Now here is some food for thought for you ALL.
Back in the days when Brian G ran Eeenie Weenie, and the F28's were only just on fleet, there was a TN/AN Pilots strike.
The EW guys decided as a whole not to go out, as it was not of relevance to them and as a generality they loved the Company and their lot in life.
The 6pm rush out of TN gate 10 at Tulla consisted of 2 F27's rolling line astern - one to ABX to connect the F28 to SYD and one to Tas, beautifully orchestrated for the 6.30 news.
The threats started to roll in. Not to the Pilots themselves, but to family members after the pilot had departed home to fly their blocks. It was not just a handful of instances either, as I am sure will be attested to by EW crews of the time. Pilots calling and threatening the families of fellow pilots.
My late mate Peter Watson - ex everything to do with freight,and then EW Cargo and I were walking back to Gate 10 jut passing block 5 which was the TN Loco hideout with a couple of crew heading down to their aeroplane, when a couple of TN flight deck crew appeared ahead of them. They had gained security access on their ID cards, and were attempting to menace the crew.
Watto and I stepped in and offered new and FOC dental patterns and the threat sudenly went away.
This was well pre '89, and I knew both the TN captains involved as they were both ex F27. I later learned that one had gone back and the other stayed out and went overseas.
My point?
I am sure you all consider this to have been unacceptable behaviour, but wait! One was from each side of the fence, and who knows who might have been conducting the terror campaign on wives and families from the anonymity of a phone box.
It was perpetrated, in a visible and open sense by compatriots who later wound up on either side of a much more serious dispute.
How on earth you can justify slagging off at each other 14 years after a dark time for all of us, with a past that included such behaviour as mentioned above is of wonder to me.
For those in the room who were involved in that dispute, I would like to think that none of you were involved in the low acts perpetrated then, but be aware that there is good and bad on both sides of '89,as I am sure some are still out there somewhere. The king of the "embelished" log book was an '89er. The worst Commercial Pilot I have ever had the displeasure of despatching tried to go back, but management knocked it on the head.
I am not without blame either. It is amazing what you can do to the following day's consolidated plan with a bad attitude towards TN (who were giving us hell) ,and a programmers sign-in.
Please look within your own ranks and assess, before you have a go at former mates rather than some that allegedly stand beside you. The vast majority on both sides are good and decent people, but be aware there are some that you would not let slide out of your peripheral vision as well.
Best all
EWL
Last edited by Eastwest Loco; 6th May 2003 at 20:01.