I would be very reluctant to pay dues if I were a West guy. I am NOT taking a side here, I am just saying that asking a West guy to pay dues to USAPA is like asking a man to pay for the rope the hangman is going to slip around his neck. I have asked several questions regarding USAPA and what it will do for the West guys and have gotten no concrete answers. So, by my account:
1) USAPA exists to overturn Nic. Bad for the West.
2) USAPA took ALPA, and its services (medical, legal, etc) away from the West.
3) USAPA has shown (to my knowledge) little or no inclination to reach out to West in a way that is constructive and shows that they are an equal to East (poor marketing in my opinion if you truly want a unified group).
These are just the observations of an outsider with no emotional attachment to either group. Other than lawsuits, what has USAPA done to try and mollify the West? If the answer is "we don't need to mollify them, they HAVE to join, and they HAVE to pay dues, and we get our way anyway" then that is the biggest part of the problem. I have always wondered this question: If USAPA strikes, will any West guys honor the picket line (since they think it is a "SCAB" union anyway) or will they continue to fly? If they did cross a USAPA line, would they be viewed as SCABS in the eyes of ALPA pilots or would they be heros?