So, seniority has changed? If you are "trapped" by the inability to leave your company and take a better offer, it does NOT matter how short pilots are, the company doesn't care because you can't leave.

If RJ flying becomes too expensive, how will become cheaper at mainline? It won't.

GF

Gee I guess they'll just have to fly larger airplanes.

No, it won't, but as pilot pay for regional aircraft continues to increase it makes less sense to maintain an entire company infrastructure outside of what already exists inside of a mainline carrier, hence it becoming cheaper to operate the aircraft in house.

Delta already has rates in its current contract for CRJ900s, and they're a lot more than what Endeavor guys currently get, even with the retention bonuses.

It seems to me the problem is not with the RLA but rather with mediators not recognizing an impasse. I was under the impression that if two parties did not agree after mediation that the mediator was supposed to release both sides to self help. In the last 15 years most airlines have worked under one expired contract or another for several years. To me it seems that the reason airlines have historically been able to get better contracts was because the mediators back then understood an impasse and would release both sides rather that let groups work for years under an expired CBA. I could be wrong, I have not been in aviation that long, so I do not know if that is actually the case

I think you're right about mediators, and fixing what they've become would be another big win.

I hear what you're saying, but even if there was a sudden and dramatic uptick in outstation write-ups, what's the company going to claim, that pilots shouldn't be writing up mx issues? Don't we have a legal obligation to do so? Maybe the planes are just getting older and the mechanics aren't maintaining them well. If each individual write-up is individually defendable, I don't think management would have a leg to stand on.

Exactly, I doubt our unions would abuse their ability to strike. After all, going on strike is very bad for a company, and that could lead to bankruptcies and generally is not good for business. The risk of a strike to management would definitely bring them to the table unlike now.

Oh, and we would have a chance at ditching the RLA if someone like Bernie Sanders was elected. Otherwise, everyone else protects big business, not the working class.

I'm just telling what's been proven in court before. We all know that we could fill up page after page of logbooks with BS writeups. That's the kind of stuff I'm talking about.

You're missing the point. The point is that there is a very real risk that opening up the RLA for changes means that a lot of very highly paid lawyers and lobbyists for the airlines are going to be doing their best to insert legislation into it that's most assuredly not in our best interest.

Bingo....The RLA isn't broken. The NMB is.

I'm not at all concerned with what I cannot control. But I am concerned with what I and fellow pilots can directly control. We can apply pressure outside of the union and RLA.