Why would a former alpa new hire give up their free beer pass?

There is no way I would have worn full wings when I was on probation here.

1/2 wing during probation
15 year Alpa pin after.

EWR is a tough base, not a lot of tradition there. A new hire that doesn't know any better can easily be led down a bad road.

I fully agree. They have the option, but the plusses far outweigh any perceived negatives when wearing the half wing.

That's a REAL shame, because we stick up for and protect our half-wingers. We welcome them. We pay for them. We insulate them from any potential pitfalls that could befall them. Hopefully the word gets out and understood by our new hires.

A simple discussion is all that's required with the new hire. In our case, the new hire bad road always has a fork. Take it says Yogi.

Extremely well articulated.

The good news is the large majority of new hires are going to SFO, LAX, and DCA where traditions are alive and well.

Half wing on the tie, full wing on your lapel / lanyard (extra points for a battle star or multi year markers)

Why not be allowed to take the 10/15/20 year pin and break a wing off while on probation?

Would be even BETTER if it was adorned with a star. There HAS to be COMAIR/Spirit/POLAR guys that walked that have been hired in this round.

+1

You can kick me out of the bar, but you can't take my star =)
My first year i wore 2 pins on my tie.. battle star and half wing.
They are small enough - not like TGIF's where you need 32 pieces of flair.

there's nothing degrading about wearing a half wing. it's a shame if anyone thinks otherwise.