Auburn,

You have proved my point. You have put some emotion into this thing and now you see Dave as the messiah, he is your friend, seems like a nice guy. Dave has succeeded in getting you to vote no. Wow, he remembered your name? How much money does that put in our pocket? How does that fix our 3rd world healthcare? Dave asks about your wife and kids, wow that is great. In 25 years when I retire how will Dave knowing my name improve my retirement? Do I get 1% more in 401k if he knows my wife's name? How about another 1% for the kids names? All sounds great to me.

It's sad to read your comments and still believe you are voting no, but it's your choice to make. Let me ask you a question and I want you to be honest. Let's say you were an engineer for a firm and your boss was a buddy. Now let's say he pays you much less than the industry average, how would you feel about your buddy then? You would be thinking "why is my own freind cheating me?" If Dave is such a great guy then why are you giving him the benefit of the doubt? I will tell you why, it's because you have put your heart into your decision not your brain. This is a business and we should be making business decisions.

 

Herk-

I can certainly appreciate your line of thinking, but all I am saying is that we are only 10 years old and I would like to do my part to ensure that our company makes it through the next 10 years. Would I like a raise? Most certainly. But I do not want to "swing for the fences" if it means that JetBlue will have a hard time staying in the black. I think we can make quicker gains working with the company right now, and hope that the company will address some of our issues as soon as the vote ends (if JBPA wins, our current contracts become the status quo until a CBA is ratified). I do think they finally "get it". I truly believe JR and VS really kicked Dave in the teeth. He needs to make sure he puts the right people in those positions, and also has to get out to the bases and talk with us more often. He conceded the failure to keep abreast of the line issues and that his little tour around the bases is reactive, which is not his preferred option. Dave and Russ have been busy addressing the myriad of bigger financial concerns facing the company. Honestly, I would rather them focus on those issues and ensure our long-term health. Herk, you came to JetBlue and signed your contract with full knowledge of the terms (just as I did). Of course we all have expectations that we will see improvements, but there is never any guarantee. With that said, maybe you could have found a more lucaritive option elsewhere. I still have no prediction about the outcome of the vote, but either way, it has sent a clear message to our leaders that things need to change, and soon.

Enjoy your weekend.

 

You believe in Santa and the Tooth fairy too?

The naiveness of some the pilots here is amazing.

 

First of all, you have done your part as have 2000 other pilots living at substandard wages for years now. I think you have done your part, really. Some of us are done doing our part and now want a bigger piece of the pie.

If you really feel swinging for the fences as you call might mean us being in the red? Are you kidding me? The cost of doing business is paying the employees. So if Dave came back and said hey Auburn will you take a 25% paycut so we can make a profit please, please don't tell me you would agree to that? We are not in the black now and what if we are not in the black for the next 10 years? Our wages should not be based on the company's profits, they should be based on our expertise. Hey did you see that USAIR accident the other day, ya think we might be worth it? We are professionals not french fry cooks at Mcdonalds.

Seriously, where did you work before JB? Just wondering.

 

If JBLU is not "in the black", then they are not charging enough for their product.

There are airlines out there that are losing so much money (or were) that all of the pilots could have worked for free and the airline still would have tanked. How low are you willing to go to "save the airline?"

This mentality is killing us.

 

You are right sir. These guys just don't get the long term ramifications of rolling over like a turtle. We could make minimum wage and still lose money. We need to say "here is our price, take it or leave it."

This baloney about trying to give management a chance sickens me on a regular basis. Where is our backbone? If we had a union over here we could possibly strike, throw our weight around a little when the company tries to bend us over. We should be dictating our future, not management, but it's amazing the things we self inflict.

 

From the outside looking in....that comment seems to be right on the money. I just booked LGB-BOS for the fam next month for $89 each way.

 

Hey Auburn,

You're a nice guy. I would hire you. And, I'd get you cheap. I'd use a manipulation tool called "culture" which you would value in place of fair pay.

In good times and bad, I'd pay you less than average rates.

Can I do some market research on your house and your cars, find out the average market price, come over to your place, be "nice" to you, smile a lot, tell you how bad the market is for sellers (despite knowing others in the very same troubled market are paying much more $$$$$) imply that you're lucky I'm trading with you in such difficult times, speculate that other (higher paying) buyers will soon cut their rates or go bust, tell you I can't pay any more than MY set fee, tell you you're important and appreciated, then insult you by taking all your stuff for less than the average going rate?

You're a 190 guy?

Looks like you have already cleared your student loans (even if your pay doesn't justify a college education) and you have additional income or savings which you are living on. If not, you ARE NOT living well. Looks like you are willing to continue the trend until..................................



Consider this;

"The general consensus among labor economists is that labor costs have NOT been the cause of the airlines financial crises to any significant degree". (Wensveen, 2007).

"Labor costs per ASM are much lower on US airlines than on foreign carriers". (Wensveen, 2007)

"Labor costs generally can not be said to determine an airline's survival or destiny of the industry". (Wensveen, 2007)


Why not checkout the book;

Air Transportion, A Management Perspective. By Dr. John G. Wensveen, Phd. The above are all from P 405.

Find out why sub-standard pay serves to make your life hard, management's life easy, and not much more!


Now, how about your house and cars?

AL

 

If anyone at jb wants to improve the quality of life and pay for all pilots then please vote yes on our union. If you believe in being vulnerable to management and want to decrease the pay of pilots collectively around the industry then sit on your thumbs. VOTE YES ON JBPA.

 

And you think that your low pay (which is much, much lower than your year 3 counterparts at DAL, CAL, SWA, UAL, NWA etc) will ensure that you will have a job in 10 years and they wont?

Do you have a written guaruntee of greater job security over pilots elsewhere because you're "taking one" for the team?

By your logic, why not offer to work for minimum wage. Maybe your job will be safe for the next 20 years. Oh.....you still wont have any guaruntee though.

The only guaruntee is that you'll be worse off than pilots elsewhere. But, you don't seem to mind that now do you.