American Airlines Pilots to Picket in 9 cities Tuesday

[cpamomfromtexas]

Pilots to picket in 9 cities Tuesday and around major customers businesses in an effort to highlight incompetent management's effect on the airline and bring attention to their working under 1992 wages.

They are fed up with substandard wages and working conditions, and having to deal with or fix management mistakes. For example: pilots are not paid unless the aircraft is moving so delays or cancellation of a 3 or 4 day trip may cost many the equivalent of a house payment. In addition, they are required to be in place at the airport but are not paid until they are in the cockpit. For many, this means they are gone 80-100 hours and only get paid for 20 to 25 hours at most.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

1. As far as I know that's the way most pilots are paid.

At most airlines they don't start getting paid until the brakes are released. The real issue is the hourly rate -- it needs to be enough to make up for all the time they spend working and not getting paid for it.

[liberal4truth]

5. Airline Pilots=Truck Drivers with wings and a nice uniform. No big deal.

They don't get paid for waiting either.

[marmar]

2. American Airlines has had a rough week and a half.....

:hurts:

[liberal4truth]

4. Every Owner-Operator in the US has been having a bad three years. Big whoop!

Thank * and his big-oil buddies.

[liberal4truth]

3. Poor babies!! Most truck drivers don't get paid by the hour either, but then no one

cares much for them, when they are stuck somewhere waiting either, so it doesn't really matter.

[cpamomfromtexas]

6. HMM, did a pilot steal your wife or something? Whats the rub here?

I didn't say jack about truckers, WTF?

[liberal4truth]

7. Truckers and Airline pilots are in the transportation industry and come under

far different rules then office and warehouse workers and so on, in that we are not paid by the hour and when we are sitting there waiting, we are all losing money, pilot and driver both.

At least with a trucker he/she will tell you if you don't like it, move on. Some of these laws are very outdated and public safety is at risk particularly with drivers who have to fight road traffic to make the delivery on-time

[cpamomfromtexas]

8. Well for what its worth

I don't recall mentioning office workers either and the last time I checked the pilots that work for the majors usually have spent 15 years or so getting qualified to do their job.

Who started this competition thing you've got going on?

Oh and by the way, many ARE moving on, there is a worldwide shortage on the horizon, many are quitting AA and going to Emirates of all places to work.

I know a pilot who was offered a job making twice as much in a former eastern bloc country. Apparantly their skills are appreciated there.

[liberal4truth]

9. Lets see: A pilot takes 15 years to qualify, but an M.D. only 8 to 12 years?

Methinks you are mistaken somewhere here.

Learning to pilot a jet-aircraft does not take 15 years.

[cpamomfromtexas]

10. By the time they have the EXPERIENCE to get HIRED

They typically have 15 years experience with the military or with a smaller airline.

Understand now? I thought not.