Originally Posted by
Captain Tony
All ALPA contracts are "closed shop". That means you still have to pay dues, even if you're a non member. And its legal under the RLA.
Furthermore, the snipped of the RLA you googled/cut/pasted is totally not applicable to the topic at hand. That means the company can't interfere in union drives and elections. It says nothing about negotiating contract provisions to only hire from ALPA carriers (far fetched, but legal).
Wish I had a buck for all the armchair attorneys out there who think they have all the answers thanks to google.
You're confusing closed shop with union shop. A closed shop requires all applicable employees to be members of the union, usually prior to being hired. It also means that if the union denies you membership you cannot be hired or if they revoke your membership you have to be let go by the company. In a closed shop you have no choice but to be a member of the union.
A union shop just means that non-union members covered by the CBA still have to pay some dues to the union to cover administrative costs and the like. Closed shops are illegal in the United States, union shops are not.
Lastly, you don't have to be an attorney to read and comprehend the law.