Carl

This where I disagree with you and other DPA supporters. Fortunately or unfortunately depending on your point of view DPA is on life support with only a slim chance to get to a vote in its current set up. The very thing you say about ALPA, it's inability to change, is the same issue with DPA.

In my opinion TC is a huge problem/liability for DPA. In my case I signed my DPA card in spite of TC being the leader. I had read his posts on the former NWA ALPA forum and he came across as a bitter disgruntled person. However, I liked the party platform of independence, no RJ representation, and few other items. So I signed my card and started getting the emails and updates. TC and DPA lost me with the comparison of our contract to a Chinese abortion. The updates had begun to read like they are being written by a conspiracy theorist with a tin foil hat, that one put me on the outside looking in. I saw the same bitter pilot from the web boards not a leader looking to better my representation. Guess what TC is not going to stop being the face of DPA. Now if he does step down and you can get some guys with name recognition from both North and South to step in as the new face with a corresponding change in how the message is delivered then they can start to move back to relevance.

As for ALPA and change I do think it is possible and honestly not that hard if guys are willing to get off their buts and simply vote. MSP just had a vote and less than 1/3 of pilots voted. Imagine if the DPA voters backed their candidates in local elections and got them into office. Just by turning over ATL for example, based on the recent MEC votes, you could get rid of the long time insider volunteers that DPA and many others have and issue with. In 3 years, less time than DPA has existed and made no change and little impact they could have flipped the face of the MEC.

As for National we both know Delta and United are the big dues paying members that keep it relevant. If Delta and United looked to push national in another direction I don't see how it would be stopped. The ALPA name on Capitol Hill has value, much more so than CAPA.