Originally Posted by
slowplay
If what you allege is true, why would ALPA settle the cases above? Wouldn't CWS profit more if they litigated?
Can you explain why ALPA felt it more prudent to settle those cases rather than litigate? Was there a trail of e-mails in the UAL case that showed pilots might not have listened to the advice they were given?
I think they settled because they were afraid the judgments might be so large that it would kill the golden goose.
Originally Posted by
slowplay
Now we come to the meat of your post. You don't like ALPA Intl, so you try to pin "blame" on the organization and its legal advisors. Is that what they taught you in law school?
I blame the pilots who have been unable or unwilling to control the growth of ALPA Int'l. I think we need to elect some true reformers who will enforce some fiscal restraint on that beast. In the simplest terms -- ALPA National is too big and it spends too much. I think they have lost sight of truly serving their constituents and are focused more on sustaining their empire. They are like any other giant bureaucracy. Like the japanese government (and increasingly our own government) the elected types come and go but they are unable to overcome the power and inertia of the permanent establishment.
In law school they teach to go after the people with the deep pockets. In large part I think ALPA National has made themselves a target of big lawsuits precisely because they have the resources to absorb big settlements.
You are absolutely correct. There are many lawyers out there who have made lucrative careers out of either suing or defending ALPA. They like it that way and they have zero incentive to put an end to it. On either side.
As long as we keep sending in our dues they will keep consuming them.
