FXLAX

Sorry, I meant to say that it was NOT meant to be literal in that post. In any case, I agree with the rest of what you said. I didn't mean for any of my comments to come out as finger pointing. Just that it seems they used him as a conduit to try to unity all of us so that we are with the current direction.

Some ting wong

Right, and why are we parading out this Bubba? Unity, Hoo Rah!
I guess he's john's friend or just an elder statesman, or something. His Herpie pals who he slide back to the left seat with the xcld bid/age 65 are gone and those of us impacted by that decision are irritated to see his face/hear his voice. Newish peeps don't kniw Who T F he is, strange choice for an infomercial host.
Disclaimer: I'm an equal opportunity disliker (saying "hater" is probably a crime these days) of scumbags whether they represent the company or collect a paycheck via ALPA dues.

JustInFacts

Not exactly accurate. DW did not bid the 777 the first time it was available. He did bid it after the arbitrator ruled in the companies favor.

Hmm, the union publishes the bids? The union decides the manning of the company?

So what did you want the union to do? Did you want them to sacrifice the seniority of about 250 active pilots? I thought that the union was suppose to negotiate for the whole group. Isn't that what has been said on these forums?

The company decided to cancel the previous bids during that time frame and also decided to re-bid them.

Some ting wong

let me clear up your apparent confusion. No and no. The fact is that he was in full support of the company's actions though. If 250 Engineers, or soon to be, bid back then I would say that 'the union' advocated only for them and not the other 250 would be Capts and on down the line. That's a majority of the membership getting the shaft, 2600 on the MSL back then?

One man's freedom fighter is another man's terrorist. We'll have to just disagree.

FeverDream

Yeah...DW not the best guy to trot out to "unify" the pilot group. This is an acute lack of awareness. DW voted in support of ALPA Nat'l resolution favoring changing the regulated age from 60 to 65 despite the majority of the FedEx MEC opposing it. He "hated to have to do it," but there were things we "might not even foresee if we didn't jump on board." Needless to say that was not a unifying position back then. Nor does it age any better now, with the bottom half of the seniority list staring down stagnation and downbidding.

skypine27

DW and BC are also responsible for the woefully inadequate original 2008 FDA LOA they got to pass by 68% by threatening outsourcing our flying (sort of ironic now since its actually happening). 2700$ housing allowance for HKG and CDG (the original Europe FDA was Paris not Colgone for those who dont know)

Not the greatest of names to unify our pilot group.

Merle Haggard

The entirety of the DW discussion is about ideals, morality, personal accountability, and leadership. He was already getting widebody pay - he did not need to bid the 777. Just as he didn't need to bring his over 60 buddies back to the left seat causing bid cancellations and backsliding at the worst possible time. The rest of ALPA did not really care given that FDX was the only place with a significant number of the old straphangers and thus let DW choose that path.

I'd rather see a rah-rah video from PM than that guy. DW was TERRIBLE for this pilot group and we still pay for his failures today. That was a poor decision by our current leadership and truthfully I found it a bit alienating.

Anthrax

Wrong again. This stupid argument that DW is a pilot advocate is laughable. He told everyone not to bid the 777, and then well before the arbitration was settled his name was on the training letter with a much higher seniority than he would have held otherwise. As Charles Barkley would say, he was terrible! A total company hack, so why our present union leaders would dust his old a$$ off and present him as some shiny unifying force is bizarre on many levels. Or did DW reach out to them? Either way, this is a stain on the present leadership. (Don’t get excited, YES voters, your stain is bigger!)

The union should respect the will of its members, and the will was against the age 65 rule. Without our support it most likely would have passed anyway, but the point is unity. which we didn’t have, which we don’t have, and which we will probably never have because we are all just a little too smart and selfish for the collective good. The problem with being a little smart is that you can easily justify your crummy actions. Another problem is resentment for those smarter. Disdain for the dumber. sound familiar?

Now, what did I say that will have you crying to the mediators again in an effort to squash my opinions?

Some ting wong

Just in case the dw uninitiated are wondering about our feelings toward this guy. Some color.

https://www.keysnews.com/news/crime/...9c4e65ec6.html

Apparently, not much has changed for him in retirement, still guided by his alpa chairman play book of, be an A hole, try to intimidate, and end up with undesired results.( the last part likely never made it in to his Cliff notes).

SPSC = tone deaf.

Merle Haggard

You know how to tell when you're likely on the right side of an issue? It's when you disagree with LackOfFacts.

On a side note, this entire issue happened many years before LackOfFacts had even thought about being a FDX manager.