Your experience at your last ALPA carrier was a function of the quality of the people the pilots elected. It's vital to have good people working on your behalf in the leadership positions; and they need the full support and consistent volunteerism from the group to be successful.
ALPA has the best tools available, but if the workers are weak, the house you build will be full of problems.
FYI, Dues don't start on day one. It'll be at least June or July... That's what the ALPA attorney said at the NYC dinner recently.
Is JBPA even an entity anymore?