Well,

They can buy back my approved leather jacket, or they can deal with more folks ignoring the rule. Their choice.

 

👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍

 

They could “buy them back” and the same guys would still wear them.

 

They will get my jacket when they pry it from my cold, dead, hatless hands.

 

Knock yourself out.

 

American pilots had to actually turn over the jacket before compensation was tendered if I remember correctly. The airline then donated the jackets to the inner city homeless to get them through Winter. I would hope we would do the same. Will be nice to actually have a standard “uniform” one day. For the record, if that “standard” was to wear leather jackets, I’d wear the thing despite not liking the look it presents. I’m not special and don’t feel the need to express myself and use the uniform as a way to air my grievances (perceived or actual) towards the airline I fly for.

 

I was hoping to make the silly looking hat optional after the merger and rollout of the current uniform. Hopefully it will be optional with the new one, but I doubt it. Until then I’ll just wear what the book says to wear.

To the guys from the LUAL side of the merger... Was the hat actually optional before, or did people just choose not to wear it?

 

Yes.

At some point prior to the merger but after 9/11, UAL ALPA decided to use the "hat switch" as a demonstration of unity and command-and-control in negotiations with the company. The union would direct pilots to either wear, or not wear, the hat as directed. Texts and emails would let pilots know the current hat position.

Since the hat was required and nearly universally worn, it was both peaceful disobedience and a display of unity.

As a result to company made the hat optional to let the air out of the balloon.

 

I understand and respect all of that history. Don’t let my statement above act as a swipe at what was a unity exercise almost a decade ago by a pre-merger group of our pilots. While it wasn’t stressed at CAL to wear the ALPA pin on the tie(like it isn’t today at Delta), many of us former CAL pilots always did (and many of us did at various airlines prior to CAL as well). Today, I see an extremely high percentage of former CAL pilots wearing the pin on the tie, high enough to be visible with the blazer buttoned. While full “compliance” is certainly not the case (I wish it was just as I wished it was before the merger), the noticeable increase post merger is apparent. I’m hopeful a re-branding of the airline from the uniforms to the paint and logo will get us to the next level(uniform compliance and voluntary wearing of the pin by everyone). My glass is always half full.

 

As far as history goes the 'hats on hats off switch' was a complete comedic failure. I'm sure you can find one or two that will tell you we brought the company to their knees with the program.