dannyboy said:
What a joke. With all the unrequested links you posted, and finally someone asks you for one and you refuse? What a joke.
"but you have 2500 pilots walk at peak, and you have big problems."
The pilots could only walk 30 days following a release from mediation. The RLA is very different from the labor laws the drivers operate under.
The company is careful with everything they write. They accuse us of wanting 6.5 Millon for bunks, wrong. That is nuts. We want the same type of rest arrangements that FedEx has had for years. The company's estimation of cost is crazy.
We want comparible retirement to that of FedEx. We want more money than FedEx pilots currently make, because we have more liberal work rules, we are more productive.
The company claims that the "average" UPS pilot makes 175k a year. Wrong, they include an imaginary sick bank buy out, pension plan contributions and health benifits. That is not salary.
This company has went out of their way for 15 years to tell us that we don't work for UPS, we are not Brown Ground. That we are a cost, and bring no productivity to the delivery of the product. They have fundamentally, treated us like an "illegitamite red headed step child for years" and yes, the resentment is high.
We are pissed and tired of it, and frankly, are ready for war. I hate it has come to this, but that is my perspecitve after 10 years here. I think like most bullies, we are going to have to bloody their nose to get any respect.
I don't know if the drivers will support us, I hope so. We supported you down to the last man and woman. THat is a fact. The truth of the matter is, we must depend on our selfs in the end, it is our fight. I think we are ready to deal with it.
As for replacements, well, it is going to be hard for our managment pilots to fly the routes, and train replacements. My upgrade to Captain this summer took 21/2 months. Do you know how much of our income moves on aircraft from overseas. A lot. That is where the new customers are and the growth is.
The only real problem with our contract negotiations is management knows one thing, every dime they give us comes out of their pockets. This is all about greed, not about bankrupting a company.
Management at the airline has come down to not who is qualified for the job, simply who is willing to do their bidding. It is simply now about power and money. I have for the most part lost complete respect for our management pilots.
There, that is one perspective of a hard working UPS pilot.
I have about 20 years left. I will spend 10 of those years away from home. Much of it in countries not friendly to Americans. How much would they have to pay you for for that time?
THink about it sounds great, but we have about 65% divorce rate in our ranks. Why, because we are not at home to care for our families. That is what this fight is about, security for our families. Growing old with our health intact, and having some security when we are no longer able to operate in our trained profession. WE HAVE TO RETIRE AT 60 by government regulations.
I could go on for hours, but if you want to know, ask questions. I will try to answer.
BrownBusDriver