stickwiggler

D'angie, this will be my last post to you because given your history and the content of your post it is obvious that you have limited experience in aviation, a complete lack of the big picture, and are a man of little to no moral fiber.
You seem to think that anyone that disagrees with you is someone blindly following the pack. Did it ever occur to you that the reason that so many people "follow the pack" is because they simply agree what is the best course of action?
You say that ALPA is stuck in the past. I suggest that you read a little. Those who fail to study history are bound to repeat it. Did you ever stop to ask why alpa does the one upmanship contract based negotiations? It is because the industry is cyclical, when it's up, you do the one upmanship, when it is down, management rides that wave and has a race to the bottom.
What you really don't seem to get is that the regionals are all in a competition for contracts. The reason that a lot of good guys are out of a job or back sliding in the profession is because companies have to lower there cost to get the bids. If it were not for the unions trying to keep the wages up, do you really think that Jerry would pay SW pilots as well as he does? Of course not, he pays exactly what he has to to stay competitive to attract pilots. If all the unions went away, companies would race to the bottom. A pure capitolist would say, let it happen...eventually no one will work for "x" number of dollars and the balance will be reached. Here's the problem, too many snot nose, jelled hair, sketcher wearing, momma's boys (I'm sure that is not you) are willing to sell there soul to "get in" and think that it will be an easy ride to a "better job later" The crew lounges of American Eagle, ASA, Chitaqua, Comair, Mesa, etc. are full of guys who thought the same thing. Events outside of your control can play an enormous role in all of our futures.
you pose the hypathetical, "what if comair would have been after 9/11" we need not ponder this hypathetical, I'M LIVING IT right now. Our contract expired in 2002, since then management has come to us with pay cuts. We refused, through discussion and a strike vote, now management has taken pay cuts off the table and tried to get savings somewhere else (operations/training/scheduling etc.) Do you think if we would have caved, that other managment would not have followed? Maybe not just one airline but after 3 or 4 went down that road, what do you think Jerry (Lorenzo) Atkins would have done to your pay?

I find it interesting that you use the "kids smoking at school reference" I guess it makes sense. We all have to draw on the sum of our experience.

Pilots are not rocket scientist, but they are a pretty smart group of guys/gals, most of which are A++ types prown to independent thinking. If you find yourself at odds with what the vast majority of your fellow pilots think, then maybe it is not that the majority are all fools, but rather you just have a LOT to learn.