Originally Posted by Carl Spackler

Great letter here from the Council 20 (DTW) Secretary/Treasurer who is running to be the new FO rep. I wish his statement on Scope had been stronger, but a good letter all in all:

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Fellow Council 20 Pilots,

I hope all of you managed to have a good holiday. Despite the ups and downs of this industry we still have much to be thankful for. Whether you were able to be home or were on the road, I hope you were able to find a moment of holiday spirit with family and loved ones or friends and co-workers (and hopefully an open restaurant for a decent holiday meal).

We are now less than two weeks from the conclusion of the C20 First Officer special election process that ends 1000 EST, 10 January 2012. Thank you for your participation in the shorter than normal nominating process. As one of the two nominees, I am asking for your vote as the C20 First Officer Rep. (click above or see instructions below to vote, or change your vote)

I believe I have the depth and breadth of recent experience with ALPA, the airline industry, Delta, and the Delta MEC to best represent you, starting with a special MEC meeting covering contract negotiations scheduled less than 2 weeks after the election, in what will likely be a tumultuous and eventful year for the DAL pilots. I currently serve as the Council 20 / DTW Secretary Treasurer. I have also been previously elected as the Membership Committee and Information Systems Committee (yes, we used to elect) Committee Chairmen. I won’t need any “spool up” time to hit the ground running at the start of this term – I already am, and feel I can best represent the C20 and DAL pilots moving forward as a voting member of the MEC.

Like many of you, I have ridden both the ups and downs of this career – this is now my third major airline, following military and corporate aviation. I have been a narrow body F/O very close to furlough during bankruptcy, and have spent most of my career being awarded to, then displaced from various aircraft. I have been a narrow body Captain only to have that outsourced beneath me as I parked my last DC9 flight between two 76 seater’s that replaced, not grew, mainline flying, I get the SCOPE issue – and I can assure you that I will NEVER support any TA, or LOA, that has any additional seat, pound, or airframe relief in Section 1.

I am currently a First Officer on the 744, (recently displaced and awaiting training on the 330) and appreciate first hand the issues unique to both international and domestic operations. I have had the opportunity to experience the perspective of almost all sides of this operation and have like many of you, through the vagaries of this industry, external events, and some questionable choices by ALPA now found myself as an older, relatively junior First Officer in what many consider the “Dead Zone” of the seniority list. Also like many of you, this contract term will cover the majority of the remainder of my career and is crucial in recouping our investment and sacrifice in DAL’s success.

Like many volunteers over the years, my motivation to get involved was, and still is, a result of my disappointment and disillusionment with what I’ve seen and experienced, and the desire to change it to better represent the line pilots whom ALPA works for. There are MANY, MANY great, smart, and capable volunteers doing day-to-day ALPA work whose sole goal is to represent and provide benefits to the pilot group to the best of their abilities.

Having said that, I share the many concerns about ALPA that many of you have, including those about some key “volunteers”.* One of the negative aspects are the very limited group of “career” volunteers who rarely turn a wheel and are insulated from, and out of touch with, the pilots they work for, the questionable choices and decisions they make as a result, and the cronyism they foster to keep themselves in inordinately well-paid positions while identifying themselves more as “management” than the line pilots who pay their salaries and expenses through dues and value taken from the contract. Some of these individuals are as big an impediment to improving our pay and benefits as management and need to be “thanked for their service”, then sent back to the line. I am also extremely disappointed with those who have little “fight in the dog” to represent DAL pilot interests and who use excuses that there is little or no or contractual language – which they had a hand in guiding - while simply accepting management actions (or lack thereof) “as the way it is”.

ALPA is an imperfect organization that is only as good as those who volunteer and participate at any level in the organization and the process. Whether you vote for me or for Scott – I urge all of you to participate in the election and voting process, as well as serve your fellow pilots in some capacity at some point in your career. At the very least become or stay informed, and please VOTE!

Thank you for your time and consideration, and I look forward to earning the privilege to represent you as the C20 First Officer representative. Please do not hesitate to call or write if you have any questions.

Fraternally,


Drew Massey