I'm sorry, but I think Moak would be representing the wishes of the pilot group if he stayed out of your election. We all agree that you have the right to represent yourself, and I don't think any of us will stand in your way in any shape or form. And I know it's totally anathema to many pilots at NW to even dare to utter such things, and I know I'll get pounded for this the minute I post, but the reality is that they have nothing more to gain than me from helping.

You may have a clear vision of where you think this is headed, but from my standpoint, after discussing it with many crews, there is definitely no consensus. In fact, for the two previous votes, for both of which we (and I) wasted our time trying to interest the South F/A's, there were A LOT more expressions of support for AFA. I don't know where the stickers have gone, but they're going to have value as rare collectors' items.

So it really isn't a question of whether we're failing to help a group that shows a real hunger for union, because you guys as a group don't seem to know what you want. For every one of you that "gets" union representation, there is a cool-aid drinker that doesn't. We can't change that for you. So the problem I have when we discuss this with F/A's is that I have to tell them that absolutely, I consider it essential to have representation, so I'd be a hypocrite to recommend against it... but on the other hand a union is only as good as its' members want it to be, and only as good as their potential strike vote would be when it counted. I'm not seeing people willing to picket. I see a very narrow pass or fail, and either no union, or an extraordinarily weak union.

You made a critical mistake fighting integration.. I think you're so scared of working with the South F/A's, that you won't actually properly engage them on this. I don't blame you, in a way: you don't want to risk your contract, and you've been in a fairly hard labor environment. And I'm not suggesting that management will be your friend under a Delta culture, but they have been busy cajoling the F/A's more to try to fend off a union for decades. That stuff works. Because I don't think you've fully taken the time to understand the other group, and because you have decided what's right on behalf of a larger group, you're unfortunately failing to have an effective charm campaign. You are staking the outcome on an all-or-nothing vote where you might or might not prevail on thin margin. Bad move.

So far, you're playing right into the hands of management, and you're creating a clash of cultures by trying to avoid developing a consensus culture. Since we have no possible gain in having a weak and disorganized sister union on property, we can only watch. When you've done the hard work, and have worked a while with the South F/A's, and when we see you can at least create a viable product, then we can help.

There is of course one last issue, which you aluded to: we could show support for unionization in general, without endorsing what looks like a mess, but the problem is that general statements during an AFA vote turn into a tacit endorsement for AFA, and a statement about supporting the F/A's to chose whatever you want seems like encouragement not to vote for a union. Instead of making cryptic and useless official endorsements, I think we sit tight, and let you guys figure it out. You still need to find a way to talk to the most difficult group of all: the Atlanta F/A. Good luck.