Originally Posted by
Bucking Bar
Our union has engaged in the sale of one member's job to benefit another member. That's bad. Pinnacle's restructuring represents a new, lower, level of union conduct where an alter ego is actually created with the participation of our union. Those antiquated rules to prevent such conduct have been systematically disassembled and now their meaning is attacked, as is the Delta PWA, word by word.
Bucking, I think I'm about to say something that you agree with, so please sit down in advance.
Who is "our union"? Unfortunately, we as pilots have always refused to have one union. Rather we are an Association of individual airline's pilot unions. We answer to our own MEC, rather than National, and that harms all of us ultimately. I agree with you that we should be ONE union....ALPA....but pilots are unwilling to subordinate their individual desires to an organization that big. The most they were willing to do is permit each airline to develop its own. And it is only natural that the interests of one pilot group will occasionally conflict with that of others. This doesn't mean I favor an independent union, but I do wish ALPA was a stronger national entity rather than a collection of individual airline unions. If they were, much of what you desire would occur, imo.
Originally Posted by
Bucking Bar
In its finding, the Delta MEC has redefined it's role to that of a representative of one of many vendors who perform Delta flying.
Whether we like it or not, the Delta MEC has ALWAYS been in the role of representing just one of many vendors who perform Delta flying. How is today's situation different from 5 years ago, when ASA and CMR, as well as all the others, were vendors flying aircraft painted like Delta and acting like they were Delta? As I've said, we let that cat out of the bag years ago when DALPA didn't put restrictions in the PWA to prohibit Delta from painting vendor's aircraft to look exactly like a Delta airplane. That was a tremendous failure, imo.
Originally Posted by
Bucking Bar
As a reminder of what the world looked like, just 60 days ago ... You yourself once argued that Delta flying remains Delta flying, even if permitted to be flown elsewhere. This redefinition is a change from past policy ... a big one.
What's different?
Originally Posted by
Bucking Bar
You see your friends as the defenders of our union. I say it is the members' job too. You are not unimportant. ALPA is a bottom up organization. You don't take the orders. You make the orders.
No... I don't. I elect people and empower them to make the tough decisions. If I don't like those decisions, there are options available for me. But I DON'T get a say in each and every decision. That is an untenable organizational structure and is not how ALPA works. We don't have a vote on everything, nor do I want one.
Originally Posted by
Bucking Bar
It is my hope our Representatives will want to strengthen the language which governs our association, the very language which empowers them to represent us.
On this, I am in total agreement.