Originally Posted by Pineapple Guy

I agree. But, there's a big difference between management and pilots. Management can vote themselves huge bonuses, rape the company and run it into the ground, and then bail out and go elsewhere. They are only limited by their individual talents and ability to sell themselves in the open market place.

We as pilots decided many years ago to abandon that approach. Instead our careers, and our fortunes, are tied to a seniority list, which in turn is tied to the fortunes of an individual company. This made sense during the regulated era as bankruptcies were rare, but since deregulation has been an abysmal failure.

Now, without any type of portable seniority, we are the only (relatively) well paid group tied to our own company. When the company fails, we fail, and get to choose starting all over in the profession we know, or abandoning it and starting all over in a new profession. Two lousy choices. That is why, absent change, DALPA recognizes that for its pilots to be successful, ultimately DAL must be successful. Dubinsky's choke the golden goose philosophy doesn't work in the modern environment.

Furthermore, while we may have become "too big to fail", we have also become "too big to strike". I don't see ANY President ever permitting another nationwide strike by a carrier of our size. The deck is stacked as deeply against labor as I've ever seen it in my 20+ years in the industry. As a result, we have virtually no tools left. We should be expending our resources on changing the RLA so as to level the playing field, but I don't see much movement in that direction. Instead, again as DALPA recognizes, our best hope is to have a wildly profitable company, as that is the best chance that they will throw us a few morsels come contract time.

Originally Posted by acl65pilot

Doesn't sound to free to me, but this half baked attempt at a free market, is not working. As a result you are getting depressed wages as a way to pass the cost along to the employee because the consumer of the service refuses to pay. Why? Because everyone loves low cost, but has failed to realize that low cost is equating to marginalized safety and a redirection of the talent in to this industry.

I have always though that if they are going to keep doing business as usual that they better hurry up with before I am too old to retool.

Originally Posted by Pineapple Guy

Ultimately, every scope clause will fail in a free market competitive system UNLESS you have absolute, complete control and can limit the entry of new participants.

Originally Posted by Dash8widget

Its a good thing that we don't have a free market competitive system in this country then. I say this only slightly tongue in cheek since we really don't have a free market system in this country. Just ask the DOT; their ruling on the LGA/DCA thing is a perfect example.

Originally Posted by acl65pilot

PG;
Not even sure the RLA is the defacto issue. IMO, it starts with the NMB and there total lack of desire from external forces to declare an impasse. I mean, come on. Five years?
That needs to be restructured to a starting clock as soon as mediation is started. 12-no more than 18 months. After that self help. We need to take the politicians out of it. Put absolutes in it.
Make the NMB has drop dead gates. They can and have failed at their job too.
If these new procedures do not work, the it is time to rebuild a new RLA.

Originally Posted by Pineapple Guy

You're absolutely right. It's only "free market" when used to beat up on labor.

Originally Posted by satchip

That's cool, cuz I do love Jugs. But is that question aimed at me? Are you agreeing with my previous statement and using SWAPA as an example or a foil?

Originally Posted by exeagle

I'm trying to move a reserve day under PCS. Why will it only let me enter the day and not the month??? It worked fine last month. Anyone else having this problem?