Keep us informed, Don’t negotiate without input. Be inclusive. Listen well. Be more transparent; it fosters trust.
Most any Delta Pilot would agree with these things. Discontent and strife is growing in our union. I feel discouraged myself and hear daily from a broad cross section of pilots who expect more from their union.
As someone who believes in collaborative efforts and values the possibilities of helpful models of conflict resolution, this growing discontent could be either helpful or harmful. As leaders of our union, your actions will help guide the outcome.
I had planned attending the MCO MEC Meeting to take the 10 minutes of the MEC’s time that is made available to the membership via the MEC Policy Manual. Let me take 2 minutes here instead and offer a few thoughts:
- Please quit surprising us! If you negotiate with management or make decisions that impact line pilots, let us know and seek our input first. Communication technology makes this very easy. If this is not done, expect consequences.
- The Delta Pilots are a vast resource of ideas and knowledge. Please, tap into that rich resource by collaborating with us. Communication technology can facilitate this.
- The two largest councils representing 50% of Delta Pilots passed two identical resolutions about communication and pay. Both councils just elected reps that promised to vastly improve communication. It might be a good idea to pay attention to that.
- Listening is difficult. Here is a suggestion. When pilots speak to you, we may frequently express inaccuracies. Initially ignore these mistakes and listen to what is really being asked for. Let us know you hear us before you tell us why we are wrong. Pilots are tired of the ALPA guy who misses the bigger message.
- Please, set an example. You must come together as a body before you can expect to unify line pilots.
- Don’t be afraid of conflict. There is a respectful way to remind management how they coerced unreasonable concessions from us through bankruptcy law. You can be respectful and direct by letting them know we will seek restorations at every opportunity. Respect and forceful are not mutually exclusive.
- There are ways for our union to have internal conflicts that strengthen us. Please seek them out.
I increasingly speak with pilots who would like to de-certify ALPA. I am not one of those pilots. But I do understand why they think this way and see how our present difficulties make efforts like that more probable. Help prevent that. Please, keep us informed, Don’t negotiate without input. Be inclusive. Listen well. And one last thing: please be more transparent; it fosters trust.
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