Originally Posted by Elvis90 (Post 1143456)

Now if you're going to make the argument that great talent costs more, then the same is true of the pilot group.

Originally Posted by Whidbey (Post 1143198)

From a lurker and occasional poster-

Great discussion about pay and contract expectations.

One thing that I think we're losing sight of is that there are literally thousands of pilots that want jobs at Delta that are willing to work harder than we are for much less money.

The company's position is a direct result of that fact. It's simple economics. Deserve has got nothing to do with it.

One other thing. Delta has been hiring a good number of folks with zero PIC. Safety arguments aside, that strategy is going to have an impact on the pilot group. Those pilots have less opportunity to gain employment elsewhere and I believe their votes may reflect that.

Tsquare's statements about youth entitlement in this case are dead on, IMHO. The pilots in the top half of the seniority list are a product of a much more selective process than us youngsters.

It's much harder to get an electrician's apprenticeship than to gain admission to a puppy mill. If those flight hour requirements don't get implemented and enforced, what used to be a profession will have been irreversibly changed to more of a trade.

Originally Posted by tsquare (Post 1143308)

Since I have been outed as management.. ROTFLMAO (I am a LCP, but not management), I smell donuts trying to tube DALPA.

Originally Posted by SailorJerry (Post 1143496)

Sadly, if 11,000 pilots emailed their respective LEC reps and demanded a copy of the opener, which would be kept private by us, our expectations would be managed, and we'd be told no, because we can't be trusted. If DPA were to release their opener, and the company responded aggressively with "our best counter offer is X, take it or leave it" (which I strongly suspect they would do), then in another form our expectations would be managed, because we can't be trusted. This isn't a battle we should expend any effort on. With good data and a strong turn out the ALPA bean counters will draft an opener most likely 1.0 standard deviations above the mean. And as long as we were vocal during elections of negotiators then certainly the rest of our opener is a known quantity. You wouldn't elect a Democrat to ban abortions would you? So did we elect negotiators who wouldn't tirelessly negotiate a better section 1 for us? Oooops.

Does anyone know why we don't have a proactive and thriving P2P committee
here? It's because most MECs feel that the feedback is unproductive and from the vocal minority (which is incorrect). But they worked so hard for their positions of authority in ALPA. I guess we have to trust them. Either that or recall them. Which as long as you have a candidate to replace them with is a transparent and successful process. Everyone knows what P2P is, right?

I hope we're all working to unify and motivate the silent majority. Because ALPA sure isn't. And neither is DPA. Then again - until it came recall time, it wouldn't do any good.

Signed,

Realistic Expectations

Originally Posted by Boomer (Post 1143468)

Before you can start class at Emirates, they need a signed letter from your company stating that you have tended your resignation.

Originally Posted by Express pilot (Post 1143498)

Has anyone noticed that sailing and others don't respond to your post that make great points and are hard to rebuttal. They only come back on stuff they can spin in their favor.

Originally Posted by Sink r8 (Post 1143410)

Here is a question... if the company doesn't put out it's opener, assuming that opener isn't a poke in the eye, why would we negotiate in public with our own demands?

Originally Posted by Whidbey (Post 1143198)

Delta has been hiring a good number of folks with zero PIC. Safety arguments aside, that strategy is going to have an impact on the pilot group. Those pilots have less opportunity to gain employment elsewhere and I believe their votes may reflect that.

Originally Posted by Whidbey (Post 1143198)

Tsquared's statements about youth entitlement in this case are dead on, IMHO. The pilots in the top half of the seniority list are a product of a much more selective process than us.