Is it wrong to ask pilots to simply fly the plane and save workplace grievances for after hours?
The operational woes for Southwest Airlines continue. Yesterday, the Dallas-based carrier cancelled 435 flights and delayed 1530, disrupting over half of its schedule. Already this morning delays and cancellations are ticking up and will get worse as the day progresses.
We’ve speculated about the root cause of these delays…I won’t do that again today beyond saying that I am more convinced than ever that vaccine resistance is one factor in this string of operational meltdowns, even if just a small one.
Instead, I want to focus on the second picture above. The Don’t Tread On Me flag, also known as the Gadsden Flag, dates back to the American Revolution. It is currently used as a symbol for limited government and has historically been used as a flag of resistance.
Without going down the inevitably controversial path of equivalencies and false equivalences, I just wish pilots would shut up and fly the plane. I get that politics are intertwined in so much of our lives and that the livelihood of many pilots who are resisting the vaccine mandate is now in question.
Yet I don’t think it is naive to ask pilots to step up above the fray and respect that there is a time and place for protest and it is not onboard the airplane. By all means, picket if you feel so inclined. View From the Wing discusses the work being done by Texas Governor Greg Abbott and the Texas Legislature to block vaccine mandates, which sets up a number of interesting legal questions.
But I don’t want to see my pilots overtly supporting one side in a contentious political debate (and debates that should not be political), because they have a higher duty to protect the health and safety of everyone onboard. This isn’t a matter of being able to walk and chew gum at the same time, but of being impeccably professional, which means not engaging in any sort of resistance on the job which distracts from the primary mission.
CONCLUSION
The biggest problem at Southwest is its total lack of organization while simultaneously stretching itself far too thin. But I sense a resistance is forming that will only grow in the days ahead. Passengers on Southwest (and American Airlines) should expect flight disruptions leading up to the November 24th vaccine deadline and perhaps even more so after that date, as neither airline has the manpower to accommodate disruptions to flight operations. It’s going to get even messier.
Winter is coming.
Play stupid games, win stupid prizes
What would we do without the eloquent cliches of UA-CCP? When will he go from “four legs good, two legs bad” to “four legs good, two legs better?”
Like most conservative mouth breathers, I see your educational growth stopped with 6th grade Lit.
Keep outrunning that Covid, anti-vaxxer! Stay Proud, Boy.
I’m sorry, but if this guy really is a father of 5, why on earth isn’t he doing everything to protect himself to ensure he is there to take care of them? And protect them if they are too young to receive the vaccine themselves? This is the part of this argument that I just don’t understand. At the end of the day, however, SW is his employer & can mandate the requirements for his employment-if he doesn’t like them, he’s welcome to go elsewhere. Interesting to note his comment about being a navy vet-same thing applies now that the Commander in Chief has mandated rules for those currently in the service. While I agree there will likely be grandstanding interruptions between now & November 24, I suspect, much like what happened in New York when there were dire predictions of massive staffing shortages when the mandates for health care workers & educators went into effect, in the end, most will choose their continued paychecks & get vaccinated. However, these grandstanding interruptions do nothing to improve their image as professionals, as was pointed out.
Lol. Do you even hear yourself? #mybodymychoice
Are you THAT misinformed?! You can still get and give Covid. Have you even seen the thousands of adverse effects AND deaths from this experimental drug?! Have you taken a look at the VAERS (government) website?! Do your research because the government and mainstream media is NOT looking out for your best interest.
This is amazing! Kudos for standing up for youselves WN pilots!!! Tie for some pushback against these bully mandates for a vax that does NOT keep anyone from catching C19 and does NOT keep anyone from spreading C19. And the complete refusal to consider those with natural immunity needs to end. Time to end the #sciencefiction !!
Wow, denying the proven benefits of vaccines by calling objective truth “#sciencefiction !!” is really disappointing. Even the most conservative of outlets like Fox require vaccinations because they prevent unnecessary covid deaths. Ludicrous claims that vaccines don’t prevent deaths are literally killing off vaccine deniers, and while predictable, it is still sad for every family who loses a loved one who was a vaccine denier.
