The AEPA founder is a former Eagle ALPA officer, but wasn't involved with the 16-year contract as he was not an officer then. As for his assertions and examples, I hate to say it, but it does have some validity. His motives ARE to unseat ALPA, but I'm not sure if that would do much good. It's pretty moot anyway, because that would take action by the pilot group and the Eagle pilots by and large are too apethetic to care. The current MEC is very dysfunctional and the underlying belief among many (too many) is that they indeed have too cozy a relationship with management. The 16-year agreement was designed and implimented by a previous MEC, but this one has watered down our scheduling provisions at every 4 year amendmant round while representing to the pilots that they're better off. In fact, in the last round they represented we gave NO concessions, when we actually did, thus damaging their credibility further.

The MEC chairman hasn't flown an AE airplane in about 8 years and the upper cadre is seen by many as more interested in protecting their pretty good lifestyles then taking on management, thus the coziness. The top MEC officers are all making well over $100K annually and are in the mid-senioirty range. They WOULD like to see the senior dogs above them evaporate somewhere, but now as the AEPA claims, they're likely backpeddling because of how it looks after the Colgan accident.

The AEPA wouldn't have so much cedibility if our MEC didn't continually give them (or him) so much good ammo.