Originally Posted by
ghilis101
Im going to play devil's advocate for a sec about ALPA engagement and one sided communication (which they took to an embarrassing new low). The key to good communication is participation to be able to share ideas and have easy access to information. Im basing this off my previous union work but anytime we held meetings, whether they were at a specific location or online webinars, we would get DISMAL attendance, like maybe 5 to 10 percent of the pilots if we were lucky.
So the question is, with a huge number of commuters, and a pilot group that is focused on family and other commitments, how do you actually promote bottom up communication? This is my main concern because I want us moving forward to be a union of the pilots, for the pilots, and by the pilots. But how do we get participation up so that communication flows both ways?
That is the age old question. In ATL, a pilot base of 4000+, a typical quarterly LEC meeting (during non-contract times) brings out about 25-40 pilots. Yes that is less than 1%. Half of those are usually committee guys that also happen to be 44 members.
You have isolated the problem, which is apathy. Imagine if 65% of the pilot group were this engaged on a regular basis.
Btw, the negotiators are appointed by the MEC. There is no general election process to speak of. Candidates are nominated by reps and then, the MEC as whole, votes on the candidates.