Originally Posted by
TenYearsGone
DALPA volunteers and paid members are working extremly hard; I appreciate and support it. My only gripe is, DALPA/ALPA needs to be a little more uncompromising in our negotiations for C2015. The good times will not last. We need to capture and maintain equity while there is still a chance.
Agreed.
Originally Posted by
TenYearsGone
That is a good idea to promote these pilots. Do you think they have a chance? Do you think that they will be appointed a position on the committee if their stance or approach to negotiations is a little bit more hard-hitting than their predecessors? I am of the school of thought that big groups tend to promote and recruit people of like-mind or people that can be persuaded to conform.
They do tend to do so. However, someone who is truly smart enough to be ultimately successful at the table should know how to convince others of his talents and abilities. It may sometimes take herculean efforts to do so, but the end result can be worth it.
When the Delta MEC elected its Merger Committee in 2008, the MEC was reportedly very split on retaining the one member from the prior committee -- John Morgado. He was alleged to be too aggressive to fit in well with the remaining three candidates. In the end, the MEC decided to expand the committee to four members to make room for John. From what I've heard, he wound up being a highly valued and respected member of the committee.
With respect to this week's elections, reports indicate that HK was narrowly defeated for Chairman because certain folks felt that he would be too aggressive. I find it humorous that Morgado is now considered to be the more mainstream choice.
I believe that any pilot who feels he has the skills and drive to contribute should make himself known to his fellow pilots and to his reps. As I said, if he truly has the skills to make Anderson open his wallet significantly, surely he has the ability to convince his fellow pilots of those skills.