Originally Posted by
R57 relay
You were on my side about what?
I doubt Nicolau would have given us that since we didn't ask for it. But, if he had given us LOS, no I still had little use for them. While many of the US pilot problems came from the MEC, I think national failed on many issues and I'd rather have an in house union. That said, I voted for ALPA over USAPA, because of the situation.
Back to the topic. Sorry for crashing your UA party. I came here to see what you guys thought as I'm hearing some scary stuff about ours. I actually like UA's, although it appears they may not be of the best quality. Thoughts?
This is really off topic, but your forum doesn't welcome interlopers. I agree Nicolau got it wrong, rare but it happens. It is the reason the current thought is to use three arbitrators, previously that was considered redundant. Since the current arbitration scheme doesn't allow anyone to wiggle out, it looks like you guys are on the right track, good luck.
I took umbrage to your ALPA bashing. It doesn't matter what you call a union, ALPA, APA, USAPA etc., they all have the same dynamics. They are run foremost for the benefit of staff, the in house attorneys have limited skills and are afraid of upsetting the amateur politicians. The representatives who are elected are usually not the best and brightest, simply because the job is frustrating, time consuming and thankless. After losing $42M and $53M lawsuits it is fairly clear ALPA lacks national leadership, allowing the locals to run the train off the track. I don't see how a smaller in house union will do any better.
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When the pilot's started wearing bomber jackets with Skycap hats, it truly made the uniform's function as a marketing tool meaningless. As a second officer, who once was thrown off a trip for not wearing the hat in dispatch, I am a bit prejudice.