Originally Posted by
Anthrax
ALL the information I complained about? I asked about a diagram, a flow chart, mainly because in 2015 tons of folks were afraid of voting no for fear of the unknown. And still, the flow chart is inadequate, it doesn’t go past self-help, but I suppose you’re going to say that that information is readily available, just hunt and peck.
My point is, we pay these guys a ton of money to do what, exactly? Engagement is a two way street, and our “leaders” should lead, by being far more proactive than they are. simply put: They aren’t engaged with the crew force, they have sent out very little in the way of information on anything. They are nearly impossible to reach, and rarely return phone calls or emails, and have subjugated their responsibilities to the Dart program. Ask around the pilot group their perspective of our union leadership with regards to contract enforcement, and guys will roll their eyes and say, why bother? I can’t even begin to tell you the horror stories of blatant disregard to the contract, and our union stating that they won’t dispute it, putting that responsibility squarely on the shoulders of the offended pilot.
It seems, in my opinion, that our “leadership “ serves ALPA national, and not the pilot group. And this is why our engagement is so low. they serve up, not down.
so come at me all you want about how stupid I am, how lazy I am, and my love for the delicious snack, Doritos, but do not tell me that our union is strong. Our pilots have been disenfranchised from the process of how our dues are being spent, what our leaders are doing with their time at the helm, and until we get leaders willing to serve the most junior pilot among us, leasers who want to fight for better conditions for all, and not for themselves, than nothing will change. How many guys go into these non-flying gigs so as not to fly night hub turns? Most, I’d say. and then they forget the horror of a two a.m. alarm followed by a 4 a.m. launch, as they casually go about their day answering emails from home at ten a.m. and I’m the bad guy for pointing this out!
"They aren’t engaged with the crew force, they have sent out very little in the way of information on anything. They are nearly impossible to reach, and rarely return phone calls or emails, and have subjugated their responsibilities to the Dart program."
The very thing you complained about has been available, front and center, no pecking around, before negotiations started. But you still complained. And still are. From my experience, every email and DART I've submitted (and I like the DART system) were responded to in a timely manner. Yes, I've called the office before when they were closed because of name a reason, but my DART was answered. I do wish, as other airlines have, that we staff our own duty officer available on call 24-7 for contract issues.
"Ask around the pilot group their perspective of our union leadership with regards to contract enforcement, and guys will roll their eyes and say, why bother?"
I will agree with you that our union seems to be very friendly to the company and we allow too many things for the company to exploit. I'm not sure how to change that. In the past most of our crew force has been made up of military only pilots. And many military only pilots are not big supporters of unions. This is probably why FDX ALPA lags greatly behind funding the ALPA PAC, the people in Washington fighting for your job.
"Our pilots have been disenfranchised from the process of how our dues are being spent, what our leaders are doing with their time at the helm""
Absolutely NOT TRUE. You can go to Kirby or to Nationals and get a complete breakdown of where the money is spent. Any ALPA member can. The MEC Secretary / Treasurer is not my friend, but he is a good man, someone I trust, and he requires detailed records on what members work on so as to get paid. And there are many members who give hours/days of their time and are never reimbursed. And how ironic is your comment considering this MEC has been frugal with our money and has a very sizeable war chest for negotiations unlike the last one who went broke.
"Most, I’d say. and then they forget the horror of a two a.m. alarm followed by a 4 a.m. launch, as they casually go about their day answering emails from home at ten a.m. "
Are you mad that some MEC/LEC leaders may be senior enough in their crew position position to not have to fly night hub turns? Or they're on the 777 which doesn't have them? Or are you mad that they're working, answering your questions and DARTs that you were
just complaining about them not doing!!
The problem with this union is people like YOU, who do nothing but complain while disconnecting themselves from union meetings/communications. And their voice is heard by others and convince others to do the same. Why bother you know.
Do you attend MEC or LEC meetings? Have you ever? Have you put forth a motion requiring more communication from the MEC/LEC/NC? If not, why haven't you? In my LEC, someone did just that. And it passed! And now the NC updates the crew force each week after negotiations.
The union is communicating with you, the information may be what you don't want to hear. You can help be apart of the change if you would get involved. Attend meetings. Put forth motions. Motion to have any by laws changed if necessary.
Stop complaining and start doing. You look like fool arguing here that the information wasn't available when it has been all along.