Originally Posted by
Bucking Bar
Not really.
ALPA National has a process to resolve conflicts between MEC's. If an MEC goes off the reservation they can be put in receivership. As for negotiations, no contract can be made without the signature of ALPA's President.
That's all true, but a Local Council or MEC can only be placed in trusteeship under very extreme circumstances. It takes something on the level of financial malfeasance before someone gets placed in trusteeship. No one has ever been told that they can't negotiate for what they want to negotiate for. As for the signature of the president, that' also true, but the president will only refuse to sign if the contract violates ALPA policy in some way.
Originally Posted by
Carl Spackler
You're just flat out wrong here...don't know how else to say it. To diminish ALPA national's role in ALL matters local and national is to show your ignorance of how our union works. I don't mean ignorant as an insult, just that you have not yet seen the underbelly yet.
I've done work at the local, MEC, and national level in ALPA for quite some time. I've seen all of it, including the "underbelly," as you put it, and it's not anything like you try to describe. How much involvement have you had, Carl? You dodged the question last time I asked. I'm betting that you've had no involvement at all.
Who writes their paychecks? And when you can answer that, you'll know who the attorneys and staffers work for.
And if there had ever been a single case of a pilot group being told that they can't negotiate for something that they want, then you might have a point. But you don't.
Originally Posted by
ATCsaidDoWhat
First...your pilot group...like any pilot group in ALPA...does NOT control your bargaining rights. Proof exists at the NMB where ALPA National is registered as your legal bargaining agent.
The holder of the bargaining rights is irrelevant, because ALPA policy dictates that MECs set their own bargaining priorities. ALPA can't legally violate its own policies. National doesn't set bargaining priorities for MECs.
Tell ALPA that you intend to go out and hire outside professional negotiators for your next negotiation. The reason ALPA is involved is to ensure that Association goals are not derailed in your negotiations.
Many MECs involve outside consultants in their negotiations. Never been a problem, although I personally think that it's usually a waste of money.