Originally Posted by
Lab Rat
I do not intend to rain on anyone's parade, but I would like to make a comment. The ability to live anywhere you choose and commute to work is a privilege afforded by the nature of the industry and not a right that your employer is obligated to provide for you.
What many people have forgotten is that you go to where the jobs are and work your lifestyle into the demands of it. Yes, NYC and L.A. are expensive places to live, but if that is where the job is you make it work. If you can successfully commute into your job then that is a good thing. If not, you better have an alternate means, and demanding your employer adjust their schedule to meet your needs is unrealistic in most career fields - especially when supply and demand is not in your favor.
That is a completely true statement. Youre not raining on my parade. However, airline industry has been constanly evolving since inception. Therefore, it is my arguement that our perceptions about commuting, pay and work rules should change as well. In the 80s, it used to be that if you lived in Georgia and wanted a commuter job, you worked for ASA and "commuted" to the big city. Now, everything has changed. The world (including the regional world) has gone global. Regionals are no longer just flying E110's to Macon and Muscle Shoals. However, starting pay still blows and people have to move all around the country to get these jobs. How about rewarding your employees with a ride to work? And, as I said, there could be restrictions. Possibly, required to live within a 2 hour flight of your base? Just throwing this out for discussion.
And, by the way, the only rights that your employer is obligated to provide to you, are the rights we negotiate. You dont get what you deserve, you get what you negotiate. That may sound immoral, but it is a business basic.