That's like Fox News calling themselves "Fair and Balanced". The point was made that there would be a CBA negotiated, and then ALPA voted upon. You said "then why do you need ALPA?". If you had said "then why do you need ALPA to negotiate a contract", then fine. But with a blanket statement like yours, it didn't sound to me like you were just talking about contract negotiations. And with your negative feelings about ALPA, I suspect that's exactly how you wanted it to read.

Im not going to bother going through this point by point again, but I will say that I didn't get from any of your posts that you were for an independent union. I'm glad that you are pro-Union, just not pro-ALPA. I don't know if Tone is for the same or just anti-union in general... not clear from his posts in this thread.

Your thread has some "alleged"'s and some inaccuracies. I'll just give one example. ALPA most CERTAINLY supports strikes by ALPA members. It's NOT just individual member airlines.

Funding for the Comair pilots' strike preparations come from an initial $2 million allocation made in September 1998 from ALPA's Major Contingency Fund, which currently has a balance of $70 million. Using these funds, Comair pilots have established strike centers in Cincinnati and Orlando and initiated a full range of strike preparation activities.

My main concern is that my friends at jetBlue have representation. If its ALPA, great, as I think we can get more done under one umbrella - even though it has some large holes in it. But if they went independent, I'd have zero problem with that. I'd also definitely be interested in some sort of ALPA Major union since scope is such a key to a pilot's QOL.

I do think perhaps you should go back and review "Flying the Line" again. ALPA's record is FAR from perfect, but I still challenge you to name an organization that has fought longer, harder, and more successfully for the pilot profession than ALPA.