Is it your habit to ask questions and then also provide the answers? As was pointed out, it's in our contract that we're not required to cross picket lines, so my answer is no, I wouldn't. Personally, I wouldn't cross it even if it weren't in the contract. And to rebut a comment about not knowing who Comair is, yes, I know who they are, they're the pilots I and many of my peers sent money to when they struck.

While there are a few who automatically ask, 'what's in it for me?', the consensus seems to understand that it's in everyones best interest to support a pilot group that is trying to improve their work rules and benefit packages because it will then provide the other groups with a contract they can point to when in they are conducting their own negotiations. Recall Delta pilots demanding 'United plus one'. A variation on 'a rising tide lifts all ships.'

Unfortunately, management has discovered that pattern bargaining can work both ways, and pilots (my airline included) reluctantly step up to provide concessions to help the bottom line. Consequently, we're being pitted against each other and the result is a downward spiral of this profession.

So who has a solution?