Absolutely great post, dn. You convey information better than I do!
I also encourage everyone to do a search on the forums for the many threads on this topic. They ought to give you a slightly different perspective and round out what you need to know before embarking on this journey.
Many of you have contacted me about this. I seem to remember that at least one regional (that has been furloughing like crazy) has been giving pilots a difficult time with the furlough letter. Please correct me if I am mistaken.
http://www.airlinepilotforums.com/fl...rough-wia.html
http://www.airlinepilotforums.com/fl...pe-rating.html
http://www.airlinepilotforums.com/ma...ha-pilots.html
Finally, the DOL website for all states is:
Listing Of State WIA Contacts