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kcabpilot said:That remains to be seen. I'm not saying that it can't or won't happen and, like you, I've gone into this prepared for it but I think we have called their bluff finally and although they would have us believe that we can be 'slaughtered' in an instant I have to step back and remember that in my 16 years here I have NEVER witnessed United management succeed at ANYTHING.
I may be wrong but when the judge tossed the pilot's agreement a few weeks ago I sensed that management lost confidence (even if only for a moment) and suddenly they were not so anxious to take their dog and pony show into the courtroom. They had it all ready with the 45 expert witnesses and the, now familiar, 'Perfect Storm' PowerPoint presentation and all. I know they wanted to do it but they backed down. The judge may not be on our side but I have a feeling that Glenn and company are walking on thin ice with him. We'll see.
Anyway, in the coming weeks we'll be labeled as greedy, stupid, suicidal and a host of other uncomplimentary terms and we may end up on the street but you gotta admit that the imagined look on Tilton's face today must have been, well....
PRICELESS!!
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Well I think years down the road people will look back at what hapened in this industry and compare it to the hysteria that occured when Orsen Wells aired his "War of the Worlds" radio program.
People reacted illogically and did not closely examine the facts.
Our union leaders fanned the flames of hysteria instead of restoring order and logic.
The fact is that up until this point all the concessions were consentual. In other words the Union leaders pretty much agreed with the airlines in saying that airline workers were overpaid, that our contracts were "onerous" ,the word used in the BK code as condition for abrogation.
The courts and the companies can truthfully claim that they didnt force anything upon us, we willingly gave it up because we knew we were not worth it. They will claim that our submission without a fight indicates that we did not feel we were worth what we were getting, and its a valid arguement. Think about it. If you felt that you were entitled to something would you simply let someone take it away, without a fight? Well thats what we have done so far.
The mechanics were the first to reject concessions prior to BK, basically saying that they did not feel that the airlines were getting a bad deal from mechanics, over at USAIR, then again over at UAL. Its only fitting that in BK that mechanics would once again draw the line and say NO. Mechanics are one of the few classifications of workers in this industry that can take those same skills outside the industry and make the same, if not more money. Basically we never recieved a premium pay rate for working in this industry like some other workers did, and should.
Pilots have the most to lose, especially 777 Captains. If they lose their job they will most likely never make that kind of money operating a machine ever again.
Lets compare the two.
A 777 Captain at top pay makes what, $200K?
If he loses his job and manages to get a job flying for someone else what will he start at $40K? So his income will go down by around 80%. If he cant find a job it will be decreased by over 90%, assuming that he gets $400/week in unemployment.
Lets take a top paid mechanic at UAL in a high cost area who earns $60k. If he loses his job he can jump into another industry and get at least $50k right away. So he would only lose a little over 10% (less than he would lose by voting Yes for the company's offer)and be working his way back, verses giving the company another round of cuts that will only be met by another demand for concessions down the road. Or he could go and work for one of those third party providers, who despite what you might think are not getting flooded with applications from former airline mechanics and start at around $45 k in an area of the country were living expenses are less than half of what they are in New York or California-in effect actually getting a raise! Or if worst comes to worst they can sit back and collect unemployment for the same $400 a week that the pilot would get which would mean that the mechanic income, under the worst case scenario is cut by around 35%.
So let some Pilots come here in order to try and scare you into more pointless concessions, they have more to lose than you do. If the worst thing happens to you and UAL shuts their doors you may have to work a little harder but you can probably lead a more enjoyable life where you can attend social events and sleep at night. If you have to start over at least you can look forward to things getting better. If you give in all you can look forward to is things getting worse.
