Whatever the reason he killed it, that's just a bad idea.

That is incredibly petty, and, in my opinion, horribly misguided. If they wouldn't react like that, there would be no reason for you guys to wear them.

That, I have come to believe, is a very true statement about Alaska and, sadly, a lot of airlines in general. And it bugs the heck out of me. I believe it's the reason that hiring has become heavily HR-driven with less pilot group input. It's the reason that the identity group annual meetings (WAI, NGPA, OBAP, and whatever else is out there) have become such big recruiting events. It's not that they expect to find the most qualified candidates there. It's because they need to show how committed they are to diversity and finding a new face for their next advertisement/PR event/web site/whatever.

I'm still hoping to get hired at Alaska for various reasons (although the clock is rapidly running out on that option), but I'm just not that excited about it anymore, and I'm not really trying that hard. After last year's meet & greet/promise to call "in the next few weeks" and subsequent unceremonious round-filing of the call list, I've sort of had it with them, and just don't much care.

 

My sentiments and thoughts EXACTLY! We’re paddling the same canoe.....

 

Ah yes, blame “unqualified” women and minorities. I keep hearing how they’re stealing jobs yet a glance of new hire photos across every legacy airline shows otherwise.

 

You probably haven’t had to do a career fair in a while, so you’re probably unfamiliar with how ridiculous it is/was from both a time and money point of view. In this market you have to join various organizations that you don’t care about to hope to get some face time with the recruiters.. I was a member of WAI and OBAP and don’t care about either of them. If airlines only wanted the most qualified candidate then an online application would be fine, however I get it.. they want more. They want to know what kind of person you are, if you care about yourself and your appearance, can carry a conversation, etc.. all things that you can tell from a 15 min meet and greet conversation.

What is stupid is that the majors never went to whatever the generic career fair was.. aero crew or something like that, yet every year they didn’t go to aero crew (this is back when hiring was more difficult), they still went to all the minority events. That is why most of us have a sour taste in our mouth about these career fairs and having had to join the organization and pay money to attend. It’s not because we think 3000 women aviation’s are going to come replace us at Alaska.

And before you say we didn’t have to pay or attend the minority career fairs, you’re right, we didn’t.

 

I went to an OBAP career fair and an individual legacy’s own career fair. It was overwhelming majority white males at all the events. And to be fair it’s because they’re all trying to get a leg up/noticed for a job interview. I’ll agree with you that the whole hiring process is a circus for the legacy carriers and very frustrating.

 

To clarify on the QX pilot uniform issue. The grievance was filed, deadlocked in System Board of Adjustment and is to be heard at arbitration in January. Win or loose we stood up for what we believe.

 

Not really what I was saying - certainly nothing about "stealing" jobs.

 

Bottom line, for folks who dont read their ALPA emails.....until the union has APPROVED the uniform....DO NOT GET FIT FOR THE NEW UNIFORM!!!

I'm super proud to see how the overwhelming majority of airbus and boeing pilots are unified on this. This will not be the last time that our Unity gets tested by management......you can count on it!

KEEP ENGAGED!!!!......write to your reps.....ask questions to P2P ambassadors.....STAY INFORMED!!!

 

What the upper management, one individual in particular, is doing to this pilot group and union, is shocking but not surprising. The new uniform doesn't exist until the union says it does. Don't get fit, and don't order.

 

Sounds a lot like "Wear your "ALPA Approved" Orange Lanyards... until don't. No Backbone. The title of this whole thread made me giggle. If only it had any merit with this group.

Sorry to be the pessimist... I use to hold out hope for change... now I'm just one of "them".