Obviously it isn't exactly the same (busted kneecaps vs. bullying), but it is the same mentality. I really have a tough time with the bullying that goes on with respect to unions. For a significant number of union supporters, if you disagree with them, you deserve to be ostracized, names put on lists, etc. etc. That's BS. Even in this very thread ATN_pilot said that my name belongs on the "non-member" list. That is a non-so-subtle way of saying that since I don't toe the party line, I deserve to be treated differently.
To answer the guy from way back, that's the anti-intellectual part. If you think for yourself, and that thought is in any way different from the party line, you are considered an outsider. That disincentivises any unique or outside the box thinking. Unions do not value diversity of thought within their ranks. They value homogeneity. Everyone is in agreement, all nodding together.
Well there's a mob mentality, and that is human. I think Seggy and his boys did their best not to intimidate during the first (failed) union drive but even I felt one guy laid it on a little thick. I made my decision based on another pilot I looked to for guidance (an old cop turned pilot) who was absolutely sold on a union. If I didn't have that sort of guidance I could see myself feeling like I was pushed a little, but I don't think anyone imagines me as a guy who won't speak up about it. If you don't like something speak up about it to them. Ask Seggy to be sure, but I think during our first drive we had to rein in a guy who was a little too persuasive. I may be remembering that wrong though. I thought it was a Saab guy, but we may have just been making fun of Saab guys that day.
Every union is going to be a little different, and every ALPA local/airline is going to have a little different culture. The Delta union right now is valuing the hell out of the supposed DPA reps, bringing them into leadership positions and trying to help understand what they want changed, and this is after the Delta contract that supposedly was the last nail in the coffin for DPA. So not every union values homogeneity. You want to see a couple knuckle dragging good old boys, let me take you to CT at the Pratt and Whitney plant and I'll see how long it takes you to screw up enough for every plant worker to throw down their wrench. Know what? They take a hell of a lot of pride in what they do, and they make more than you, and they turn wrenches. Homogeneity can be good too.
Mesaba's guys were always about hard work, and unless you were butting heads with the MEC at the time (Nagel) you could voice your opinion and at least get an educated explanation on why something gets done the way it is done. Nagel was the best guy to have in your corner, but he was abrasive as hell and I couldn't take him for more than a few minutes at a time. Now that we are Endeavor we have a mix of a lot of guys, a lot of our best and brightest have left, and some of the guys are here to manufacture chaos, promise and convince guys they will solve it all for them, take as many paid days off as they can, not do any work, let everyone down, and blame someone else. Well if they do work there is no evidence of it. It's painful to watch. That's my union now though, and even though we've come down a long way, it's still better than non union Colgan. When you have a lot of dedicated hard workers with good moral, things fire on all cylinders and life is good. I'm sure it could be a lot worse here, especially if I started helping, but it's a hell of a lot more than nothing.
That pressure has the exact opposite reaction on me. It makes me want to say "Eff off", and do the opposite of whatever it is I'm being pressured to do.
A perfect example:
The BlueTruth guys are essentially ordering us to not go to any of the company meet and greets. They are using the standard manipulation techniques. I say they have NO right to tell me what meetings to go to, or to tell me to not listen to both sides of the argument. They are no better than the company in terms of manipulating the intake of information to craft their message.
Eh, for the majority of humans, peer pressure and herd dynamics are better drivers than anything else. If you get bored sometimes and want proof there's a million examples on Freakonomics books and podcasts. I think you can even see an article on how Westchester NY is using peer pressure to get citizens to pay their property taxes on time in full. It works. Maybe you're one of the small percentage who don't respond well to any pressure, but we don't shoot for a 100%.
I don't know why I'm replying this much to the topic. If you've got a problem with a fee and they can't explain it to you don't pay. If they have explained it to you and you agree, then pay. If you don't agree with the charges then get a lawyer. Seems like this should be a shorter thread.
If the union does that to enough people, you'll find yourself in a regime change sir.
Not if I have a hand in it.
(I just reread a lot of that and I barely understood it because of all the run on sentences. I won't feel bad if you skip and don't read any of it.)
I'm an old school trade unionist, so I see no problem with peer pressure and the like being used to get members of the craft and class to support their union. No violence or property damage of any sort, but peer pressure is fair game.
