats only?
Mind you, according to UALPA they are already done negotiating almost everything, I’m sure with significant gains in all areas, except there’s a hang up on scope. So what’s your strategy for winning back scope, baseball?
If all your strategy gets this industry is “holding the line, that’s weak on my book. Certainly not the bold game one would expect from you.