Originally Posted by
Roy Biggins
You had my up until the last paragraph. I’ve never seen such an egomaniac at the helm of the MEC. This thing was botched going back to LOA 12. If Chris had it his way, LOA 13 would not have been sent to the pilots for a vote either. Statements he’s made since then are extremely disconcerting. I talk to my reps on a regular basis, so I consider myself fairly well informed to the inner workings of our MEC. As I said before, my biggest concern is CK’s inability to recognize past mistakes and learn from them. That is a huge liability in leadership. He’s lost the support of rank and file pilots; he’s got to go. Problem is, we need new bodies to step up for LEC. It’s a huge time commitment and sacrifice, so I completely understand why so many are reluctant.
I'm not defending CK, whatsoever. I think LOA13 was poor, and I voted NO. But I
understand how it made it out of the MEC and to the pilot group for possible ratification. If the MEC had voted that down, the membership would have complained that the opportunity was stolen from us to determine our own fate. Union work is a
very tough balancing act of trying to get very "Type A " people to not shoot themselves in the head. We are methodical, critical thinkers in our airplanes, but extremely emotional about our careers and perceived fair work rules and compensation. But to pin the blame exclusively on the MEC Chairman, I believe, is short-sighted. I think its great that you are connected with your rep, because a lot of guys set the brake, run the checklist, and go home and don't read union emails let alone know who their reps are.
Again, not trying to defend CK. Just saying union work isn't always black and white. Hard decisions have to be made sometimes, even if that makes you look like the bad guy.