Originally Posted by
FLAK
I knew I should have elaborated more...I want union protection. Yes i'm happy here but when the world goes bad, next to a reliable firearm the next thing i want on my side is my union. I would like to see more of an in-house union rathar than ALPA. I had ALPA representation at my previous regional and ended up quitting making less money than when i started. even after the "payout" the contract was way worse than it should have been. watching my beloved union roll over and promote a crappy contract and a payout for concessins was indeed a bummer
I'm curious how many Pro-ALPA SkyWesters have never worked for another regional
ALPA is only as effective as the local leadership and the support they get from the rank and file. In reality an independent union would be led by the same local people as would work in ALPA, but find it far more difficult without the resources and clout of a national union. That is the reason FedEx and CAL both decided to merge with ALPA after struggling as independents. ALPA dues are 1.95% and and that is not enough money for a SKW MEC to function without being subsidized by ALPA and the higher revenues generated by the majors. If SKW decided to have an independent union the dues would likely have to exceed 5%. Yesterday (Oct 9th) ALPA ran an ad in USA Today urging SKW pilots to vote for ALPA. That ad was signed and endorsed by the presidents of the SWA, AMR and UPS unions. ALPA may not be perfect, but it is the best choice for pilot representation.