I think they are just asking for their world to be a better place

Steve works for a major airline. I think that has been established by now, but just to be clear...  Steve's company is in the middle of negotiations for the pilot contract.  Negotiations have been going on for 3 years now, and there is no light at the end of the tunnel. 

We had a good couple hours in the car the other day, and Steve was just frustrated as can be about the status of things right now.  There must have been recent talk on his web boards or something, which sparked something in him.  He talked about things for a good while.

I don't follow industry news all that much.  I get my news from Steve.  Since Steve doesn't talk about work much, I don't get all the much info.  I have to say, after talking to him I am glad I work for a small company that cares for me - directly.  The one thing about working for a big company is that he is just a number.  The president of my company is just a stones throw away from my desk.  The president of Steve's company doesn't even know Steve's face from John Doe's face.  Granted, there are thousands upon thousands of pilots for the company, so it would be impossible to know every pilots face, but you get my point. 

I wish that people of power with big companies would treat their employees as real people who have real families and have real lives, and are really affected by big decisions....make Steve more than just an employee number or a bottom line number.  This is his life...this is our life.  His job is a part of who he is, and it has formed the life that we have.  When decisions are made they not only affect him, they affect me, and our kids...they affect our life! 

This even goes for all the box stores that are opening on Thanksgiving night at midnight for that Black Friday stuff.  Instead of thinking of dollar signs, think about all the employees that will be sleeping through Thanksgiving in order to prepare to work.  For the record, I won't be shopping on Black Friday.  I will be at home, enjoying time with my family. These employees are real people with real families that are really affected by the decision to open the doors at midnight.  And this is even coming from someone who has a husband that works on most holidays, and I still have empathy for these people.

I have a college business degree, so I like to think I know a thing-or-two about a thing-or-two in the business world.  I work in the business world, for a financial services company.  It is a small business.  I don't think I will ever be able to wrap my brain around big corporate America.  I totally get the small business world, but not the vastness of the corporate business world.  Having said all this, i still think the basics of business are still the same.  And the basics of being a good company to work for, in terms of employee moral and benefits and environment, are the same. And the basics of being a good person are still the same. 

Call me naive, call me rosy, call me unrealistic.  Call me whatever you want.  All I ask is that decisions with this contract are made for the best interest of the pilots first and foremost.  Make my husband happy.  I don't think the pilots are asking for the world...I think they are just asking for their world to be a better place.  They deserve it.