I stand firmly with the pilots. This vaccine is not FDA approved, (yes comirnaty has been approved but it is not available) as such this falls under clinical trials and as such coercion such as take take the vax or loose your job is unethical and immoral period. These that are willing to take this mRNA injection and booster shots should do so at their own volition. For those that say they need to find another job, it’s not just about that but about your basic rights and freedoms. We are finding out more every day about the horrendous adverse reactions people are suffering from this ‘clot shot’. Most of are not anti vax, we just refuse to be part of the experiment.
Every pilot who falsely calls in sick should be fired and lose his license to fly. Period. Save the political protests for the curb.
You’re missing the point. It’s not about whether the vaccine works or not. Of course it does. It’s about the ability of our government to mandate it across the board, ignoring an individuals medical condition, advice of their doctor, or religious belief. Where does this end? Allow this, what next? The President championing the firing of an individual from their job for this is sick.
I take it you’ve never got a measles vaccine.
These pilots can go work in Brazil no one is stopping them.
If you are vaxed, why do you care Pete?
The measles vaccine is a live attenuated one. This technology has been in use since the days of Pasteur. The mRNA vaccines are the first of their kind and mRNA therapies failed until recently because of their toxicity in humans. Measles is far more contagious and lethal than COVID-19 and also predominantly strikes down children as opposed to the elderly. Keep obfuscating about why people might reasonably hesitate to get an injection of something both Joe Biden and Kamala Harris were raising doubts about last year.
Anti-vaxxer, you seem to have stopped your pumping of a vaccine that seems to have fizzled out.
Meanwhile 6B shots and counting of quite amazing and successful vaccines have been given. Science!
I believe there are several live attenuated vaccines for COVID-19 still in development. Why is it that you were/are in such a rush to get a vaccine in your body? Are you old and/or fat? Do you have other comorbidities? You can tell us. We’re all friends here. When Trump was in charge, you probably were among the doubters who cried that getting a vaccine out by the end of 2020 was unscientific wishful thinking. Biden and Harris were openly promoting vaccine hesitancy. A predictable volte-face.
While I don’t agree with the sentiment of the post you replied to, it is disingenuous for you to put words in his mouth. He never mentioned covid deaths and then you berate him for denying information regarding deaths.
Reading comprehension apparently does not win out over preconceived ideas and bias.
James,
How did you escape vaccinations for MMR, polio, etc… ? You didn’t and this is the same damn thing; a vaccine against a horrific disease.
I never thought I would become radicalized however if you are not vaccinated then you have no business being on an airplane.
United’s mandate has already taken effect. The workforce there is smarter than this. They know that without vaccines, there is no chance to return to a “new normal.” United should be the shining star here with no flight disruptions here.
The 2000 United employees who object to the mandate and violation of their civil rights just got a temporary restraining order against United.
99.98 % survival rate. If you are vaxed, why do you care ?
Their answer is they “care about others”.
The truth is far different. Everything is a test for liberals to see how far they can push their control. This is the 3.5 Trillion bill under a different form. Covid was a convenient opportunity to push their narrative. Notice it is the left pushing the mandates. Many conservatives like myself are vaccinated because I did the pros and cons and decided to get it. But we believe others can make the same choice for themselves, the left doesn’t. Let’s Go Brandon!
Anti-vax people who tout COVID-19’s “survival rate” are just exposing their stupidity. There is a WIDE spectrum of outcomes between recovery/survival — and death. If people choose not to educate themselves about the vast array of long-hauler problems that may last the rest of their lives, so be it. Virtually all of the current deaths are unvaccinated people. Are you snowflakes seriously not able to connect the dots? Just don’t ask me to pay for ANY of your medications, hospitalizations, or ventilator down the road when a more virulent mutated strain down the road puts us all at risk again.
Obesity kills more people than COVID-19. Do you object to paying for all the health problems of fat people? Obesity is socially contagious. Fat folx are literal murderers (and suiciders).
Hey asshat – are you able to divide 700,000 by ~45,000,000? Try that and then get back to me…know maths are hard for the Far Right living in their own bubble.
