Originally Posted by
Whistlin' Dan
No spears from me. My comment was meant to be taken tongue-in-cheek.
My point was that almost everybody who comes into this business does so by working cheaper then the guy ahead of him. Your Beech 1900 may not have "stolen" any flying from United, but it probably took some from the guys at F9, who in turn were taking some from Ted, who were taking some from United, etc. I know a lot of people at UPS who started their 121 careers at Evergreen, flying for hourly rates that were laughable at the time. It wasn't a career destination for them, just a stop along the way. Kind of like your regional was for you, and like "GoJet" is to the guys working there now.
I understand your frustration, but this is not the time to start creating an "us" vs. "them" relationship across the experience levels of our profession. The enemy here is not some kid fresh out of ERAU who's just trying to log enough turbine time to land a real job, it's airline management and a system which not only permits, but
rewards a single corporate entity for owning several competing carriers.
I too think you have a false premise.
The unions do have power even though it gets eroded from time to time. Our pay would be lower, collectively, if we were like Asian carriers without them. Not only that, we would have to have the permission of our company and get the new company to pay for our previous experience to quit and go to another job. This, and other restrictions, keeps their pay and benefits very low. It also sounds like slave labor.
If people avoid Gojet because of poor working conditions AND a diminished chance of career progression Gojet will, eventually, change their ways or go out of business.
No union implementation is perfect and the management tricks that cause one to get voted in are more heinous than questionable union decisions. At least unions try to benefit someone on the seniority list instead of sticking it to everyone like some managements have.
So, in short, we should put down the law and guide the newer pilots as best we can. If they squeeze their way in during a period of rapid hiring, so be it. But I would not give them a free pass. We should reward those who do the right thing. And, no, I am not being a hypocrite because I did not do it.