Originally Posted by
full of luv
SWA and AT- Again, ALPA has very little leverage except with the law. In the end, AT pilots VOTED in that agreement either in fear or happiness depending on your take. AT ALPA could have been more militant and still be in court over the situation just as an inhouse union could have. With no union, there would have been EVEN LESS leverage in negotiations with SWA/SWAPA. It turns out in that case that it was 2 vs 1.
Agree that you pay for ALPA's national presence, but in the end they are the only voice of airline labor with any credibility to combat some of the real threats to our long term careers.
It is my understanding, correct me if I'm wrong, that, while ALPA represented AT during the merger, AT was still operating under their old contract developed by NPA which lacked critical language forcing full integration of operations. This is how SWA would have been able to keep the lists separate, siphon of AT planes and let the AT pilots go when they didn't need them. (All theoretical, of course.)