See how UA-CCP uses the number 45 million for US COVID -19 cases? That is about a third of the CDC estimate of total infections as of May 2021 (120.1 million). UA-CCP was never one for accuracy or truth, though. Keep the insults and lies coming, comrade! Make Lysenko proud!
Anti-vaxxing eunuch, said that you can’t go to Italy anymore? They don’t like anti-vaxxing ‘Murican aholes like you. Good riddance.
I was in Giudecca yesterday evening and encountered a seventysomething Venetian woman who told my companion and me that we didn’t need to wear masks outside (we only had them under our chins because we’d just left a museum with an exhibition on Mario De Biasi). She remains unvaccinated and thinks the Green Pass restrictions will be overturned. This was just a random woman on the street. On what basis does UA-CCP makes statements about Italian sentiments? I’ll be going out for some cicchetti shortly. U mad, bro?
Also, please note that UA-CCP never counters the points I make about the “data” he presents. He never does!
Well said, Matthew. Exactly why when we go into client meetings I don’t talk about my political views, or display them. I expect the same in return. We can banter about the Giants vs Dodgers. But that’s it. Lest we all lose sight of common decency and doing our jobs.
Corporate culture inundates all it touches with “DEI” propaganda and all other manner of corporate wokeness. It demanded that everyone – EVERYONE – bend the knee for George Floyd. How can you now say “leave your politics at home”?
The answer is that your standard for politics you agree with is very different than your standard for politics you disagree with.
Not in my world. It is very clear. There are no politics within a deal. Nor will we work with anyone that forces the subject in our meetings. The reality is that, despite the noise from the edges, a vast majority of us are moderates on either side. We just want to do our work and prosper. Will I voice my opinions here in blogs or outside of business? Sure. But once the door opens to work no one will ever know my leanings. Or the anger I felt during the Trump years for his behavior.
I think politics is leeching in when one is forced by a political decree to do something against their will to be deemed employable. We used to be able to make choices for ourselves. Back in the days of mean tweets…
Back before the most popular president in American history was elected. With his 38% approval rating, it’s obvious everyone thinks mandates are great!
Alas, the dark winter is upon us. Buy some extra food. It’s going to get bad.
Any 21st century moron who puts their “Don’t tread on me” out there for public consumption needs to be presented with an itemized list of how much public/government money or subsidies went towards their education, employer, and health care. And then a second list of how much they’ve actually paid in taxes.
The government better keep their hands off my Medicare, indeed
I don’t understand the controversy. If SWA pilots cannot comply with their employers rules, they need to find another job.
This makes me a little hesitant to fly SWA. Do they have a bunch of rogue pilots who refuse to obey the rules?
I’ve read that many of their pilots are ex-military, hence their stance. The military is also having their own problem with their vax mandates. Nevertheless, thanks to Matthew for showing these images that most would otherwise not see.
It is SWA’s mandate that is a violation of the pilot’s contract. The management team apparently can’t obey the rules.
Where is you grave concern over political statements from athletes? It seems like the left will only allow politics in life if it is for their side. Like the left has said for years – this is their opportunity to be heard, just like athletes all over, they are taking the opportunity to be heard. Get over your fake concern for political activism because you only show concern when it is against your side.
Oh please. I don’t support kneeling during the National Anthem either…
Your analogy is RIDICULOUS. Many employers, including sports leagues/teams, provide latitude for expressing their sentiments or opinions. Admit it, the problem is that you don’t want to see it. Conservative outrage always seems to dry up when it comes to prayers at meetings, and other actions that align with their narrative. That’s really a “you” problem, taking issue between an employer (sports team/league) and employee (athlete).
So this guy will suckle at the government’s teat in order to get training as a pilot, but the second it says “hey, to prevent the spread of a deadly and preventable disease in a profession that is very high risk, we need you to get vaccinated” he’s suddenly less interested in helping out.
Fine. But you need to find another career.
I’m sympathetic to your view that politics has no place in the cockpit. And that the workplace isn’t a place to push opinions on political issues. I also believe that the vaccines are safe and effective and that everyone eligible should be getting them.
