TWO CENTS WORTH CONCERNING AGE 60 RULE

I would like to add my "two cents worth" concerning the Age 60 rule. Those of us who are chronologically advantaged (read that: old) will remember the upheaval accompanying the 1960s civil rights movement. The political and economic landscape of this country was forever transformed.
The surge in black business activity, while creating a short-term detriment to some, created far more beneficial effects for all in the long run.
Today, the Age 60 rule is no less an important issue. While none of us has to face fire hoses and Billy clubs like the protesters of the 1960s, the point remains: we, as a group, are denied the right to work by a rule based solely on age. Some of our fellow pilots contend that, for unity's sake, we should ignore this issue altogether until the company relinquishes its insistence that the seniority list remain intact. However, addressing the issue in this manner is both divisive and shortsighted.
Divisive because it artificially creates two groups: "them" (a faceless group of senior pilots who simply want to fatten their retirement) and "us" (a younger, less senior group who see upgrade unfairly extended by repeal of the rule). Let's assign at least one human face to the "them" group: me. When I came to work for Southwest over eight years ago, I had no idea that, like many of you, I would suffer the pain and economic dislocation of a divorce. What I now face is both having lost a big chunk of my retirement and profit sharing and having a very limited time (less than 9 years, absent repeal of the rule) to make up the difference. Note that I am not asking for preferential treatment, only to work at a job I enjoy as long as I'm qualified to do so. To deny me that right to work simply because someone else must postpone their personal gain uses the same rationale repeatedly used in the 1960s to deny other people their rights.
The aforementioned stance is shortsighted because the advance of the calendar has a peculiar way of transforming "them" into "us". Some of our fellow pilots have very eloquently stated how flying past age 60 is more than a pension fattening luxury. Many junior pilots with whom I've spoken view this issue in the context of their lives as they are at this moment, with no hint of change on the horizon. As September 11th dramatically demonstrated, life can change in very short order and in ways totally unforeseen. Those viewing the issue in terms of personal economics should really listen to their fellow pilots who are dealing with such challenges. If they are truly in favor of unity, they will factor that information into the formulation of their opinions......................
Capt. Pete McCarthy
Southwest Airlines

Reprinted from SWAPA Reporting Point Express Letter to Editor - Thanks
Captain Ron Richtsmeier
PAAD Vice-Chairman