Originally Posted by
RJSAviator76
I can just see CK taking your post and telling our NC "Why should a 'Cracker Jack regional that flies 737's' ever give you industry leading anything? Given that you clearly don't see us as industry leaders in anything, what makes you entitled to anything industry-leading? Here's your 'Cracker Jack regional that flies 737's' offer."
I take a different perspective... I consider us an industry leader and a 1000 lbs gorilla in the industry. I expect to be compensated as such.
IMO, it doesn't really matter if CK, or BJ, or TD think we don't deserve industry-leading anything when the company's main defense against the credible threat of self-help is the employment of scabs in the event of a legal strike. In this environment, the chances of SWA management drumming up enough scabs to fly enough flights to sustain our operation in response to a legal strike are virtually nil.
IMO, it also doesn't really matter that much if we believe we deserve an industry-leading contract unless we are able to collectively make the threat of a strike very, very real in the minds of CK, BJ, and GK.
If we can make the threat of a legal strike very, very credible, then we stand a good chance of attaining an industry-leading contract.
The very late filing for mediation and the ongoing complaining (which management is very aware of) from much of the pilot group about how long the process is taking, among other things, eats away at our credibility. It makes it appear to management, who does understand the process, that we do not understand the process very well and that they can eventually cause us to settle for something much less than we could achieve.