An Open Letter to All United Pilots.
I'm a dinosaur to you. I started new hire school at United on August 8, 1966 and flew my last trip on December 14, 2000. During my 34+ years I was a loyal ALPA member from day one. I worked under countless United presidents and CEOs and many fine MEC chairmen. I supported every labor issue as it came along, once getting stranded for a week in Honolulu (tough duty) when the IAM went out on one of their many strikes. I walked the picket line when the Eastern employees went out, I walked with the Continental pilots, I walked with our own AFA when they were picketing informationally and more recently when the American flight attendants walked. I walked the picket line with our IAM countless times and they, and our flight attendants, walked with us in '85. Do you think that ANY group would walk for you today?
In 1985 my wife, a UAL F/A, and I put our jobs on the line, not for ourselves, but for the future of your profession. I say not for ourselves because, our then president Dick Ferris, only wanted to change the pay and work rules of the future pilots, not for us. We could have sold you down the river, a river that you seem so willing to sell us down today. When we went on strike, for you, in 1985 we had a 50-50 chance of never flying for United again but we went out knowing that the profession that we loved would be worthless without unity, unity throughout the entire workforce at UAL. We couldn't take the easy way out and let management divide us, the greater good was too important.
Today that unity seems to be a thing of the past. The contract that you just voted for is the most shortsighted, selfish contract that I can imagine. It's not only a contract that sells out your fellow active employees, it sells out all of us who came before you. Those of us who sacrificed so that you could aspire to the wonderful profession that I left, proudly, in 2000.
I wore my ALPA pin with pride for 38 years, both as an active employee and as a retiree, but now I'll wear my pin upside down out of shame for what my union has become. I'll still wear it because I want people to know that I was once a member of a proud association of professionals, but I'll wear it upside down because I have no respect for the current members.
Captain W. Thomas (Tommy) Zander
I'm a dinosaur to you. I started new hire school at United on August 8, 1966 and flew my last trip on December 14, 2000. During my 34+ years I was a loyal ALPA member from day one. I worked under countless United presidents and CEOs and many fine MEC chairmen. I supported every labor issue as it came along, once getting stranded for a week in Honolulu (tough duty) when the IAM went out on one of their many strikes. I walked the picket line when the Eastern employees went out, I walked with the Continental pilots, I walked with our own AFA when they were picketing informationally and more recently when the American flight attendants walked. I walked the picket line with our IAM countless times and they, and our flight attendants, walked with us in '85. Do you think that ANY group would walk for you today?
In 1985 my wife, a UAL F/A, and I put our jobs on the line, not for ourselves, but for the future of your profession. I say not for ourselves because, our then president Dick Ferris, only wanted to change the pay and work rules of the future pilots, not for us. We could have sold you down the river, a river that you seem so willing to sell us down today. When we went on strike, for you, in 1985 we had a 50-50 chance of never flying for United again but we went out knowing that the profession that we loved would be worthless without unity, unity throughout the entire workforce at UAL. We couldn't take the easy way out and let management divide us, the greater good was too important.
Today that unity seems to be a thing of the past. The contract that you just voted for is the most shortsighted, selfish contract that I can imagine. It's not only a contract that sells out your fellow active employees, it sells out all of us who came before you. Those of us who sacrificed so that you could aspire to the wonderful profession that I left, proudly, in 2000.
I wore my ALPA pin with pride for 38 years, both as an active employee and as a retiree, but now I'll wear my pin upside down out of shame for what my union has become. I'll still wear it because I want people to know that I was once a member of a proud association of professionals, but I'll wear it upside down because I have no respect for the current members.
Captain W. Thomas (Tommy) Zander
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