Imamec.itsmyfault
Advanced
- Sep 2, 2002
- 141
- 0
Not to change the rant, but I just finished sending the following letter to Mr. Steigerwald. I suggest everybody send him a reply of their own.
Dear Mr. Steigerwald,
I cannot even begin to tell you how much I enjoyed your article on how great it is to work for a union, at US Airways. I mean really, there is nothing more enjoyable then kicking back with a good news story on how wonderful my life is! Of course, I should clarify before going any further that I am only a lowly mechanic, and not a pilot. However, much of your ranting, I mean expounding, covers me as well. I might also mention that I no longer live in PA, although I did for four and one half years, while I could not make those buckets of easy money you dream of your wife making, in the state I really wanted to live in. (Nor do I today, 10 years later)
I will admit though, those flight benefits came in handy back then, as my wife had this silly notion that our kids should grow up knowing their grandparents, so she flew home often. Oh, what great adventures those were... Packing up two small children, one in a car seat, one in a stroller, then trouping off to that most wonderful of places, the airport! Once there she had the easiest of commutes, never caring about things like luggage, security, diaper bags, snacks, bottles, looks to kill from other passengers during crying fits, it was all good! Being outsourced from your hometown is routine with the airlines, but it's well worth it for us airline/union guys! Then, the best of the best, free flights to exotic ports of call! Get to the airport, check in, and WAIT!!!!! Wait to see if you are called for that free seat! Wait to see if your dream vacation comes true, or if you turn around, and go home! And, if you get that free flight, it's not like you have worry about the cost of a rental car, hotel, food, attractions, etc., etc., etc! Hey, you're flying free right, who cares about the small stuff? One high point today, (although you personally may want to take this into consideration, before hiring your wife out) we no longer have to worry about any of this. Today, the flights we would really like to go on, are oversold to the point of keeping us from even trying. Oh wait, that was the dream part! Sorry, free flight benefits today are pretty much worthless.
By the way, I think I should also take a moment to apologize for wanting to make a decent living. Thanks to you, I now realize that I have been keeping millions of good, God fearing people, from being able to fly for next to nothing. What was I thinking, it should be cheaper to fly someplace, rather than drive, or take the bus/train! I mean really, you pull up to a toll booth, one person. Take a bus, one driver. Take a train, one engineer, one conductor. Take a plane, more like ten people working on that one flight! (gate agents, pilots, flight attendants, ramp, cleaners, mechanics...) Why should a passenger be expected to pay for all that extra service? Load your own bags, save 10 bucks, what do you think? Oh wait, you haven't gone through finger printing, background checks, or are investigated without good cause, sorry, you can't! Whatever. Still, it's not like I'm a plumber, who for 75 bucks or so will come in and tweak a pipe in 10 minutes, leaving you with a mess, and sometimes an even bigger leak than you started with. Or maybe an electrician? Want a new breaker box? Hey, it's worth a few hundred to keep some moron from being electrocuted while switching a few wires around, right? And of course everybody's favorite, their auto mechanic. I wouldn't for a minute try and compare myself to such a technological marvel, as today's grease monkey! He works 9 to 5 in a temperature controlled garage, while I work midnights outside, in New England's year round finest. He now makes more per hour than I do, but if his repair doesn't solve the problem the first time, he charges you to look at it again. Your plane breaks down, you might die! Then again, if you don't, it's just a delay right? (All the better, another article!) Your auto mechanic, he doesn't need any formal training. I wasted two years of schooling just so that I could qualify to take a federal exam. Drug testing... His position might be, "how good is your stuff?" Mine, random! Fail, you're out the door! By all means, he deserves his fair wage. Me, I'm just some loser trying to rape the flying public!
Again, I can't thank you enough for pointing out my evil ways, God bless you!
Sincerely,
(Name deleted)
PS: By the way, is your wife anything to look at? If so, it is too bad that she didn't get that job. Nothing like a married flight attendant on the road, they love to take memories home with them! I won't even bother going into the fact that this business is 75% men once you get beyond the front counter, or mention first class passengers, that's certainly not a worry for a cocksure desk jockey such as yourself, right?
