Originally Posted by
schone
Maybe we can start fixing this by demanding that ALPA, claiming to be the most powerful "safety organization" show some safety results.
Our fatigue is the number one issue. That issue was solved by president Bush minutes before he walked out the door back to Texas by signing the duty and rest restrictions act for RAILWAY LABOR. Maybe it's time our own organization show the same strength that they claim to have?
Or maybe we just need to kick our fearless leader along with this paper tiger that can't bite called ALPA.
I agree, but it'll be difficult. They just cut Safety by 50% due to lack of funding. The annual Air Safety Week is now being cut to every two years. They tried to cancel this years upcoming one, but the hotel in DC refused to refund the deposit.
They took over GCAP (Global Cargo Pilots Alliance) and just cancelled this years meeting because of a lack of funding. That's really sad. It was started as a non-ALPA controlled group, by Dan Brannan, the former Astar/DHL MEC Chairman as a way to get all the carriers around the world together who haul for DHL, to enhance working conditions and safety. ALPA National tried to shanghai the meeting a couple of years back when Dave Ross, President of APA Local 1224 (the Teamsters at Airborne) was elected President by the worldwide GCAP group. ALPA First VP Paul Rice got P/O'd because their name was not on top, even thought ALPA wasn't paying a dime. Ross stepped down after his term and now the guys from Astar and ALPA are running the show. It's become a real mess, and now the can't meet because ALPA's out of money.
Prater should leave. He should do so for the honor and dignity that ALPA may have left so it can rebuild. There was a move in May of 2008 to begin a recall at the Executive Board; the smaller carriers were getting hit financially and the staff was telling us the wheels were coming off the bus.
Dave Webb, FDX MEC Chair, was supposed to be at a meeting of carriers and was to get the two new MEC Chairmen at NWA and UAL onboard to understand the problem ALPA was facing. Webb "disappeared" for 3 hours and could not be found. Said he "forgot." (Didn't return calls either)
Both the MEC Chairmen were Prater buddies and were convinced Prater was not the problem, it was those "regionals and smaller carriers who didn't belong here."
So, as much as we'd like to hope, it's pretty clear from staff that were in bad shape and getting uglier by the minute. I'm hearing from more and more MEC guys at several carriers that are hearing from their guys that it's time to look at leaving ALPA. They knew and worked with Dave Bourne when he was at Atlas and say he really went to bat for them with National when they needed help, even when he had no skin in the game. Now that Atlas/Polar is part of ABX Local 1224 at Teamsters, if they see more good stuff coming from over there (I think Atlas just started negotiations after ALPA held them up for 3 years), then their guys are going to want to go over there. Just saw something yesterday on the wire where this guy is adding over 17,000 new members to the Airline Division this year. And Prater blew over 5 million of our money on 3 failed organizing drives last year.
Sounds like he's doing something right...
Again, it looks like the complaints of the past, while valid then, are likely not going to continue with this new guy (Bourne) running the show.