Goldcard60,
Management greed is STILL alive and well in the 21st Century.
If they could turn the (labor/management) clocks back 100+ years, you can be sure, they WOULD do it.
It IS quite unfortunate. But, it is the ultimate leverage for any organized group of workers.
Pilots are the most customer conscious, can-do, proactive, problem-solvers (almost 'management-like'), and goal-oriented employees on the property at airlines. It's part of the innate personality of pilots, due to the background/training in a life & death profession as piloting is.
Anyway, management at ALL airlines takes FULL advantage of the above personality qualities of pilots. This advantage of management has allowed them to keep wages WELL below inflation for 20+ years, and degrade work rules (T&Cs) too.
Pilots have had ENOUGH. IF the 'ultimate' leverage is utilized, then you can blame management, because they will have vastly underestimated pilot unity and resolve. Or, if not, then they make the decision to allow a strike, with the idea that they'll ultimately win, by wearing down pilot unity.
KC135777
AA pilot