I heard it made an appearance to a Delta Connection carrier recently. It seems to pop up in the ALPA magazine more and more frequently.

I was just wondering if pilots felt this was professional or unprofessional.

Now, read very very carefully. I did not ask is the company professional or anything else. I asked, is the "Union Rat" professional???

 

i think the question should be, is it APPROPRIATE. And based executive compensation packages and treatment of labor these days, my answer is yes.

 

Answer is yes. It's simply a symbol. It’s supposed to look disturbing and obnoxious, just as what is trying to represent.....

Why don't you post a survey about airline management?

A giant rat is the least of our problems.

 

Why don't you at least make the survey fair and ask ALPA members only? I would be willing to bet that most no answers will be from "non-unionized-anti-alpa-management-loving-I-take-2%-raise-to-fly-any-airplane" types.



(Disclosure: I don't think all non-union folks fit the above profile...just the fanatical cheerleader types we see around here)

 

I'd be more worried about the rats sitting behind the desks...

The rat is controversial however, it attracts more people than it drives away. In other words, most people will still come to a picketing event even if they dislike the rat. There are some people - such as the media/general public - who show up or stop to see what is going on simply because the rat gets their attention. That alone makes the rat worthwhile at some events.

If somebody doesn't show up at an event just because they dislike the rat, in my opinion they have their priorities screwed up...

And another point. Some management types (read Phil Trenary) absolutely hate the rat. That alone is reason enough to bring the rat along with any little baby rats.

 

I would say under non union circumstances it would be un professional.

I think most middle aged and older americans understand unions well enough that will not put a mark against union workers. I did not get into the auto unions last strike and see what they were using. But I also cannot remember a single news story saying how bad thier union picket lines looked. I think most understand and get seperate what needs to be done from professionalism.

I just do not think that a giant fuzzy friendly blow up lolly pop is going to get the same message accross.

My question to you is. Is the inflatable rat effictive at acheiving our point. I wonder if management groups even care. I think that is a better question whether or not it is professional.

Reeves

 

Case in point: http://www.chicagotribune.com/travel...,1051413.story

 

While I understand that the rat is symbolic and gets attention from the public in my opinion (and thats all it is) the attention it gets from the public does very little to help our position. While in general I believe that pilots still have a lot of respect in the public in general seeing this big rat makes them think of coalminers or autoworkers striking.....while we are labor just as they are we are vastly more than that as well...we are professionals or at least like to think that we are and professionals and you just don't see this type of thing in corporate america. I haven't been downtown anywhere and seen a rat or seen wallstreet brokers picketing with a rat or physicians or doctors picketing with a rat. It kind of makes the group seem childish...like we put this up just to make them mad...na na na na na na. While at one point in history there may have been a time for this but that time is gone. America seems to be very anti-union, they blame them for jobs leaving the country due to unions asking for unreasonable wages and benefits that no company could sustain.
When you think about it....name an industry with unions that is doing well right now....auto unions..nope they are all seeing there jobs move overseas, airlines...nope .....coal miners...nope....etc I just am starting to wonder how they help us now adays. People will tell me just see what management would do to us without them but the majority of america doesn't have them and they all seem to get along. Skywest seems to be doing ok right now. I just wonder what alpa has done to help us....age sixtyfive..nope, anything for my company about a year ago before we almost went on strike...no we gave up the best contract in the regionals and got nothing back in return...sorry for the rant. To sum it up the rat makes a professional group of people seem unprofessional and in a time when the public likes to hammer the airlines and its piots I don't think we can afford to be thought of in that way. I don't think putting a rat up will change managements mind but it will change the mind of ther person driving by or walking by and seeing a bunch of airline pilots walking around an inflatable rat.

 

It's sort of like the anti-war protestors that decided to lay down in the middle of the streets in NYC and bring rush-hour traffic to a stand-still (or more of a stand-still as NYC traffic goes). What did that accomplish? I failed to see how making innocent people late to work, many who probably sympathized with the group until then, showed the government that people were upset with a war. All it did was make people late and angry at the protestors.

The Rat seems to be sort of the same thing; it will definitely get attention, but probably won't generate the sympathy or state of mind that the union movement would need to move forward. As long as the unions are looked on as "trouble makers" (and that's all the Rat seems to accomplish) they are going to be a tough sell.

 

If the public gets a little worried about how the big bad labor union is going to strike and that they might not make their $99.00 flight to Florida, so be it.

I'm ready to walk and I have absolutely no compunction in making the public realize that we have the power to bring things to a stop (once released). Release may not be around the corner however it will come, whether it is this year or once we have a new administration in DC.

As I said before, the rat attracts attention and for that reason is used at some events.

As for those who criticize the union, please make sure that next time you have a meeting with management, a training issue, some other disciplinary event or god forbid an accident, you make sure not to pick up the phone and call for your union rep or the ALPA accident hotline. But I forgot, that can't happen to you...