Originally Posted by
forgot to bid
Alga,
If one does not agree with the direction of the MEC, what recourse do they have but to recall their own rep? What if the rep is doing what they want but is out numbered? Then what recourse is left?
You are without a voice in that case.
Btw
Alga=Alfa when iPhone auto correct is on. Sick of arguing with the phone.
Democracy means sometimes you lose. If you are a Democrat or Republican you are either not happy with the House or the Senate, depending upon the color of your stripes. That is Democracy.
If your rep agrees with you and is in the minority, then what makes you think that a general election would have any different outcome? The MEC Chairman is not the leader of the union, he is the leader of the MEC Administration. The MEC sets policy direction and the Administration executes that policy. If both the MEC Chairman and the MEC are setting policy direction, then who wins, who decides? By having a clear chain of command:
Pilots >> MEC >> Chairman >> Committees
you always know who to hold accountable. If the committees aren't getting the job done, then the Chairman needs to give them a kick or find new guys. (exception, Negotiators and Merger Committee are elected) If the Chairman can't execute the policy of the MEC then he should be replaced. If the MEC doesn't follow the wishes of their pilots, then they should be recalled. That is how the chain of command works.
At the APA you had a situation where the Board wanted to move in one direction and the President wanted to move in the other. The result was gridlock and inaction. American now has spent 5 years in negotiations without a nickel to show for it. If they got 3% a year for those five years, their Captains would average another $25-30,000 a year more in compensation. If they matched Delta at 5% per year (4 pay, 1 DC) they would now make about $40,000 more per year. It's not a 51% raise but I doubt most pilots would turn their noses up at the 40K.
That my friend is the cost of gridlock. Despite the calls for "retro pay" they will never recover that lost money, maybe a fraction. Pilots should hold their reps accountable but they should avoid a situation where gridlock and inaction makes you forfeit the time value of money. You certainly don't want to be sitting in mid-2017 looking at your paycheck and seeing the same numbers you will see next January. I sure don't.