hummingbear

If you’re a member in good standing, go to a meeting & propose a vote of non-diversity outlining the circumstances under which you feel discrimination is appropriate & the groups that should be favored above others. Let me know how it turns out.

AntiPeter

You are incorrect.

DEI began as protecting corporations from costly discrimination lawsuits. It is woefully inadequate for addressing with nuance challenges of discrimination. Discrimination issues are complex, but as you have shown DEI reduces these real and complex issues to manageable problems with ready-made responses.

Rather than improving overall QOL and workplace climate, DEI cultivates fragility, as you have also displayed. The more easily we are fragile and offended, the more we need DEI to manage our problems. This is a vicious cycle that does not benefit us, especially as organized labor. Fragile and disorganized pilots can not achieve a good contract.

Ultimately DEI is a management strategy, illustrated by the way the policy pits us against each other...as has been displayed here by reactions to the policy. ALPA is doing us a disservice by supporting DEI policies. It is a distraction from our legitimate grievances with the company. DEI undermines ALPAs already fragile and latent leverage.

DEI has nothing to do with freedom, acceptance and tolerance. It's a ideology corporations use to protect their interests, at the expense of their employees, customers and especially organized labor. It has nothing to do with equality or assisting historically marginalized peoples.

Am I concerned our pilot group and union continue to behave in ways that prohibit a new and adequate CBA? Yep, I sure am.

BlueScholar

Follow through on that. How is it anti-labor?

Hedley

There’s a difference in diversity and discrimination. Diversity is a good thing, and how a person looks or how they entertain their junk has no affect on their ability to do this job. Discrimination is always wrong regardless of the form. Deliberately seeking out a demographic for any reason is just as wrong as deliberately excluding them. When it comes to gaining employment, admittance to schools, promotions, etc……. those decisions should be made on merit and ability, not something as insignificant as appearance, identity, or sexual orientation.

JackReacher

Let’s unpack this DEI stuff. I don’t believe he is implying organic diversity is a bad thing. On the contrary, I think we can all agree that it’s the right thing. But forced diversity is controversial for many and definitely creates division. Equity is a farce and we all know it. Equality is what we should be striving for. And if you don’t know the difference between equity and equality, it comes down to one thing:Outcome. Finally, Inclusion is a moving target. Where does someone draw the line in the workplace?? (And I’m talking on a professional level, not on a personal level). Do we include everybody in the workforce?? Even those who can’t do the job?? So I agree with the previous poster in that this DEI stuff should be kept out of ALPA. The fact that they created a DEI committee is disturbing to me.

BobbyLeeSwagger

Very well said. Oh wait, im supposed to be a woke mod oops!

ReadOnly7

as long as it’s a group that’s “marginalized”….they will receive a standing ovation, be recommended for promotion….and possibly even placed on a billboard for “leading the way”.

Always remember….”good leads the way”….as long as that person isn’t a cys/heterosexual/male. Those people are ALWAYS bad. Never forget that.

HiPlaneDrifter

I’m SHOCKED, SHOCKED I say to find out a labor union and Chicago based company are pushing the liberal ideology of DEI!…or is it DEIB….or DEBI? I’m reminded of the prisoners in the Hanoi Hilton communicating with tap code during indoctrination. Every job sooner or later becomes not worth it.

hummingbear

Part of the miscommunication that’s happening here is that we’re talking about two different things.

First was the MEC statement on non-discrimination, which was the subject of the original post. This was extremely benign & generic and- as discrimination is against the law, anyway- tantamount to me making a commitment to not cooking meth in my basement. Exactly no one should care about this; but I do love the irony that I’m a fragile snowflake for not being offended by it.

The second topic seems to be the existence of a DEBI committee at ALPA. Again, not the topic originally in question, but fine. Now, we could attempt to have the nuanced adult conversation about the social theories upon which DEI is based, gaps in representation, concerns of overreach, etc., that has as yet eluded these forums; but in the meantime, the pragmatic reality is that a large part of this is just litigation insurance. Everyone here should be wise enough to understand that relying solely on “organic diversity”- an interesting term used to describe an industry that’s historically drawn over 90% of its labor from a single demographic, but I digress- opens any group up to potentially damaging & costly accusations. Some of you guys are so fired up on principle that you’d spend your entire war chest in court rather than having the dreaded DEI label attached to anything you’re associated with. Please grow up, take your own advice, & focus on the actual battle at hand- our contract.

hummingbear

😂 Yes! Clearly cis-hetero-males can’t catch a break & are underrepresented in our labor force as well as union & corporate leadership.