I think some people need to get past this idea that ALPA is some group of hired goons that, once voted on property, go to company HQ and start busting knee caps with tire irons and setting right all the wrongs that have been suffered.

If you are a pilot, YOU are ALPA. ALPA national is a resource for you to use, but YOUR MEC, made up of YOUR pilots is the part of ALPA that makes or breaks YOU as a pilot group. Weak pilot group = weak MEC. Strong, unified pilot group = strong MEC. One reason XJT, Eagle, and Horizon have such great contracts is that there are enough pilots that are there for the long haul that have a vested interest in making those airlines the best place they can be. At airlines like TSA and Mesa that have such high turnover, its hard to get enough people to stick around long enough to get on the same page. I mean christ, Horizon has arguably one of the worst unions for airline pilots (Teamsters) yet their contract is head and shoulders above everyone else. Its not because of who issues their union cards, its because the pilot group is united and willing to fight for what they think they deserve.