Originally Posted by Rightseat Ballast

No, no, You got it all wrong. The IBT and BB are in on this together, and obviosuly BB has been in bed with TPG and MEH for YEARS now. Even the RAH EXCO has been dutifully keeping pay low just to help BB realize his master plan of buying a massive 25 aircraft airline, and the RAH pilots have been quietly helping this plot along the whole time. Conspiracy! Conspiracy! CONSPIRACY!!!!!!!

EVERYONE has been conspiring against the MEH pilots for years, because MEH pilots and their astronomical pay have been the biggest roadblock in this industry to lowering everyone's pay. They had to be wiped out, and now that team Republic has succeeded, we all do victory dances and buy our fearless CEO drinks every night. We NEEDED MEH, because there was no other way to break into the stand alone market. It's not like you can just go and buy an airline like Frontier, and instantly get 60 Airbuses. No, we needed MEH becuase that was the ONLY way we would ever get 190's. And without 190's, how would we ever be able to debase JetBlue's pay. Bedford has told us that the 190 is more than just an airplane... it is the ONLY way we could ever successfully destroy the industry. It is an instrument of God! He even showed us the "wrath of god" decals he plans to place on every 190 beginning in 2010.

Maybe it is just me, but this constant dribble about everyone being out to get the MEH pilots sounds just a little far fetched and ego-centric. I know that there are a bunch of stand up, level headed guys at Midwest who can see the situation for what it is, but unfortunately none of them post on this site.

RAH is recalling. As long as there are RAH pilots to recall, only they will be recalled to the RAH certificates. When the SLI is complete, the Midwest pilots will be put into aircraft as their seniority dictates. If the company won't send those guys to class, then please sue the heck out of the company. When you are entitled to something, go get it. For now, only a spot on the RAH seniority list entitles you to a seat in a RAH cockpit. Right or wrong, it doesn't matter. Ethics have been absent from law for years. What is written on paper is gospel, and for now the courts are preaching out of the book of RAH CBA. Midwest paint means nothing to the FAA, since the planes are on the RAH certificate. Apparently the courts don't think much of it either. Again, that is law, not our personal ethics at play. If my ethics mattered, there would be a whole slew of dead child molesters being taken away from the public gallows right now. If seniority was really so important, date of hire would be present in all mergers past. Good luck finding it.

I am really not a hard a$$, or a jerk. I am just getting real tired of this 'everyone is out to get us, no one cares about us' banter. Yes, it is a raw deal, and working for RAH will not be nearly as good as working for MEH. But Capitalism has many casualties, and the loss of your business is just one of thousands in the past few years. I feel bad for every person who has lost a job. I feel bad for the MEH pilots. But I don't feel any special sympathy for you. I have too many unemployed and underemployed family members to think that your case is special. I feel no guilt, because I have seen the life cycle of business on a personal level three times in my life, and I know exactly what I can control, and what is well beyond my sphere of influence. I know how hard this is on your families. I have been one of those families. Years later, I still am trying to help my parents through the consequences of capitalism and innovation in business. Life isn't pretty, and there aren't many 30 year careers left in this country. I honestly can't name a single person I know who has held employment for the same company for 30 years. Layoffs, closings, mergers...it catches up with us all at some point. Sorry it had to be you guys now.