People are wired to chase those in black hats. Whatever the "black hat" is, if it is popular to chase it, it is human nature to do so. History is riddled with this.

Carl, with all due respect, management is not our enemy. I know it seems this way. Perhaps with the "big" oil or "big" that, the Obama followers perhaps think that "evil" and "corporation" just go together.

Here is the reality: When the company furloughed a bunch of pilots and downgraded others, there was a slew of sick calls. Why? Ummm, in order to bank all that pay at captains pay, or before being shown the door. I get it and would do the same thing. Management on the other hand is trying to get away with every little tactic they can to save money. Pilots don't care if calling in sick pulls money out of the company any more than the company cares that stalling contract negotiations will rob us of money. Its human nature. It is what fuels the economy in the first place.

When buying a car, you'll haggle and haggle and try every tactic in the book to pay as little as possible, while the seller will do everything to get as much money out of you as possible. Once settled, you will shake hands, and off you go. Its just the way it is and the way it has to be.

The decision to be an airline pilot and fly multi million dollar airplanes is a decision that curses you to the rest of our career on the side lines waiting and watching for what decisions management comes up with that will effect you. There is NOTHING that we can do about it. It is THEIR company, with THEIR routes, negotiated by THEM. It is THEIR competence or lack of it that puts us on the streets or sitting in a SWA'ish job. Those SWA pilots do the exact same things we do in the RJs. The difference: Their management (thus far - all good things come to an end sometime) seem to know how to run an airline.

TSA's gift, in my opinion, as bad as it is for us, is that they know how to manipulate pilots to keep their costs down. We are nothing but pawns on their chess board to be postion at will. Do you think that a line of navy blue suits holding cardboard signs is going to do a thing? They'll just laugh at it. And it is sad that is is all we can do. Now, a strike will hit them where it hurts. THAT is how you get something done. And rest assured, if Hulas has any desire to keep TSA as a going concern, nothing will happen until the very last minute. And when it does, think about how much money it saved them to stall as long as they did. From a $$$$ viewpoint, it is brilliant. Back pay? Forget about it. Its not impossible, but if it happens at all, it'll be dirty dealings. Perhaps this is part of the decision to displace right now, announce furloughes 4 months in advance. The more ****ed off pilots leave, especially those on the upper levels of the seniority list, the cheaper it'll be for them.

Something else I thought of the other day from reading another thread. It is possible to get stuck in a "purgatory" of sorts where you are unemployed, yet have anywhere from 5,000 - 8,000 hours jet time. The regionals would rather hire 400 hour pimple faced guys right out of ERAU because the potential ROI is greater. A multi thousand hour pilot will more likely leave (because he is qualified for more jobs) when something better comes. Whereas the 400 hour pilot is barely marketable (still meets insurance requirements), and is likely to hold out to build the required time. Is this the most slimeball thing ever?!!! These companies don't really care about your hours. As long as you meet the requirements in the eyes of the FEDs, insurance, etc, then it is all about ROI.

I believe this is another reason that we are seeing well qualified pilots on the streets caught between the regionals and the majors. The regionals don't want them, and the majors aren't hiring.

Its dog eat dog, man. But, I say again: Its business. Don't hate the playas, hate the game.

I have more to say to illustrate the point, but this is long enough....