Originally Posted by
Tailhookah
Alpa is an association. You have a vote. So do I. There’s also a good number of us interested in not giving up pay via a lower ALV. I agree w/ you that plenty of “folks” don’t need more money to be happier... while I’m sure you were not specifically referring to me or preaching to me, I’ll point out that I was furloughed for 5+ years and have two in high school. College soon. It appears from your post you are younger and junior to me. You have a better future ahead of you, seniority wise than I do and will benefit from the contract we worked on before you arrived. So don’t worry, it’ll come. In the meantime enjoy the ride.
PS-Good luck trying to get Delta, now or ever, to agree to a permanent lower ALV. That means more pilots. It’ll never happen. Be realistic and if you ever get to the MEC realize that to negotiate for impossible wants is a waste of time.
I intend to preach to no one, so I'm sorry if you took it that way. Every situation is unique... I've got younger kids, a working spouse, and the GI bill to pay for half of college. I sat the lost decade out on the sidelines working various part time jobs for Uncle Sam. I recognize my needs aren't the same as anyone else's. That being said, I'd prefer the default to be a lower minimum amount of obligation to my employer, with mechanisms for those who want to work more to do so. The fact that I could (pre- and presumably post-covid) be awarded 89 hours of hard-time flying, three months in a row, during my kids' summer months with little to no opportunity to reduce that schedule, is ridiculous. Granted, IVDs have helped. But that ALV+7.5 hours of the LCW, simply to carry the middle where it is...or +15 to keep the bottom from being too low for those who want the hours... really adds up. I wish it didn't take a global pandemic and all that came with it to finally have some abundant time home with the family.
There are all sorts of ways we could provide relief at the high end to preserve earning potential for the masses who want to, or need to work (i.e., drop anything over the threshold with only half of the reserves required, paid APD, more summer vacation, etc.).
Like most of us, I have friends all over the net worth and income spectra. There's very little correlation in either of those metrics and their personal or familial happiness. As I actually think about it, I think my highest earner friend (ortho surgeon) is probably the least happy. But there's a strong inverse correlation between how much time my friends and their spouses spend at work and their satisfaction with life and parenthood. I'm just doing what I can to learn from those anecdotes, and the 1807 who took time over money, to avoid the pitfalls of chasing the almighty dollar. It's important and it's an enabler... but it doesn't come without some permanent tradeoffs. And my intent is not to preach, but merely to explain my motivations and the lens through which I see this career.
Oh, and I agree that chasing a permanent ALV reduction that would apply to all categories is a lost cause for reasons you mention. I simply like to make sure people recognize how far away the company's offer really is from what I, myself, would like to see in the PWA. Management has shown their true colors, and our collective QOL is nowhere on their radar.