Originally Posted by
TonyWilliams
Yah, that's gunna happen !!!! Managers industry wide will look at the new ALPA SkyWest and start changing the way business has been done in the airline business for the past 50 years.
Sure... you can bet on it (with you 1.95% dues).
Folks, each of you need to vote your conscience of what will work for you. One observation that I've made is that virtually nobody who hasn't sent in a card plans on voting for ALPA.
However, I've bumped into a surprising number who have sent in the cards, but do not plan to vote for ALPA (for various reasons).
One thing I know for sure. That magic "contract" that the organizers promise (and hint to improvements over what you currently have) is over 5 years in the making at our sister ALPA carrier. There's no guarantee you'll get anything overall better than what we now have.
But, you'll still be paying those mandatory 1.95% dues, every pay period, month after month, year after year. The ALPA president will still be counting his $750,000.00 year salary.
I'm not sure how I'm going to hedge my SkyWest stock, but I probably will be betting on another failed union drive. (PS: the market will react to this vote).
I totally understand your skepticism, but please don't listen to the ALPA organizers when making your decision. They are as drunk on the ALPA Koolaid as a CFI is on company juice while in training. Listen to your fellow pilots at Union carriers, especially to the guys who have been in this business more than 5 years.
The dynamic between ALPA and management is different at every carrier so I would be weary of comparing ASA to us. Our representation with ALPA would be whatever we make of it and knowing this pilot group I think it would be great.
I know 2% of your paycheck sounds like a real hassle, especially since you are still on first year pay, but it truly is a small price to pay for the vast resources that would be available to us with ALPA. You never know when disaster could strike, whether is be a limitation on your medical or an perhaps an un-preventable incident. Uncle Jerry has built a great airline, but I wouldn't want to bet my career on the kindness of his heart if something happened that had the potential to damage my career.