Originally Posted by
scambo1
PG;
I'm NOT going to let you hide behind ALPA natl's little blurb in their merger policy where they say they are a neutral. Its a one liner. The SW group is extorting seniority here from AT. I have said all along that this sli was the test of ALPA's relevance.
If this is the joint position that will get sent to the pilots for a vote, I have to ask you or anyone; what is the point of having ALPA at all? aeromedical? (Which I beleive is getting spun off).
If alpa allows its pilot groups to be held at gunpoint and robbed by a little union that has "never raised the bar on anything" how can anyone say alpa is worth even having around. McFly...
As I've said all along, ALPA is not the fairy godmother; they can't control/prevent everything that could happen to every one of their members. The job of ALPA National is to present the real world options to the AirTran pilots so that they can make an informed decision as to the best course of action. And then to defend whatever decision that pilot group makes to the utmost of their legal capabilities. But make no mistake, this will be the AirTran pilots making the decision, NOT anyone from ALPA National.
ALPA can't make a relative seniority integration (or whatever anyone on this board deems is fair) happen. If the best legal minds say taking the current proposal to arbitration is the best approach, I would fully expect ALPA national to recommend that; if on the other hand, those same minds say that the risks outweigh the potential benefits, I would expect them to say that too. Then the AirTran pilots get to decide.
The fundamental difference between those involved in ALPA (at all levels, from pilots to lawyers, to other professionals) and those who post on this forum, is that ALPA has a responsibility to make judgements in the world we all live in; not the one we want to live in. Meaning, often times, a partial win is better than a swing for the fences and quite likely strike out. Whereas on this board, it is always easy to say you should swing for the fences, because that path is seldom taken, and so the strike outs never materialize. But when they do, the pain far exceeds that of a partial win. One need look no further than APA and USAPA to see that.