I believe the future of our profession lies in the legislation. Without proper employment laws and regulations regarding duty times etc we are more or less fukced. Union work must be based upon current legislations. Having many years left in this industry I many times wonder if I will ever wear my uniform with pride again or if I will continue to be that hated employee who costs a lot of money but coincidentally operates advance machinery during all hours of the day and night in adverse conditions under constant time pressure making sure that the every so less paying passengers arrives safely at their destinations...
Voila!!
There is no excuse for being a gutless coward, afraid of taking a stand, and thats what you are when "employed" by Ryanair, Norwegian et al, gutless cowards!
See what happened to the poor Ryanair contract F/O's that tried to make a stand refusing to pay £29 (or something like that..?) for a Ryanair ID that became mandatory to work through Spain and Portugal. "Thanks - we don't need your services anymore" Was it worth loosing your job over £29???
Captplaystation and the likes got it right! The AUTO/MAN types are just narrow minded.
Supply & demand - their is always someone to sell themselves cheaper. That's why, IMHO, the unions should not target the airlines that are just playing the game. They should lobby for the European Union, like they've done with the new FTLs, to change the rules.
And, the general public has to understand you cannot fly to the canary islands for €10!!