I've been following this thread out of shear morbid curiosity. Like others here, I don't usually agree with Ms. FP. However, I find that those of you who are bashing the maternity leave provision in your contract, are indeed very selfish and are not indicative of what the IPA has stood for. The best attribute, in my opinion, of the UPS pilot group has always been the cohesiveness of your group. That and of course your really cool looking brown uniforms.
Through thick and thin you have managed to maintain a genuine caring for your fellow UPS pilots. Until now, or I guess more correctly, until now for a small minority of you. To you few I say, get over it. It's a good thing that your union has recognized that when a female pilot goes out on maternity leave, she should get some support from your union. Besides, it sounds like it's really not that much anyway, and because of that fact alone, it makes you look petty.
Just my opinion, and I really don't want to enter into a discussion about it. Suffice it to say, I believe that this is a reasonable benefit for the female pilots of any airline. Especially the really hot ones.
JJ