Originally Posted by
Freedom421
Unions are the problem just like government is the problem. Free market its what are founding fathers wanted.
Jet Blue, Sky West are two companies that do a good job. They are not used and abused or paid unfairly.
inefficient governments and unions produce wast and corruption. The government raises taxes the unions give away your wages.
It is easier to control groups than individuals. Thats why we have individual rights and the government want to take away your rights so they can control you. Management can control you alot easier when you guys are in a union. If you **** off free employees they might just quit. When you **** off union employees they cannot quit due to the rail way labor act. Or at least they cannot quit all at once.
Ok, everyone is entitled to an opinion, and I respect yours, but I think you are not living in the real world.
In an ideal economic model, the laws of supply and demand would set the work rules and salary of pilots. Those laws hold true today to some degree. When pilots are in short supply, airlines raise salaries and increase benefits to attract aircrews. When there is a glut of pilots (like now), airlines have the upper hand and frequently exploit their advantage to cut pay and benefits so they can pocket more cash. But you already know this.
Whenever I examine this issue, I always arrive at the same conclusion...if it weren't for unions, we'd all be paid like regional pilots...barely eeking out a living. Like it or not (and I don't like unions btw...I view them as a necessary evil) we need unions to keep from getting run over.
The only way out of this union management relationship would be to get rid of unions overnight, let all pilots around the world take it in the shorts for most of what's left of their career, until the market has a chance to make a correction, that is, most flight academies shut down, military pilots stay in the military for a full career, and the few pilots who would fly for free anyway will support the dwindling industry until management is forced to raise pay and benefits back to a reasonable level to attract qualified pilots who by now would probably only come from the military, at least initially. (How's that for a huge run-on sentence?
) I, for one, would like this to NOT HAPPEN while I am employed as a pilot.
It's a lot harder for management to p!$$ off employees who negotiated a decent contract. A fair contract is a win-win for both management and the employees, and over a career, I'll bet my dues paying a$$ does far better, and my airline is more profitable with the union than without.
BTW, I didn't understand your comment about not being able to quit. I'm in a union and I can quit any time I want.
Just my $.02.