However,
I also think a lot of employees are very justifiably upset over being forced into getting vaccinated. There is no medical justification (in terms of work place safety) for an airline to require its pilots to get vaccinated. Therefore a lot of pilots very understandably view this as a massive intrusion on their rights. An intrusion that while it may have started with the federal government is being pushed forward by the airlines. As it stands now people who don’t get vaccinated will be fired period. Faced with that reality it’s not at all surprising that pilots are pursuing the only options available to them individually. Especially given the deadlines involved and the fact that many airlines were slow to take positions on what they would require those who don’t want to get vaccinated have been left very little time to take action which is increasing the sense of anger and desperation in those who don’t want to get vaccinated.
I may feel strongly that vaccines are safe and effective. But I know I have fellow pilots who feel equally strongly that they are not. That they have been hastily developed and carry potentially life threatening long term unanticipated effects. Those people feel like they have been put in a place where they can either lose their jobs with all that entails or sacrifice their health. It should be no surprise that backed into that corner they are going to fight back by any means at their disposal.
Give me a break. They are extremely high risk people when it comes to being a vector for the disease. If they are really that concerned on the safety of the vaccine (likely because of some unsourced/erroneously sourced FB article they read), then that’s OK – they just can’t continue to put the flying public at risk. If it’s really that sincerely held, this is a sacrifice they should be ready to make.
My experience with folks like this? It’s almost universally the same thing a 5 year old does when you tell them to eat their vegs. They just don’t want to be told what to do, no matter how sensible and necessary it might be.
Dan,
We flew (and still do) unmasked through the whole of this pandemic. Despite that I’m not aware of any evidence that pilots were a source of Covid infections in other than minuscule numbers on the job. At my airline I’m not aware of any cases of pilots transmitting the disease on the job.
Hence why I don’t believe you can make a medical case for why this has to be done.
Flight crew being vectors for transmission is a well documented phenomenon in countries where they actually do contact tracing competently.
…and yet amazingly, having hundreds of thousands of unvacceinated illegal immigrants crossing into our country and being shuttled further into it’s interior…is apparently not a phenomenon for spreading the virus.
Just one of the many reasons its very hard to take our government’s mandates and fearmongering seriously.
“I’m not aware…”
Meaning you’ve done no research and apparently don’t plan to… but you’re still going to offer your opinion.
@Pete and Dan, you are the ones making a claim about airline crews (and we should be talking specifically about pilots) being superspreaders. I am only aware of a couple possible incidents of spread on flights. It is incumbent upon you to provide evidence to justify the abrogation of our rights. I have flown almost mostly long-haul flights during the pandemic (longer exposure times) and have yet to get sick (also yet to get vaccinated). U mad, bros?
1. I’m free to offer my opinion that’s what this whole thread basically is. Opinions
2. I didn’t say I’d done no research. I said I’m not aware which means I have no data that supports a contrary conclusion but am open minded enough to realize that I don’t know everything and that contrary data could exist. Do you have such data regarding pilots being a source of infection on the job?
I agree you should only take the vaccines if you want them not if the government forces you
Statistics speak louder than media people do not check statistics
That’s fine. Now in the future I will refrain from wearing my seat belt when you turn it on. Don’t impede on my right to choose for myself and my personal freedom as I read somewhere on the internet that they can restrict blood flow or trap me in case of an emergency.
Perhaps he would “shut up and fly” if the government left him alone. I am pro vaccine but not pro mandate. This is not the pilots’ fault they are just responding to what the government started and should have seen coming.
I would never want to get on a plane that was piloted with a rogue insubordinate pilot like that.
NO STEP ON SNEK
If the FAs can wear BLM swag and dye their hair purple then I don’t see why pilots can’t express their opinions – unless you hold the typical leftist belief that your opinions are more important
In my part of the country – and in many other parts I’ve visited – this flag has become synonymous with racism and bigotry regardless of its original symbolism. And it’s often seen flying with the “stars and bars” here – and no, there’s no such thing as “heritage, not hate”, no matter what kind of mental gymnastics someone does to justify it. I’m sure there are one or two exceptions to that rule, but anecdotally I’m going to assume certain things about the person who flies it, and none of them are good.
