Because EVERYTHING IN MY CBA that exists is there because someone before me FOUGHT for it.
That's why.
"Seeing all of the United pilots on the line at ORD was one of the most memorable and uplifting experiences that I will ever have as a
pilot representative. Senior pilots who were literally striking for the “unborn.” Pilots who had nothing to gain and everything to lose.
Pilots who had sat as 17 year flight engineers at a very stagnant United Airlines. Junior guys like me who had just gotten back from
furlough, former flight managers who a year earlier couldn’t have imagined doing such a thing, all walking the line together and liter-
ally putting their jobs on the line.
There were dark days in 1985, as there are today and will be in the future. We will continue to endure the vagaries of the airline industry and ultimately it may be simple luck that determines our fate. Nevertheless, in 1985, we demonstrated that unity is a very
powerful weapon to combat corporate greed and management hubris. For the participants of the strike, we will all agree, those
29 days in 1985 have become an indelible part of our memory. For myself, at no other time in my 37 years at United can I say I
was more proud to be associated with this pilot group.
In looking back at the heroism and strength demonstrated by our fellow pilots in the Spring of 1985, we take stock in
what makes United’s pilots unique. The generation before us laid a solid foundation in which to rebuild a stronger future for
all of us. These are the giants on whose shoulders we now stand, and of whose legacy we will sustain" -Captain Mark Bathurst