Expansion

The other day I got into a conversation with a Chicago F/O who was miffed about the potential for CAL opening a 737 base at ORD, and that we may open a 320 base at IAH. "The flying's gotta come from somewhere" he opined. They gain, we lose! "I'm gonna have guys 10 years junior to me takin' my flying!" I know many of you share this view. Ultimately this is what's going to happen, and an integration of seniority based on equality of relative % will happen; so unless you want our current situation for the rest of your careers, I suggest you get with the program.
The problem is, most of you can see no upside, and little wonder. You have spent your careers at United under a variety of managements, none of which cared about operations or expansion. They were all about trading assets, off balance sheet accounting, tax breaks, alliances, fuel hedges.....anything that didn't include YOU.
So along comes the Continental culture; one of expansion and growth. Efficiency and competition. They don't treat their employees with kid gloves, true.  But they pay better, offer more opportunities and expand while our culture contracts and decays into dust. And you cannot believe it. To you, it's more of the same, a zero sum game at best.
It's not. These guys want to grow and our union (with your sanction) is doing its best to prevent it by obstructing every single move.
The opening of new crew bases should be welcomed as a sign of growth, but instead small minded partisan nitpicking can be heard like broken glass in a peppermill as we wring our hands and shake our heads at "them".