767jetz
Veteran
- Aug 20, 2002
- 3,286
- 2,779
Did it ever occur to you guys (the East) that you are the only existing group of pilots, (a very small minority for that matter) who advocates DOH??? In fact you are so tied to that “sacred†number that you are blind to the reality that everything you hope to gain can be addressed to one degree or another through a Joint Contract, with the exception of reordering the list set forth in the Nicolau award.
The DOH group seems to be surgically attached to an arbitrary number and unwilling to understand that seniority is not a number but a relative position based on many variables. Even your own attorney states "seniority does not “belong†to an employee.“ That number is like an ego trip for someone to measure themselves up to others. And so is that fourth stripe on the shoulder of some captains, who carry the title with them even when not at work.
Let’s get down to brass tacks here. Who cares what number sits next to your name or how many stripes sit on your shoulder. (unless you are a control freak.) Most of us got into this profession for our love of flying and the quality of life it can afford. At UA we have 747 and 777 first officers making almost the same as 737 captains. I honestly couldn’t tell you my seniority number without looking it up, because all that matters to me is my relative position and what it affords me in my domicile. In a merger, I would expect whatever that new number is to afford me the same relative position as before. And that, by the way is based on current industry conditions, not what I thought my world would look like 10 years ago.
Before this merger, while in your second bankruptcy, your airline’s future was no shining star. Your airline’s future and your career expectations were very uncertain at best. Irregardless of AWA’s financial condition, this is still a fact. So to say you had career expectations of “xyz†when you first were hired is not relevant to this discussion. And to say that your expectations after the merger would be “abc†is also not relevant because integrating two diverse groups is about pre-merger expectation. (Not 18 years ago, but right prior to consummating the deal.)
IMO many of your pilots recognize that the pay and quality of life improvements of a joint contract would far outweigh the incremental improvements available in LOA 93 and the gradual steps forward due to attrition. The problem is that your MEC, and those in control of the message that gets out to the line pilot, are afraid that if the topic of conversation ever is allowed to get to JNC discussions and the word gets out about how much Parker would pay for the synergies and labor peace, the MEC would have a mutiny and hence lose control of their personal agenda. Why else would the MEC oppose pilots talking directly with Prater without the “coaching and preparation†of the MEC? Why else would they be against exploring what kind of options are available through the JNC which would also include not re-ordering the list?
