I'm twice furloughed and second generation UAL. While I sit out here banging away, hoping for a call, I have been watching events and I am struck by something that I think is our core problem.

I don't think the problem is Smisek. In the end, It wasn't even Tilton. The problem is how we (our leadership) are approaching this. Now I'm not for one minute saying management has been angelic. At the same time, when our leadership keeps jamming a sharp stick in their eye, what reason are we giving them to even try to find common ground with us?

Look at what just happened with the mechanics. In the past year, they were able to bring back outsourced jobs from Asia, beef up the SFO maintenance facility, get guys back from furlough and end the disciplinary program that looked like Lorenzo created it.

Have you seen what they just got in their new TA? Nothing but improvements. They even got back two non union bases. Lifetime recall rights. The company has agreed to never close the SFO maintenance base. And they got raises and bennies.

And they didn't give anything away for it.

Where are we? Spinning our wheels.

So what's the difference? From what I've heard from maintenance guys I've known since I was a kid; they learned how to talk. They got the leader from the IBT in to talk to Tilton. They said that he was told he'd get 15 minutes. He got three hours. And I guess it went from there. They figured out how to talk and work out problems without either side acting like prima donnas. They had disagreements, but they got a deal.

And where are we? Why are the leaders we elected writing letters like I got the other day from my LEC reps? Why is ALPA National not trying to broker a meeting. Or finding an acceptable third party to act as a facilitator?

What are they really doing to get me and so many others recalled? And securing a good contract and QOL for each and every one of us?

We can let our leaders keep poking management in the eye. Or we can demand that they and ALPA National start earning the amazingly big paychecks that our dues make possible.

I understand they can’t give us a play-by-play, but I’m not seeing one result. Nothing…