Originally Posted by rjlavender

Beautiful. This is precisely the kind of erroneous, fabricated, and mean-spirited information that has caused the American people to lose respect for unions. It is exactly what Bob Chimenti was talking about in his email and it is an important factor in the collapse of Labor and ALPA. If writers are going to publish on a public board, they should at least get the simpliest facts straight. ALPA was the beneficiary of my dues and efforts long enough. It had its chance. And, the argument that "ALPA is awful but it's all we got," does not cut it with me. It is time for something new.

More to the point: Most FedEx pilots have not fought even one battle, much less a Labor war, to account for any benefits that they enjoy. Around here, it's mostly talk. All current pilot benefits were either won or protected by the warriors that went before them at other carriers, especially at Continental where the strike lasted for two years and cost the strikers their jobs, benefits, and, literally, hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost compensation. When it comes to paying dues, my friends, that is the real thing.

I will be interested in seeing exactly how much in "dues" FedEx pilots are willing to contribute in order to rectify just the optimized pairings, not to mention the other larger issues that are bringing the profession down. What are you going to do about it? When it comes to trip quality and management benevolence, isn't the Flight Crew Handbook starting to look awfully attractive about now?

It is time for a lot of people to take an objective look at what is going on in their profession. ALPA's strategic failures are indisputable. It brings me no joy to say that ALPA has become a reactionary organziation whose actions are almost entirely dicated by outside influences. As a result, employees are now working at the mercy and benevolence of management. Pilots could not pull off even one adequate response when pensions were being lost at multiple ALPA carriers. What more evidence is needed to demonstrate that the program is not working?

I like it when contributors come up with something creative, uplifting, and useful on this board. Let's have more of that.

Bob