Originally Posted by
wuflingpu
We need to be careful what we wish for. The article was well written and everyone's complaint is very valid. However, the abuse of the no questions asked policy by non-professionals has resulted in an overreaction by the company. I am by no means taking the side of management, but I can see why their approach has changed.
The comments by the readers after the article are interesting also. The public perception of our job is very skewed. They believe that we are calling in fatigued to manipulate our schedules, feeling the sniffles, or just because we don't care about them.
Anyway, I know that my comments will not be appreciated, but I am just saying that if we, as a pilot group, want to stand up against abuse by the company, we need to maintain OUR professionalism.
I think a well structured union/mgmt review board could eliminate the worst of the offenders. Opponents will say pilots will still feel pressured to fly fatigued if they will be second-guessed (even by their own union reps), but there
should be
some pressure to get a good night's sleep and show up to do the job you're being paid to do. The delicate part is finding the sweet spot where abusers are eliminated but people who occasionally find themselves fatigued don't fear harassment for playing it safe.