de727ups

"you're damn right I would cross"

You'd be a scab. You'd be hurting yourself and your fellow pilots by being a scab. You aren't in this industry. I'd save the "I'd be a scab" comments until after you're in it a while.

fireman0174

I know several pilots from our strike years ago that to this day still say that they wish they could do it all over again and not cross - 23 years after the strike.

I know one guy who was told by the company they would cancel his health insurance (wife had ms) if he didn't scab. Yet he picketed at LGA with his wife in her wheel-chair; she even worked in the strike center.

So "looking down on you" is a kind description of what you would be facing.

fireman0174

They most certainly did not replace all of the controllers. Quite a few, that's for certain, but not all of them.

I had a manager from a center, LAX as I recall, who said that the only reason they were able to recover is that the majority who didn't stay home were fully qualified controllers.

Had that not been the case, he stated they would have had to negotiate with PATCO.

Molon Labe

A one day wildcat strike is one of the most effective things that pilots can do,remember that it is illegal for a reason. It would work! The laws in this country are written by the rich people and the corporations through their congressmen and senators. The laws are written so that anything that will work for the little guy is illegal. Therefore if you wish to stay perfectly legal you are doomed to lose by default. Just look at the past 30 years wages and QOL have been on a constant decline with a few very short term (and quickly reversed I might add) gains by pilots. A one day wildcat strike is a wonderful idea, by the way how would they punish us? Maybe a 50% pay cut and terminate our pensions, and make us fly the FAR's? Humm it seems they already did that..... Maybe they will shave our heads since there isn't much left that they can do.

FlyJSH

You must be the only pilot with bills. I guess you love your kids more than any other pilot too.

LeoSV

Is flying the only industry that has strikes and scabs?

Well, if every other pilot would rather give the finger to the big guy than put food on the table, perhaps I do (I kidd, I kidd). I already said that I wouldn't cross any picket line, in any industry, unless I was in absolute dire need, and that doesn't mean having to pay off my mercedes, that means not having enough money to buy diapers and milk. And I wasn't talking about only flying either. I just took the opportunity to go off on a little tangent for conversation sake (and because I drank some leftover beers from yesterdays BBQ) since this thread was drifting anyway.
Most pilots make decent money, and if they have invested correctly, are totally able to strike and live for a little while without a paycheck, but you get into other industries like factory workers, coal miners, just your average blue collar career, that doesn't pay much but puts food on the table and gas in the tank, and striking for those folks becomes much harder.
It's sad that some unions have such a bad rap. After the "new deal", rising union membership was one of the major contributions to closing the wealth gap in this country.
A real threat of a pilot strike would be a serious thing because our nation's economy depends on the airline industry so much, but I honestly can't see what other choice there is with the airline execs making 100's of millions while pilot pay gets lower.

jonnyjetprop

I reread the post and I still stand by what I said.

I think it's the term "guys like me.....were to become favorable" that turns my stomach. When Eastern went on strike there were alot of folks like me that just said no. I don't know your background, but you just don't seem to get it.

LeoSV

I read his post wrong the first time, sorry. I only caught the "guys like me". I missed the "if conditions became favorable" part. I take back my first reply to you.