Dear Mr. Steigerwald,
I cannot even begin to tell you how much I enjoyed your article on how great it is to work for a union, at US Airways. I mean really, there is nothing more enjoyable then kicking back with a good news story on how wonderful my life is! Of course, I should clarify before going any further that I am only a lowly mechanic, and not a pilot. However, much of your ranting, I mean expounding, covers me as well. I might also mention that I no longer live in PA, although I did for four and one half years, while I could not make those buckets of easy money you dream of your wife making, in the state I really wanted to live in. (Nor do I today, 10 years later)
I will admit though, those flight benefits came in handy back then, as my wife had this silly notion that our kids should grow up knowing their grandparents, so she flew home often. Oh, what great adventures those were... Packing up two small children, one in a car seat, one in a stroller, then trouping off to that most wonderful of places, the airport! Once there she had the easiest of commutes, never caring about things like luggage, security, diaper bags, snacks, bottles, looks to kill from other passengers during crying fits, it was all good! Being outsourced from your hometown is routine with the airlines, but it's well worth it for us airline/union guys! Then, the best of the best, free flights to exotic ports of call! Get to the airport, check in, and WAIT!!!!! Wait to see if you are called for that free seat! Wait to see if your dream vacation comes true, or if you turn around, and go home! And, if you get that free flight, it's not like you have worry about the cost of a rental car, hotel, food, attractions, etc., etc., etc! Hey, you're flying free right, who cares about the small stuff? One high point today, (although you personally may want to take this into consideration, before hiring your wife out) we no longer have to worry about any of this. Today, the flights we would really like to go on, are oversold to the point of keeping us from even trying. Oh wait, that was the dream part! Sorry, free flight benefits today are pretty much worthless.
By the way, I think I should also take a moment to apologize for wanting to make a decent living. Thanks to you, I now realize that I have been keeping millions of good, God fearing people, from being able to fly for next to nothing. What was I thinking, it should be cheaper to fly someplace, rather than drive, or take the bus/train! I mean really, you pull up to a toll booth, one person. Take a bus, one driver. Take a train, one engineer, one conductor. Take a plane, more like ten people working on that one flight! (gate agents, pilots, flight attendants, ramp, cleaners, mechanics...) Why should a passenger be expected to pay for all that extra service? Load your own bags, save 10 bucks, what do you think? Oh wait, you haven't gone through finger printing, background checks, or are investigated without good cause, sorry, you can't! Whatever. Still, it's not like I'm a plumber, who for 75 bucks or so will come in and tweak a pipe in 10 minutes, leaving you with a mess, and sometimes an even bigger leak than you started with. Or maybe an electrician? Want a new breaker box? Hey, it's worth a few hundred to keep some moron from being electrocuted while switching a few wires around, right? And of course everybody's favorite, their auto mechanic. I wouldn't for a minute try and compare myself to such a technological marvel, as today's grease monkey! He works 9 to 5 in a temperature controlled garage, while I work midnights outside, in New England's year round finest. He now makes more per hour than I do, but if his repair doesn't solve the problem the first time, he charges you to look at it again. Your plane breaks down, you might die! Then again, if you don't, it's just a delay right? (All the better, another article!) Your auto mechanic, he doesn't need any formal training. I wasted two years of schooling just so that I could qualify to take a federal exam. Drug testing... His position might be, "how good is your stuff?" Mine, random! Fail, you're out the door! By all means, he deserves his fair wage. Me, I'm just some loser trying to rape the flying public!
Again, I can't thank you enough for pointing out my evil ways, God bless you!
Sincerely,
(Name deleted)
PS: By the way, is your wife anything to look at? If so, it is too bad that she didn't get that job. Nothing like a married flight attendant on the road, they love to take memories home with them! I won't even bother going into the fact that this business is 75% men once you get beyond the front counter, or mention first class passengers, that's certainly not a worry for a cocksure desk jockey such as yourself, right?
He is the best -- what a kind, honest, helpful, thoughtful and upstanding guy he is. If I had a brother, I would want him to be just like 767jetz. 
