Originally Posted by
cactusmike
Sorry for jumping in at the tail end of the thread but...
Look At USAPA for a prime example of how not to set up a union. They are looking to the Teamsters now as a "strategic alliance" because USAPA itself is pretty ineffectual. 400 plus grievances outstanding, the same shills that sucked at the FPL teat under the old US Airways have reinvented themselves at USAPA.
Dues at USAPA are higher than in ALPA if you count all the assessments for all the lawsuits and investigations going around. Legal fees for USAPA are most of the budget, legal fees run up suing fellow pilots. There is no adult supervision, you cannot recall the president or other executive members without going through a very convoluted process. Thousands of dollars are spent on frivolous things without anyone being held accountable.
You want problems? Just let the hardliners seize control of your union and see how effective your negotiations become. ALPA isn't pretty but going it alone is not the answer.
The real solution for ALPA is to go back to being an association for the big guys and split the regionals off to a RALPA. You can share the backoffice functions but the organizational chart would be separate.
People need to read this post a few times. Spot on. The posts I've seen in favor of DPA are not based in fact (show me the costs... the only mention of money they have on their website is they'll have a warchest after one year of dues... really, how much are dues going to be if you also have to run the day to day operations of the union?) but based on some myopic quest of idealism.
Carl, you say things like lawyers and aeromed will be the same or cheaper? Really? How much do we pay now and what's the cost going to be? Answer: You have no clue so how can you say that?
There's a big reason CAL went back to ALPA after IACP (I was an IACP dues payer and volunteer at one point in my life). The politics of how they came back aside, bottom line is they needed ALPA much more than ALPA needed them. It's the same reason FedEx joined ALPA. (Side note, once the IACP came to ALPA, Mainline and Express split off from one group....hmmm precedent? Compass/Delta? See catusmike's post above and see if a lightbulb goes off)
The solution is done through voting, not going it alone.
Of course if our largest pilot base, Council 44 can only muster up 35% of people to vote for their own reps I think DPA's proclamation of being "well on their way" by spring of getting their 6500 cards is a real stretch. I know I won't be sending one in.