Prior to announcing my candidacy for National President I heard suggestions from others with aspirations, that by supporting them this year, I would be a shoo-in for President in the next term four years from now. I was dumbfounded by that idea because I, with the membership’s voice and unity, can lead this union now. But what struck me, and I made clear, was that completely overlooks the obvious solutions to the problems with our union. We need the Youth and inexperienced!
Why would anyone suggest we need an experienced President who, four years from now, will have 36 years of flying? What has age and experience gotten us? We need unity, solidarity, good leadership and passion to grow this career into a respectable profession that people can retire from. Who better to do that than our “Newer” hires that haven’t been tainted by our past failures? We don’t need 36 yr. senior leaders in the next term, we need leaders who today have 2-20 yrs. seniority but, four years from now, will have 6-26 yrs. of experience and a whole lot more flying to go.
I plan to welcome and encourage more junior and non-experienced members to be involved in the decision making of APFA. They are the future of this profession. They are the ones that will expect to raise their pay and flexibilities so they can enjoy the benefits of this job we once had. Whether they are raising a family or traveling the world on days off, if they are once again able to enjoy this job like we all once did, we can’t help but benefit ourselves. What really brought this home to me several months ago, was when I realized after nearly 13 years, I worked with someone almost foreign to most of us now, I worked with a pregnant FA and wondered how in the heck she was going to raise a family and keep this job like we all were able to do.
