Harry, in some respects you are correct. But this no longer a pilot group of 800 or so. Prior, it was easy to manage a small group. But now with a pilot group of closing in on 4000, it is no longer possible to manage without consistent and understandable communication.
That too, is where the rub comes in. There will always be a few F.U.'s in any organization and an effectual management would deal with them. But if there is no trend with the rest of the pilot group, why then blast them with less than logical sop's and policies?
Good for you on your stellar record, and of your so far good health. We should all be so lucky. Point being is, I have seen warning letters for sick leave such as broken bones, heart surgeries, cancer, contracted sicknesses....all of which I am sure were deserved because it was the pilots' faults for breaking a bone, getting cancer etc. I have seen warning letters for violations of FTDL, where no written policy was and is in place. Rules on the go. Since you seem to be defending "their" policies, from my perspective, how would you rate the above as being effective management?
And do we need to get into the discussion about the recent DEC policy. We had f/o's with over 20,000 total hours, mostly on wide bodied modern FMS type aircraft, as captain, flying international, passed over by less than 10,000 hour narrow bodied 737NG or 320 captains that the largest body of water ever flown over was the English Channel. But our f/o's didn't have the requisite time on EK aircraft. Effective management?
And there, my friend, is the answer for the line pilots' frustrations of inane policies. It isn't all about MLB and MAN anymore.