Aren't you unintentionally arguing in favor of the Aviate initiative? United is not creating a hiring quota through this program as you are implying. They are committing to providing training opportunities to a certain number of people who will then have the opportunity to interview for a job with United. There are no guaranteed jobs. Basically, they are investing at the zero to CFI level to ensure more diversity among the field of competent and qualified applicants they have to choose from. If you're really all for "pour[ing] all your efforts into expanding equality of opportunity" like you claim, it seems like you'd be all for this.

Hell, after 30 pages of this, I'd be tempted to bid that myself!

in this thread: people confusing class at TK vs class at DVT

maybe, but maybe not.

Two observations:
1. Kirby more interested in pandering for PR and HR points than running a world class and industry leading airline.
2. Bebe used to run Aviate until she left, or forced to retire. Can I infer that she had another vision for the program?

I had almost forgot about the "at the gate drag tranny show."

We should bring that back ASAP.

We need that at every hub, maybe 4 X daily. Better yet, lets put that at TK instead of the systems review. We can have the all "tranny after lunch review."

So, messaging. I think the messaging of this has been poor. It is being perceived as Affirmative Action and mandated hiring.

I'm having a really hard time finding support for this on the internet. Heck, I've even read: "hell must have just froze over because I'm a Democrat and I agree with Tucker Carlson on this." (If you haven't seen Tucker's video on it, it's easy to find) The backlash on FB/Twitter and in other forms of media so far has been pretty astoundingly bad and rapid. And again, from all walks of life and sides of the political isle.

I've known a few straight male FA's back there having a great time. One guy says he gets more action than at a sorority mixer. Says he loved the fact that the pilots aren't laying over with the FA's. He has better odds that way. Glad he's enjoying himself.

While middle management and lower management is most assuredly lefty, upper management is mainly liberal. Plus, those guys are "Chicago Liberal." Totally Different animal.

Another issue is (and I just learned this)....There is a difference between "lefty", and "liberal."

You can't use the two words interchangeably....(I so apologize for lumping all those morons into one bafoonery bucket).

A liberal is a Dem who may donate to the Sierra Club, Greenpeace, or Planned Parenthood but is really uncomfortable with Bernie Sanders’s class-based rhetoric.

In contrast, a leftie is someone donates to Democrat PAC's, and who eagerly voted for Bernie in the primary and then grudgingly voted for the Democratic nominee on the lesser-of-two-evils theory.

In real life, lefties and liberals hate each other almost as much as they hate Donald Trump. And maybe even more.

Hope that helps a bit.

Both CA and IL democrats agree on one thing: Tax all airline pilots into the stone age. These great jobs they are gonna help you get.....it's all great until they send their Grim Reaper Tax Man.

They also agree on another thing: They don't consider airline pilots to be "labor." We may pay union dues, but they view ALPA as more of a professional association. Like the American Medical Association. It's more of a while collar after hours social club than a labor group ready, willing, and able to fight. Pay your fair share baby. And then pay some more.

The messaging is bad because the optics are bad. The optics are bad because this was ill-conceived by HR. It was ill-conceived by HR because no one in pilot land was consulted. No one in pilot land was consulted because pilot land would have said....No friggin way.

Why?

Because access to loans and funds isn't that hard. Student loans, and scholarships abound.

I know people that finances 100% of medical school, law school, and flight school. They made it.

Hmmm...interesting take and pivot to taxes.