Originally Posted by
FriendlyPilot
Pre merger there would have been ZERO United pilots picking up any trips during negotiations. If they had their schedules would have been posted behind the glass of the ALPA message boards for all to see. Now we have a new group of pilots bragging about how they get 140 hours of pay every month and fly down to 10 days off and the TA will hurt their chances to keep flying as much as possible on their days off.
That is the reason we have the current TA. We don’t need improvements to reserve, etc because the company knows they can just add some PP and guys are falling all over themselves to grab those trips, even complaining when they can’t fly OT.
You can blame the NC all you want but this pilot group’s daily actions are the blame.
Although I don't disagree with the history of your remark, I would draw a different conclusion. I am legacy United and remember vividly the schedules posted on the ALPA board in Chicago meant to shame the persons into not picking up trips. In my opinion that attitude was very bad and the new policy is an improvement. If I want to work hard I can, but if I want to fly a normal schedule I can do that as well. (For the record I picked up 1 PPU trip in my 4 years as an A320 cap and never ever picked up PPU prior or since because I am lazy and hate working
) The two are not and should not be mutually exclusive. What is a problem is that the company thought they could throw money at problems like IRO currency and day 1 reserve report time AND punish pilots who didn't take the money. Carrots are fine. Sticks are not. Our negotiators seem to have forgotten who they represent.
The problem with our pilot group (myself included in this remark) is not greed; it's apathy towards union politics. Hopefully this awful TA made most of us wakeup to a new reality. We shall see.