Yes thank you, I am active in my volunteer position with alpa. I never said they weren’t doing a thankless job, but we’re not talking about guys who are unpaid volunteers here. The guys at the top are compensated handsomely to do what we need them to do, and blaming the grunts for not showing up to events isn’t going to solve the problem. If we want tighter unity and greater turnout the formula has to improve. No one is looking for anyone to be replaced, that certainly wouldn’t solve anything. But having leaders who actually went out regularly to sit in the jumpseat, make cold calls to guys from every base and seniority level, and finding ways to be better in touch with the heartbeat of the group would be a major change for good.

edit: I will concede that there aren’t many jumpseats to sit in right now, but plenty of couches are occupied by pilots who would probably love to hear from their leaders for the first time.