“– this flag has become synonymous with racism and bigotry regardless of its original symbolism. ”
Oh gasp, imagine that. When everything is racist, nothing is. I hope you don’t have any old bottles of Aunt Jemima syrup or boxes of Uncle Ben’s rice in your pantry. But no worries, I promise I won’t call you an unwoken hypocrite if you do.
Hit a little too close to home, Tim? Don’t like being called a racist publicly? Funny how folks like you know it’s bad to be called a racist but can’t seem to figure out that it’s also bad to be a racist.
BLM is racist and Marxist. Do you condone the display of BLM paraphernalia?
Well, you bring up two points:
1. I don’t really, no. I’m not a huge fan of politics in the workplace, regardless of the side of the fence.
2. Please have a better understanding of Marxism before assigning it to things you simply don’t like or things you disagree with. It’ll serve you much better in the long run.
The founders of BLM are avowed Marxists. Are you so naive to believe that the goal of BLM is simply to ensure black folx get a fair shake?
https://nypost.com/2020/06/25/blm-co-founder-describes-herself-as-trained-marxist/
https://therealnews.com/maduro0929harlem
https://www.heritage.org/progressivism/commentary/marxism-underpins-black-lives-matter-agenda
That flag is mostly used by inbred trailer trash.
I’m not sure I’d go that far necessarily, but it’s definitely a hallmark of the rural whites in my area. The sort of folk that will never be impacted by a tax on income above $400k but will vociferously oppose it and claim “This is communism!” or “This is socialist BS!” all while being more than happy to receive government handouts in the form of welfare or subsidized school lunches or Social Security. And they’re in one of those red states that receives more in government funding than it pays backs. But, of course, they will also cry foul when they see a POC receiving the same things and roll out terms like “Welfare Queen” and the like. We clearly have an education problem in this country, specifically in the Midwest and South, as evidenced by the two comments above yours.
Matthew, respectfully, you are wrong. Sometimes the only language a bully knows is a punch in the face. Many CEO’s and leaders are sociopathic bullies. They are, by definition, incapable of seeing anything other than their own career mission. They will throw you and your family under the bus and devastate your life so long as their own lives are comfortable.
Look at how many politicians (government CEO’s) openly throw hand grenades at each other. Most of us would never do that, or even think of doing that to our fellow colleagues. It’s open season for these guys. A strong leader is someone who’s willing to kill, because otherwise they will get killed instead. I get it. But when that infighting spreads to the peasant class, that’s when the underlings need to start fighting back.
Hats off to the brave employees of Southwest! Huge disdain to the media, (including facebook, twitter, etc because they are today’s media giants) for censoring news. Amerika is now headed quickly to replace China as the worlds authority in news censorship! Sad times…
Dave. Thanks for the tip!! Word of mouth is the best advertiser. Don’t be bitching when SW bookings drop and layoffs arrive, cause… winters coming. LOL…
You are kidding right? If what you are saying is the case then leave the mandatory vaccines out and let the pilots do their job. Southwest pushed the button. What happened to choice.?Why can’t they be tested periodically. Obviously SW is not as worried about the public as. you are
Hey Matt, you little bitch. I’m sure you do wish they would just shut up and fly the plane .. unfortunately, the only reason you’re able to make these stupid biased liberal articles is because you’re in a free country, you get to sleep peacefully because you’re in a free country, you get to shop when you want, choose what you want for your own life don’t you? These pilots are standing up for CHOICE, for FREEDOM OF CHOICE .. which is what America is all about. If you don’t agree, take your little bitch ass & move to Cuba or China. They LOVE people that will submit to their authority.
I realize you are emotional, but I’ve seen the dead bodies of those who have not been vaccinated. It’s tragic. And needless. But I’ve never argued for the mandate on a personal basis – I’ve simply argued that companies likely have the legal right to mandate this.
Every pilot has a choice about whether they get vaccinated. No one is telling them that they don’t have a choice. No one in America has been forcefully injected by COVID vaccine. The problem is that the pilots don’t like the consequences that go with their OWN CHOICE about vaccines. I can understand this because most of the choices I have made in my life came with consequences, and for really any adult evaluation of choices and consequences is a constant throughout life. It would be really cool if choices did not have consequences, but by golly it sure seems hard to separate the two.
