Originally Posted by Typhoonpilot

You pro-union guys really need to take a step back and stop smoking crack. In my experience unions have been pretty bad. In 1989 I helped to vote ALPA into existance at a regional airline in California. Until the union was voted in we were doing pretty well. Good schedules and good work rules. As soon as it was voted in we started getting shafted big time. Mesa bought that airline and replaced all their flying with their own non-union flying over the following years until one day, WestAir ceased to exist.

Later I went to a nice major airline job with an ALPA carrier. One year and eight months later I was furloughed. While I was on furlough, for eight years, the senior pilots on the 767 flew 10 hours of overtime every month. The union did nothing. The union also did nothing to help me get an interview at any other ALPA airline. The union also stopped the company from getting a lucrative route to Tokyo that was their's for the taking. They had some stupid reason for their actions, but it certainly wasn't in the junior pilot's interest. So I went back to said company after 8 years and then September 11th happened. The union ( MEC ) voted to terminate my pension plan. I didn't even get a vote because I was furloughed again.

Union's are no panacea. The jetBlue guys have a good thing going. Why ruin it with a union, especially ALPA.

Mind you union's do have their usefulness. They are very good at Aeromedical representation and representation in the event of an accident or incident, but as a collective bargaining entity they are crap.

The JB guys should keep working towards a good relationship with Dave and Dave and keep hostility out of the picture. Their best hope is to keep good relations with management, not confrontational relations.


TP