You've all brought up good points. I support our NC and appreciate their efforts.

I think unity doesn't lie in a sea of lanyards...unity lies in our actions. Period. PLENTY of our brothers and sisters sporting lanyards are doing/and have done more damage to our unity by their actions.

Problem is, we are a divided, DIVERSE group of individuals, working here with different motives (lifestyle, money, travel, etc) and who, do I dare say it(?)....here I go....bottom line, are out to take care of #1. I saw it time and time again.

If we didn't do the list of bad things, but did what was best for the pilot group, imagine how'd we look in the eyes of the company.

An A380 payrate for 777 because no one (inluding lanyard wearing MEC members) bid it...

HKG and CGN filled solely with new hires because the LOA was a POS and we felt we deserved proper compensation to go fly there and refused to bid it...

Early exit from 4a2b because no-one flew draft or VOL...(I still remember, during 4a2b standing at counter waiting to J/S out, when a lanyard wearing CA picked up the phone and called CRS ASKING if they needed help, he was jumping out and wondered if they were drafting)...

Better trip construction because if a trip is disputed, we don't touch it, period...

Take off the 767 lanyard until we have a payrate... (why don't you all yell at that guy?)

So, again, deeds not lanyards.

I didn't bid 777, I don't fly DPs, I didn't call and ask for extra flying during 4a2b, I voted no on LOA, and I sure as heck am not wearing a 767 lanyard. I am not part of the problem.

ARE YOU?!

 

Take thier lanyard away ala Chuck Connors and Branded.

Branded - YouTube

or

Publish the DP pairings flown by "volunteers" as a link to PFC. I am not a lawyer, good thing the pilots at APA didnt listen to their lawyers.

 

I agree, maybe they could make the DP's flown involuntarily by Reserves a different colored link ... and maybe a third color for those getting VLT/DFT pay

 

How about a new lanyard. It could read, “I support my MEC and don’t fly DP’s. Do You?”

Or a pin that says, “Non DP flier.” If you don’t wear one of these, then you are obviously “Part of the Problem."

 

How about a series of pins that testify to those with true unity:

“I didn’t bid the 777.”
“I don’t fly DP’s.”
“I didn’t fly extra during 4a2b.”
“I voted no on the LOA.”
“767...just say ‘No’.”
“Return our 4 Brethren.”
“No CO until return of the 4.”

And, of course, if you’re not wearing all of these pins, you’re not showing enough “Flair."

 

Good idea, simply publish a list that says:

Bravo Zulus to the following 777 pilots that didnt fly dps last month.

 

and this list, can you make 4600 pilots read the email? and then do what? not eat with them?

my point? you ask

It is easy to pick things that we think are "easy or could be more effective" to generate unity like highlighting DPs or 4a2b issues but what about protecting min days off, vacation buy back, accepting a reserve assignment that is longer than your r days as the list of things that are contractually protected but could also generate "unity" if we all were in lock step on how we followed or not a CBA option is in fact a very long list.

ALPA will only do stuff they can legally do, period. ALPA can legally run a unity Campaign and ask that you wear the lanyard and pin. If you want to fine, someone doesn't ? well that is their choice. As others have said this is as much about an internal issue as it is external. We have to start some place and it needs to be legal and easy to do. If we can't get past a debate on lanyards I do not hold much hope for real issues, that will come down the road. Will a lanyard alone bring us the CBA of our dreams, of course not but you have to start somewhere. Lanyard and pin on, check.

 

I dont care if the other 4600 pilots read it or not. I just want the 1% of DP flyers to read it. You can certainly publish a list for all your other agenda items if you want. Heck publish the list of non lanyard wearing union pilots. Dont forget guys that dont back the pac or vote republican.

Personally I want to know who the DP flyers are so I can ask them if our SIG is doing a good job pointing out the arduous pairings.

 

Protecting min days off, etc. are contractually protected means to adjust one’s schedule. They are not necessarily used to gain extra flight time overall, but to adjust one’s month to month flying. Fly more one month to fly less the next. Big Difference!

Flying DP’s is an action that our pilots have already identified as UNSAFE! That is a big difference, don’t you think? Flying extra during 4a2b affected a very large group of pilots. Big Difference. Bidding the 777 without a pay rate was just idiocy. Everyone, including those that bid it, suffered. Again, no repercussions from ALPA.

There are many avenues ALPA could take to address these issues, if they had the desire. But when lanyard wearing ALPA members can act with impunity, it makes wearing the lanyard kind of a sick joke. How do we separate out those working on our behalf from those working against us if we all are wearing the same lanyard? Makes no sense. I think it’s just childish tomfoolery. We make ourselves feel like we have unity because we wear a silly lanyard, while members wearing the same silly lanyard undermine our cause. I’m sure the company is real scared that we pilots are wearing lanyards...while we continue to fly DP’s, bid aircraft without pay rates, fly overtime during 4a2b, etc.

And to those of you who say that wearing the lanyard is a good start, we’ve been wearing them for a decade. How is wearing them a start to anything? It’s just plain feelgoodism. Actions speak louder than words. The folks negotiating for the company couldn’t care less what lanyard we wear, as long as we don’t truly unify and stop flying DP’s, don’t bid the 767 without a pay rate, don’t fly overtime when we enter 4a2b again, etc.

Not to see this is a real shortcoming in understanding how negotiations truly work. Unity is action as a group that reinforces demands at the negotiating table. I haven’t seen any demands in our openers that we be allowed to wear a specific type of lanyard.

 

+1 I cannot believe you have to point this out - it is so obviously ridiculous.