Originally Posted by
Nordhavn
I get it. You don't believe it is possible. That or you retire soon. Fear is very contagious but courage is also. We have all seen the breakdown of yes votes and their corresponding age. I wish more people at FX didn't hold your philosophy. We will NEVER get a good contract if this thought process permeates through the work force and by extension to the negotiating table. "We are worth top tier pay but it is not possible due to the current economic conditions" is a defeatist attitude and is one of the main contributors that make FX ALPA toothless. The doom and gloomers constantly say UAL, DAL, AA, WN will be bankrupt soon and their contract gutted, so that is why we shouldn't negotiate for that. This is probably one of the more absurd arguments I read on here.
I’m 56. I will retire once we get a new contract. I hoped that would be before 60. Now I’m not sure. But I can wait. Unlike last 4a2b when I was extremely junior in my seat, I am now very senior in my seat. I can easily afford the pay cut. But it will be worth hanging out to see what changes to the retirement package look like. I know lots of people doing what I’m doing. They could leave any time. Several planned on it. Now they’ll sit and wait.
You seem unable to grasp reality. There’s a difference between “doom and gloom” and simple fact. What I said is simple fact. The airline industry is cyclical as a whole, but also by sector. During COVID, the cargo industry was at its peak while the passenger industry struggled. Now the reverse is true. That’s reality, and maybe you were raised believing that throwing a temper tantrum gets you what you want, but the business world doesn’t really care about your emotions. The company has exactly zero incentive at this point to bring anything new to the table. Unless the global freight environment changes, we’re essentially negotiating during a recession in our industry. Again, you may not like to hear it, but facts are facts. The best thing the company can do (and no doubt will) is sit back and watch us flail. Regardless of why we voted the TA down, we’ve done them a huge favor. Saved them a lot of money at a time they really don’t want to spend any. The longer we take to get our **** together, the happier they are. Let’s hope the people who led the charge to reject the TA have a good plan to move forward.