oicur12, any reader of pprune over the years knows exactly where you stand on the issue of blacklegs, so your protestations at Spad’s rather temperate comments sound a bit thin to me. Your reaction is a perfect example of what’s wrong with us pilots as a group. Rather than READ what Spad said, you go into a kneejerk reaction (the classic “reload and fire” reply rather than actually listen that they tell us about in CRM lectures).
Everyone should take a look at what Spad actually said. I can’t fault his logic. The AIPA split from the AFAP was the first crack in the wall of airline pilot solidarity in Australia and no one should take offence at that assertion. The people who made that decision are all surely long retired by now, so why don’t those of us still in the industry accept this FACT, put it behind us and try to deal with the FACT that things have gone downhill for airline (and GA) pilots in Australia ever since?
AIPA is and always has been a company union, with all that that implies, and you only have to look at the number of AIPA leaders who have gone on to become management pilots within QF to see the obvious shortcomings of a company union.
I have to disagree with you, Kaptain M, and side with Spad on the question of amalgamation. I agree there’s probably no short term advantage, but maybe it’s time we all looked at the long term situation, or, as Sonny Hammond so wisely puts it, we’ll all be doomed to be arguing for eternity about whatever the current ‘big issue’ of the day is – among and against ourselves – as management sits back and rubs their hands together in glee.
… and as we and our working conditions go the way of train drivers – or worse – down the proverbial gurgler.