FTB - I highly recommend ESET... I believe you can start for free and then to keep it 30 days later you have to pay! I've renewed it several times, excellent program and not bloated like Norton.

 

Just a point on the merger committee. I believe they have been up and running since before the NW merger. It was felt there is to much going on in the industry. By keeping them up and running they can plan and watch for contingencies. I don't think the company asked us to get them running and nothing has changed in the last few weeks other then the rumors here.

 

Where do you come up with the $0.01 extra equals a windfall? Monetarily the ATI guys are getting a windfall. That is just one aspect of the SLI and Joint Contract. They are also losing out on airframes to the SWA pilots over time. Do you suggest we are going to do the same? If so, we need to change bargaining agents RIGHT NOW and get someone in here that will protect and fight for both. That could be the DPA. SWAPA doesn't seem to have a problem fighting for everything possible, and you suggest that we might not be able to have both? I just want to make sure I know where you are coming from.......

With that logic, Delta pilots want X for a raise. You contend that to get any windfall, you must give up something else (like Y for planes). The DPA won't follow your logic. After a bankruptcy giveback is combined with profitable quarters, restoration or partial restoration is in order, not continued givebacks, which some on here suggest.

Living within your means is great, especially when someone puts the impression in your head of what you and they (ALPA) can afford. If you are told you can't make more than X per year, a safe person will not spend over it. The SWA pilots (and soon the ATI pilots), OTOH, make X+ per year, and enjoy their life, flying something half the size of your plane. It's ok to dream about making more, especially when profits and fees can allow it to happen.

 

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

 

AMR is still a possibility. But I completely agree that a short duration contract is in our collective best interest.

 

Bingo!

Sooner than you might think....

Cheers
George

 

This is not my contention. This is what IS happening here because of the adamancy that the ATI guys are getting a windfall because of the payrates. The SWA FOs are getting streamlined access to those airplanes that ATI brings, and nobody seems to notice that at all. They will when this deal is done, you can bet your sweet bippy.

My post has NOTHING to do with Delta. Nothing. Your first 2 sentences (highlighted above) are interesting though. Why don't you read those again, and you tell ME at what point their payraise becomes a windfall. I don't think it IS a windfall, but I keep reading over and over that it is. So again, with that in mind why is it that with the instantaneous stapling of a good number of the ATI FOs how that is NOT a windfall for the SWA FOs? They (The ATI FOs) don't lose out over time, they lose the moment the agreement is signed. They get that big payraise, but they are locked out of an even bigger one for a long, long time.

Nobody puts into my head what I can afford. I can do third grade math. ALPA hasn't TOLD me anything. IF you are trying to turn this into some sort of ALPA bashing thread, I'm not biting on that, because that is not what this is about. I get a check, and it goes into the budget. Unlike congress, and more like a drunken sailor (contrary to the metaphor) when I have no money, I don't spend any more. Debt is what is choking America and Americans. Dreaming is fine, I want to buy a 50 foot sailboat, but until I can actually afford to do so, it is just a dream. If you are so enamored with the SWA lifestyle and payrates, I suggest you put in an application, but like the junior soon-to-be stapled ATI FOs, don't expect to see any of those really big bucks for quite some time.

 

I have everything they have. I'm a cheapo. Still no luck and from what I can tell I'm not the only one. It's more annoying then debilitating like some viruses.

 

WWCHD?

(What would Clark Howard Do?)

I mean, I know how much you are impressed by how he does things!

 

And you are turning this into a political bashing thread about the debt, and I'm not biting on that either. ALPA likes to manage our expectations, and that caps our own financial dreams. It's great you can buy a 50 ft sailboat, but ALPA is telling you 35ft is just fine for you. The SWA pilots can get a 50footer, but because AMR and UAL guys can only get a 35 footer, you should too.

Suggesting that I throw in an APP to SWA if I am so enamored with their pay and lifestyle is classic. Your next statements will be "WE AREN'T SWA," and then "WE CAN'T BE PROFITABLE, LIKE SWA." How about turning that frown upside down and saying "If they can do it, SO CAN WE," or "We make profits too, and we should be compensated to the max because we deserve it." You are only worth what you negotiate, and we need our "agents" to believe in us, and go for the max that they can. Please read those quotes a few times.

The ATI pilots were going to merge with someone eventually. Because they merged with the one airline that does currently pay more than anyone else and seems to have a stable financial picture compared to some others in the rest of the field, they did get a financial windfall, over the length of their careers, regardless of seat. Had they merged with USAir, the financial picture would not have been so great for their futures. I think you know what I mean. If you need to blame someone here for the ATI guys getting stapled, that would have to go to the ALPA NC for ATI. Then, it comes down to votes, and many of those stapled ATI FOs will vote YES, for the higher pay and stability. The combination of those two things are golden in any career, and that is something we need to work on here too, not just aiming low because it might make the process quicker.