I explained why I wear a hat - - I didn't plead with anyone else to wear one. I don't know where you've seen masses wearing them.




By the way, I had to buy a new watch battery last week. :)







- The truth only hurts if it should -

I agree!!!:)


Pilots,

I recently received a copy of correspondence from ALPA to its members. It reads:

"The Age 60 issue is on the legislative horizon. Some of us have heard the complaint that the past ALPA survey questions were rigged and ALPA is discriminating against the very members who are supporting it financially. Now let's look at a few numbers from a simplistic view. There were approximately 4,000 FedEx ALPA members eligible at the time of the survey and only 43% participated. One must assume that 57% of the membership didn't even consider the issue important enough to participate. So that leaves us with 1,600 participating. Of those 1,600, 73% didn't want to change the law. You can't dispute the numbers. Should the minority or the majority rule?

Nevertheless, now there appears to be another opportunity for everyone to stand up and be heard on this issue. Again, avail yourselves of the political process; just be careful of what you ask for -- you may just get it. Now is the time to contact your House representatives and senators."

In my opinion, the appropriate response to this is: Of course, the survey was rigged. It led voters to assume that retirement at Age 65 would be mandatory rather than optional. In fact, the one ALPA pilot group that may now fly to 65 is that at Air Canada Jazz where pilots may retire at 60 with no penalty or they may continue up to 65 if they wish to put more money away. Almost every pilot I have, personally, "surveyed" has stated that they would not oppose a change to the age limit if they still had the option of retiring at 60 without penalty.

For more than 10 years, I have written articles asking that ALPA get out in front of this issue before it caused trouble for our profession. Long before the survey came out, I submitted an article to ALPA national about making flight past age 60 optional. ALPA neither published the article nor, in the half dozen mind-numbing mailings that they sent out prior to the survey, did they make any of this known. This was, in my opinion, intentional and, therefore, rigged.

On November 24 of this year, the new ICAO standard of 65 will go into effect and all pilots from around the world will be entitled to fly into the United States of American past the age of 60.* All pilots, that is, except for our own. Every single one of you should be thinking of how this will competitively affect our profession. Our pilots will, on that date, be forced to go to work for foreign companies if they desire to choose to continue working in their chosen profession. It is a disgrace. Any union wherein certain pilots force others out of a job so that they can move up and occupy their positions will never gain the solidarity needed to compete with Fred Smith. This is the moral equivalent of crossing the picket line and the results will speak for themselves.

Sincerely,

Bob

Bob Lavender

*First Officers may already fly into the U.S. past age 60.

They may?? Since when?

It's not disgraceful. It's the norm. It's been done this way for a lot of years. It's disgraceful because Bob (and apparently FoxHunter) doesn't agree with it. Rigged? How the heck was it rigged? Because ALPA wouldn't publish an article there was this vast conspiracy to make sure that Bob, Larry and FoxHunter are forced to retire at 60? Please.

You want controversy? Wait until the junior pilots on EVERY property start to realize that with the new retirement age they are welded to the right seat for an extra 2-4 years. There will also be hell to pay if da feds come out with new medical standards and a whole lot of people who were expecting to make it to 60 get nailed at 42.

This whole thing is a very poorly thought out can of worms. The one thing that Lavender and I agree on- be careful what you hope for. It could bite you right between the cheeks.

Pilots for JAL, plus others have been permitted to fly into and out of the USA as F/Os for many years. Sad to say that the FAA alows the foreign pilots to do it but not Americans. Starting in late November it will include foreign Captains.

You have got to be kidding! You really expect support on the contract. Two to four whole years extra in the right seat. WOW, how can one live with 6 years as a F/O.

Bob was on strike for two years with Continental. I've spent 8+ years on furlough. I've worked for 13 airlines as a result. Pilots at UAL, USAIR, DAL, NWA, plus almost all ALPA carriers have either lost or will lose their pension. Most senior UAL pilots wear a gold screw pin over their ALPA pin.

The question regarding medicals was asked in a meeting with the new Federal Air Surgeon back in March. He stated there would be no changes if Congress changes the age to 65. Another BS scare tactic.

The biting quote was from our ALPA, not Bob.

Nope. I'm quite serious. And yes, I would certainly HOPE that we agree on the need for a contract.

I've flown for four airlines. But I've been smart enough to never trust the people that I work for to follow through on their "promises" regardless of what they are or were. There's only one person that I can trust. Me. We all knew the rules regarding age when we signed on to this gig. 65 is no different tha 60 except it's five years later. And that gives some people the chance to recover a little and others an opportunity to add one more wife and one more house payment to their scorecard. I'm unwilling to just sit and watch while it happens. My hope is that the new contract will tie us to 60 as the old one did.

I don't buy it. It's a bad idea poorly thought out.

By the way, I took a physical last week from the regional AME for my area. There is active discussion on changes to the medical standards according to him. Who's rumor is better?

You know mgmt can't afford it
 

We all make way too much money...check out the new guy to run Bush's economy...Paulson is worth 700 mil.

FoxHunter: Thought you might like to see this website. The world aviation market is leaving ALPA and its pilots behind:

http://www.balpa.org/intranet/Media-...gn-N/index.htm

This adds nothing to the debate
 

Who's leaving whom behind?? :confused:
I read the aforementioned page and found nothing that suggests ALPA or anyone else that doesn't support age 60 is falling behind. I did find it interesting that Easy Jet is a major force behind (their) petition. I don't know BALPA reasoning but Easy Jet, being one of the lower paying LCC in Europe, clearly has a vested interest in lowering pension costs.