Why will this myth not die.

The administration has NO ability to prevent us from striking, and this current administration has shifted the historical balance from the corporate side to our labor side.

The reason all 4 major airlines have been in negotiations for YEARS is that the pilot groups have been conditioned to be excessively patient, and many fear losing their livelihood during a strike.

It is inarguably the best time for pilot leverage in AT LEAST the past 20 years. There is ZERO chance of an airline replacing their pilot group. Where would they get the pilots? It’s quite unlikely we can even hire the numbers we hope to next year. All 4 management groups, when pressured, will accept union terms.

All 4 airline management groups have been regularly sending out emails telling us how much they appreciate us picking up the operational pieces during these ‘challenging times’. All while negotiating with us for a whole 4 days per month. As we get farther along in this process, and they feel more pressure, suddenly they’ll start meeting with the union more often. So, really, they don’t actually care about us right now, despite their claims, because they’re paying us what they want, and we’re fine with it.

I’m not sure who doesn’t know this, but the management cares ALMOST EXCLUSIVELY ABOUT PROFIT. And I don’t blame them, it’s only business. Shareholders are the highest priority, that is normal, and that’s how this is supposed to work. Us wishing for a contract is useless. They will only solve this problem when shareholders dividends are threatened, which means us threatening to stop work through a strike (actually getting to a strike is EXTREMELY unlikely, and even if it did, who would they replace us with? There are no more pilots) This environment is COMPLETELY DIFFERENT than in years past, when they could actually hire a bunch of enthusiastic replacements.

We have only ourselves to blame for playing this game so poorly, and not recognizing our current environment. We should be showing the entire country how powerful unions can be.

Provide management, without emotion, with a zero concession contract, to make up what we’ve lost through inflation over the past couple years, along with a reasonable increase. Vote to strike, and start the cooling off clock. If we got our act together all 4 pilot groups could have new contracts by late spring. Anybody who tells you otherwise is either misleading you or doesn’t know what they’re talking about.

Or complain about how the world isn’t fair. When the truth will be that we didn’t negotiate well.