Originally Posted by
Carl Spackler
You misunderstand the structure of ALPA. The MEC Chairman is NOT a superior. He/she holds the position entirely at the discretion of the MEC members. The MEC Chairman is not even allowed to vote on any issue. The only job of the MEC Chairman is to execute the majority will of the MEC's voting members.
Again, you misunderstand. The MEC Chairman has no right to APPROVE anything. He/she has NO vote. At best the MEC Chairman can help to calm the passions that happen during debate on big issues, and aid the MEC in deciding a majority opinion. If you think this illustrates a circus, then you are against the very foundation of ALPA's democracy. If you think Lee's dictatorship is the best representation of the professional pilot, then I can't help you.
Carl, that is not entirely correct. The MEC Chairman gets to vote to break ties. This almost always will occur during a normal "senatorial" vote as a tie during a roll call vote is statistically unlikely unless a rep splits their votes.
The power of the MEC chairman lies in being able to control the agenda of a meeting. At fNW the Policy Manual provided that any agenda items to be considered at a scheduled MEC meeting had to be 1) passed at a LEC meeting prior to the MEC meeting OR 2) Submitted by a LEC representative prior to a deadline OR 3) added to the meeting agenda (at any time) by the MEC Chairman.
The MEC Chaiman also controls in what order the agenda items are brought up at a meeting and, depending on the policy manual, controls which LEC reps sit on which subcommittees when they break to debate the merits of agenda items. At fNW and at the BOD, the voting reps are split into subgroups and are assigned a subset of agenda items to debate, amend and recommend/not recommend for passage when they return to the Plenary in front of the entire voting group.
Also at fNW, all of the Committee Chairmen were elected by the LEC reps. I have been told, but have not verified, that at DL all the committee chairmen are APPOINTED by the MEC Chairman.
The exception to this at fNW was the Negotiating Committee and sometimes the Merger Committee. Due to previous merger and seniority issues, all members of those committees were ELECTED by the NW LEC reps.
The MEC Chairman is also usually the one to rule on procedural challenges under Roberts Rules of Order as modified by the MEC Policy Manual.
An unscrupulous MEC Chairman could also choose to withhold important information from the LEC reps to influence their votes on certain issues.
I find that the current MEC lacks transparency on meeting minutes. The fNW LEC reps and Communications Committee would usually have bullet points/summary at the END OF EACH DAY of an OPEN MEC meeting and would disseminate those bullet points by email. Obviously if a meting is closed due to confidentiality, no information would be forthcoming.
Originally Posted by
Carl Spackler
I respect your opinion, but I disagree. First of all, we can't hope for a recall. Only the MEC members can recall the Chairman. The MEC members are too afraid to even confont him - much less recall him. The entire MEC needs to be voted out during the next election cycle. Then that new MEC can elect a new chairman.
But IF this current MEC somehow found the grapes to recall Lee, this would be a HUGE message to management: "Do not mess with Scope!" This would not be divide and conquer, it would be a stunning and unified message to management.
Carl
RECALL is a serious business. My recommendations after being involved in one are:
1) Don't change horses in mid-stream. If you are in the middle of a difficult series of negotiations, its better to present a united front to management.
2) Don't recall unless you already have an ELECTABLE replacement ready to go at the next meeting. A failed recall is better than a successful one that leaves the MEC with no Chairman due to an inability to agree on a replacement.
SCOPE: I have been a SCOPE Nazi pretty much since I came off pilot probation. Gutting SCOPE is a BadIdea(tm). For those fDL that think otherwise, just remind them that SCOPE is the only reason DALPA had leverage to negotiate LOA19, pay raises and all...