But the good news is, they are free to make other choices, not just this one – because this is America, and America is all about FREEDOM OF CHOICE. They can work elsewhere, they can work in another field, they can retire. They can do whatever they want. That’s what’s great about AMERICA!
I’ve been hearing for over a year that pretty soon someone is going to start an airline where masks are not required and the employees are not required to be vaccinated, they are going to build their own airports rather than use airports funded by the socialist leftist government. I’ve been told that the airline is going to be huge, because a lot more people would be flying right now if there were just no COVID precautions. So, that’s going to be a great opportunity for these pilots. I am sure it’s all going to happen and there will be a big announcement in two weeks.
I have to laugh at your mock outrage. It’s also a CHOICE whether or not to wear your seatbelt when you drive. Please do tell us all how the people who comply in the name of safety are also “not what America is all about” and how you have led protests against seatbelt restrictions, stopping at red lights, and driving on the right side of the road. This clown show is hilarious.
Who says seatbelt mandates for cars are just?
And by not protesting them you reveal yourself to be a shill for Big Seatbelt and a card carrying commie comrade
Funny how 99.9999% of the time these problems are in either Florida or Texas? Home to the Americans that just won’t pull their heads out of their $##es, and insist on living in the past. Go at it….
If Abbott is a man of his word, should ban the MMR and Polio vaccines too. No mandates anywhere, anytime! Otherwise he’s just another whiny little Republican b!tch.
There UA-CCP goes again, conflating the safety and long history of use of the measles and polio vaccines with the novel mRNA ones. SMH! (as UA-CCP would say).
Polio and Measles vaccines were doled out in measured increments over a limited population that took decades to cover even a limited segment of the world’s population. If something went wrong, the impact was minimal.
Vaccinating everyone overnight, on the otherhand, puts the whole nation in a basket, hoping that that basket won’t crumble. Are you absolutely sure the boys at Pfizer didn’t miss anything? Short-term the vaccine is safe. (kinda-sorta) But long term, it’s a crap shoot. What if there is damage that only becomes apparent long term? (are we dealing with another fen phen here?) What about rare cancers or even a mis-folded protein. (ie. prion = mad cow disease) Prion, by the way has an incubation period of 10 years and is 100% fatal.
Think about where our nation would be if by some rare chance something like this would happen. I would rather have 20 million people die from covid because the anger would be directed at the virus. But what if something went wrong with the vaccine and loved ones started dying en masse? Now the anger would be directed at every politician, every government official, every doctor, every CEO, every person who pushed or mandated the vaccine. We would have an angry mob of a 100 million on our hands, burning down the Capitol and every government building in sight. Rioting won’t even make the news because everyone’s going to be sick. The police and military won’t help either because they have family too. As people start dying in their homes, supermarkets will go empty, gas stations will shut down, and even electricity will go out. And those who think they will be safe with guns won’t live long enough to use it. We will have a real life Mad Max on our hands, but without the rusted cars.
I cant help but wonder how incredibly foolish Biden is for mandating the possibility of an apocalypse, however rare it may be. If something like this should happen, there will be no recovery, not for thousands of years. Goodbye internet, goodbye cellphones, goodbye to the wealth of knowledge we accumulated. Dumb, dumb, dumb. Absolutely Dumb!
Hey, if Red State people don’t want the jab, fine with me.
They die and then there’s more Blue voters.
Do I care if they take their family of 5 kids with them? Certainly not. The more stupid people that shuffle off this mortal coil, the better it is for the rest of us.
My issue with the Gadsden Flag is that it essentially says that the person displaying it is incapable of making any effective argument against whatever it is that they’re against. Because they know that their views are irrational they feel that threatening people – gotta love the angry fanged snake as a none-too-subtle analogy – for having the temerity to disagree with them is the way to go. You could make a strong argument that that makes these Gadsden flag wavers are just a pack of snowflakes because they simply can’t accept facts but really we should pity them.
For the pilots protesting: get rated for gulfstreams, et al with those small charter and fractional operators that won’t require the vax. Or get the vaccine and keep your comfortable WN career. If you’re worried about side effects, first read the 150+ pages of known adverse drug events for aspirin, acetaminophen, & ibuprofen. Matthew’s wife can procure copies of the ADEs for you!
