Sure, blame it on the posts. It couldn't be that you still won't answer direct questions.


Have you ever operated under a Block Representative system?


Can you describe what a Block Representative system would look like, structurally, at your airline?



Maybe I can get you started on the second question. Currently, according to APC, AA has 11 Domiciles. According to Wikipedia, the APA Board of Directors consists of a Chairman and and Vice-Chairman from each of those 11 Domiciles, for a total of 22 members.

Now, I don't have access to specific numbers, but I'm guessing that not all domiciles are created equal. I would guess that DFW is probably the largest, and perhaps LGA and BOS are somewhat smaller. Given the ability to vote based on the number of members represented, that would mean the DFW Chairman has a lot more horsepower than the BOS Chairman. How am I doing so far?

You have access to better information regarding membership numbers, so you're really better equipped to describe this next step, but you haven't seemed willing to try, so I'll have to give it my best shot. APC also says AA currently has about 15,000 pilots. Under a Block Representative system, an important objective is to have each Block Representative represent roughly the same number of pilots. Since not all domiciles have the same number of pilots, not all domiciles would have the same number of representatives, and they wouldn't have the same exact number of pilots, but that objective guides the structure. Say for example you start by shooting for 1 Rep for every 1,000 pilots. A domicile with fewer than, say, 1,500 pilots would have 1 Rep, and those with more than 1,500 would have 1 Rep for every 1,000 pilots. A domicile with 800 pilots would have 1 Rep, and a domicile with 3,200 pilots would have 3, and a domicile with 5,800 pilots might have 6. With 11 domiciles there would be a minimum of 11 Block Reps, and the larger domiciles would have more than 1 Rep per domicile.


In domiciles with more than 1 Representatives, the pilots would be divided into seniority blocks. For example, with 2 Representatives, the blocks would be roughly half of the pilots, arranged in seniority order. One Representative would represent the top half of the seniority at that domicile, and the other the bottom half. Both Representatives would be voting members of the Board of Directors.

Also, in the case of the smaller domiciles, each domicile would be a Local Council. Each local council would have Chairman, Vice-Chairman, and Secretary-Treasurer, all elected by the entire membership of that domicile / local council. In the case of a local council with only one Block Representative, that Block Rep would be the Local Council Chairman and a member of the Board of Directors. The other two local council officers would be elected from the local council membership at large and would not be members of the Board of Directors.

If the Local Council is large enough for 2 Blocks and 2 Block Representatives, the members of the Local Council would vote to choose between those two Block Reps for the Local Council Chairman and Vice-Chairman positions, and elect a Secretary-Treasurer from the membership at large. Only the 2 Block Reps would be members of the Board of Directors.

And if the Local Council is large enough for 3 Blocks and 3 Block Representatives, the members of the Local Council would vote to choose among those 3 for all 3 Local Council officer positions, and all 3 would be members of the Board of Directors.

For larger domiciles, there might even be multiple local councils in the same domicile. For example, if there are 6,300 pilots in a domicile, there could be 6 Seniority Blocks of 1,050 pilots each, and 2 Local Councils. Numbering the Seniority Blocks from 1 to 6 from the most senior to the most junior, one Local Council might consist of Blocks 1, 3, and 6, and the other Local Council would consist of Blocks 2, 4, and 5. (Distributing seniority across both local Councils would make them as similar as possible in composition and result in more incentive to cooperate than to compete.) The pilots of Blocks 1, 3, and 6 would all vote for Block Representatives for all 3 of the Blocks, and then vote to choose among those 3 for the Local Council officer positions. All 3 of those Block Representatives would be members of the Board of Directors.


How would the Block Representatives be elected? First, only members of each Block would be eligible to serve as Block Representatives for that Block. However, all pilots in the Local Council would be eligible to vote for all the Representatives in that Local Council. In the example above, a Local Council consisting of Seniority Blocks 1, 3, and 6 would have Block Representatives from each of those seniority blocks, but all members of all 3 blocks would vote for all 3 Block Reps. Then, they would choose among those elected to fill the Local Council officer seats.

In smaller domiciles with 3 or fewer Representatives, there would still be a Local Council with Local Council officers, and all would be elected by all the pilots in that domicile. Only the Local Council officers who are also Block Representatives would be members of the Board of Directors.

The ultimate result may not be a smaller Board of Directors, but it would most certainly change the composition, and the biggest difference would be the cross-section of the membership represented by a voice at the table. Voices shape discussion and debates and lay the foundation for understanding, problem-solving, and compromise.




From comments I've seen above, I'm not sure many people understand what a Block Representation system is or how it works. That makes it pretty hard to form an informed opinion, don't
you think? I hope I've shed a little bit of light on it.

Of course, it wouldn't have to work exactly as I described above. There is very likely a better way to tailor it to the wants and needs of the pilots of APA. That's what a discussion thread is all about, right?



But could you start by answering those first 2 questions?






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