Originally Posted by
shreddykreuger
Bingo. Look at how ALPA has treated their regional carriers. Here's a example: Envoy (American eagle), Piedmont, and PSA are all ALPA carriers. About 3 years ago AMR demanded Envoy pilots vote in concessions with a promise of new aircraft. Envoy pilots voted no twice to avoid dragging the bar lower. PSA and then Piedmont pilots both voted YES on concessions to essentially undercut another ALPA represented carrier, and ALPA national gladly signed off on it.
I realize that the situation at F9
is different. We're not a regional and we're not bidding for mainline flying. However, the lack of unity from carrier to carrier at ALPA should be a concern for F9 pilots. And when it comes down to it, if you follow the money, we're not even a fraction of a drop in the pond compared to DL and UAL. I can certainly see some benefit of ALPA backing during negotiations or a merger. But long term, when fuel prices rise and we're still making money and majors are facing furloughs (all hypothetical of course, God forbid this happens to anyone), I can't help but question where ALPA national's loyalties will be. Just food for thought.
Originally Posted by
SpankysLadder
No one has mentioned how ALPA sat on their hands while Comair put the screws to their pilot group. ALPA has a track record of catering to their mainline pilot groups while ignoring their smaller members. Listen to the Regional pilots, they will tell you how ALPA has silently stood by while watching the pay and benefits that the Comair pilots fought so hard for slowly erode away in the last few years.
I've always said that if you want something done right then do it yourself. FAPA may not be perfect, but it belongs to the pilots of F9. That's power from within. I hope we stay in control of our own destiny.
Best to all.
I'm a current regional pilot. I had the privilege to serve on my MEC for a couple of years, about 7 years ago. Going into my position on the MEC, I was very skeptical. Which is why I decided to run for the position. I wanted to see, first hand from the inside, how a union (at least ALPA) is run. That's my perspective.
ALPA is not a union, per se. It's and association of INDEPENDENT unions. And so there is the limitation of ALPA. Each MEC, whether legacy, cargo, LCC, regional, etc, makes their own decisions they feel is best for their pilot group. ALPA national cannot say do ANYTHING to change that unless it goes agains the constitution & by-laws or the administrative manual. So when one MEC does something they feel it's to their pilots best interest, which may also undermine another pilot group, ALPA national cannot do anything about it. ALPA national is there to provide resources to any of their MECs on whatever direction they have decided to go. Again, as long as it doesn't go agains the rules.
There have also been many airlines that have closed shop. ALPA doesn't make management decisions. Unions, by definition, are always an reactionary entity. They can only leverage or mitigate whatever the current circumstances are thrown their way by management, the industry, the economy, the government, etc. So if management decides they no longer have a viable airline, then there is nothing ALPA can do about it other than to protect whatever rights (contractual or lawful) that its members of that pilot group are entitled to. In the past, other ALPA MECs have set preferential interviews for furloughed ALPA pilots.
ALPA is not perfect by any means. It really is what its members make it to be. But I strongly believe that the best thing about ALPA is its safety advocacy. Making airline flying more safe is not only in the best interest of airline pilots but also the flying public, the non-flying public, and even non-airline pilots that also benefit from the safety initiatives passed with the help of ALPA. And I believe that there are many talented and skilled pilots at frontier who can help ALPA in this endeavor if they became members.