Originally Posted by
ancman
I’m a firm believer that ALPA bylaws should be rewritten to require that the MEC Chairman be elected by direct membership vote. DH has demonstrated the true unilateral power of the position — not only in terms of setting the tone, but also in terms of informally negotiating with management through the grievance settlement process. The old ALPA argument that the MEC Chairman is nothing more than a figurehead simply falls flat.
There is no chance whatsoever that DH would have been elected by this pilot group.
I disagree. His actions were approved of by a majority of ALPA reps. We don't need a MEC chairman acting against the other elected representatives. A more effective change would be to mandate live streaming and electronically archived MEC/LEC meetings so pilots can participate virtually. A 5 paragraph email from some random pilot amongst 16k pilots isn't nearly adequate to elect a "union president." I am much more comfortable with the LEC reps, the ones who deal with the individuals on a frequent basis, determining the suitability of someone to manage a pretty extensive committee structure and budget