Wow what a bunch of libtard morons commenting on this site.
Anyone trashing the Gadsden flag should move their ass to North Korea and then choose which of the approved haircuts they want.
Regardless of whether or not the vaccine is safe or unsafe works or does not work is irrelevant.
No human should force another human to shoot some unnatural or natural substance into their body against their will. I love how you double tonged communist leftists talk about women’s rights saying my body my choice and then all of a sudden when the vaccine comes up suddenly we have no rights to our own bodies.
It’s quite clear now that lefty’s don’t believe in individual liberties at all they only claim to when they get the satisfaction of murdering an unborn child.
And don’t give me this BS about taking the vaccine to protect yourself or others because you have more chance of dying from the flu than from covid. CDC gives a 99.98% rate of survival.
STOP WATCHING CNN AND THINK FOR YOURSELF!!!!!
Any employee has the free will to work for an employer that doesn’t require vaccines. Believe it or not, consent is required to administer the vaccine.
Coerced consent*
It’s the free market at work. WN doesn’t have to partake in government contracts, and pilots don’t have to work for WN. There’s nothing coerced about it. Isn’t this the sort of small government free market conservatives drone on about? You know, a private company doing whatever it chooses with no government interaction? You can’t have it both ways. It’s just so sadly common that conservatives would now be against a free market when it doesn’t align with their backwards belief system.
It’s absolutely coerced in some cases. Obviously this is an elitist blog where the majority of readers are privileged and well off. Not everyone is so privileged to have the ability to just leave their career on a whim, especially if they have kids. Yes, many pilots can, but not all can.. Hence at least some are coerced into feeding their families. Obviously on the flip side many are rushing to get this vaccine. It’s their savior, their communion, their sacrament, their confirmation, to use religious terms. COVID is the trendy new religion. Most Americans are spiritually empty, so this new adoration is a blessing to some. If they only had any idea. Also, I’m not a conservative, despite aligning with some principles. I am just someone who realizes this country was founded on freedom, PERIOD. I believe in absolute medical freedom. Yeah, conservatives went against that trying to stop the murder of the unborn. Forgive them. The New Hampshire state motto says it best. LIVE FREE OR DIE. Bunch of sheep in this country.
The elephant in the room here is union seniority where senior pilots will pay dearly for leaving WN (and flying for delta or a smaller private org).
And even small private charters are increasingly requiring vaccines.
The only way to guarantee yourself medical freedom is to work for yourself. Medical professionals have long had to submit themselves to far more than a yearly vaccine. Now the rules of the game have changed at airlines—which have taken safety culture much farther than medical professionals IMHO. Everyone has the right to be upset but that’s the price we all pay working for corporations.
I support anyone fighting/taking a stand for freedom from government coercion that’s detrimental to the White Christian public. Anyone who opposes those from doing the above should be viewed harshly.
Tell everyone your a racist bigot without actually telling them you’re a racist bigot.
Work is where they pay me to do stuff I often don’t want to do or don’t like. That’s why they pay me. My employer refuses to require vaccines or masks. I feel unsafe there. They didn’t ask me what I think, what I believe, or what I like.
Their position is that I can leave if I don’t like it. I need the money so I stay. I hope I don’t get sick or die because my employer doesn’t follow public health advice and doesn’t provide a safe work environment. They pay me to put up with stuff I normally wouldn’t. There are lots of people like me. It’s the human condition.
Why do pilots think they’re any different? Don’t like your employers policies? Stay and put up with it or leave .
Should have held up a “Let’s Go Brandon” sign instead.
Is it wrong to ask sports players to simply play the game and save workplace grievances and politics for after hours?
No, it is not. Seeing people kneel makes me not watch football…
Not related to the article but this is huge.
SAS, Wideroe and Norwegian are dropping mask requirements on flights in Scandinavia!
“Just because you’re important doesn’t mean you’re irreplaceable.” He should have learned that in the Navy, too.
You’re the exact type of person who will scream how great it is for professional athletes to use their workplace as center stage to protest but whine when someone holding a contrary political viewpoint does the same thing. You, sir, are a complete hypocrite.