Originally Posted by
Coto Pilot
The same talk has been going on at United. You can't have the same union representing the pilots of the mainline and regionals, there interest are diometrically opposed. I think this will eventually be the demise of ALPA.
Anything that destroys unity has the potential to destroy a union. Outsourcing is a poison which has killed many unions who have decided to participate in selling junior member’s jobs. Having drank from the poison, ALPA is at risk.
The DPA cites the “conflict of interest” as a core tenet of their argument to decertify ALPA. They play on the same scapegoats and strike at the same straw men which have resonated with Delta pilots before. But, those straw men and scapegoats never sat at a table with Delta management. Is it really necessary that I remind pilots that WE negotiated our scope and WE ratified those agreements?
To the extent that there has been a conflict of interest raised at National, WE are the 900lb gorilla and ALPA has sided in our favor. In the most basic terms, if WE have always won, why are we running from straw men?
So, the first reason I should vote DPA is because political scapegoats are being used to make scary straw men that I should fear and run away from.
The second reason I should vote DPA is because the support staff in Virginia get paid to darn much (more than I get paid). Because of my petty jealousy, I should forget a one bedroom apartment in downtown DC costs $750,000 and they rely on their UNION CONTRACT to pay those mortgages. So the second reason I should vote DPA is to break a union contract, or find a way to outsource those jobs.
Unfortunately, out of the gate the DPA appears to be playing to the same petty fears and jealousies which have resulted ALPA’s biggest failures. We never need the politics of divisiveness, not now, not ever.
I was prepared to be impressed if DPA talked eloquently about unity, reform and the foundational concepts of unionism. We need that. But, because the DPA fails to have a solid foundation in unionism, it can’t succeed as a union.
I agree with the DPA, ALPA needs reform. I wish they would refrain from what they think are easy political crowd pleasers and get into the real work of how we build bridges across our profession to combat issues like cabotage, pilot certification and code share. I think the reason they have picked the issues they have is apparent, ALPA is the better answer for the issues that matter.