Those folks in Vegas were celebrating after a 4+ year struggle...that WE asked them to do.

My union dues were paid year one when I was offered a sub trip, broke out my ALPA (at the time FPA calendar), followed the RAT tree and realized I could decline the trip and still get paid. I did...and I did. I was home at 7 that night....that covered year one.

Year 2, 3, 4 could have been covered by any of the months I have been bumped off trips. Wanna hear how AA (APA) does LCA bumps according to a squadron mate? The FO shows up at the trip...only free when captain waives him off at showtime. I got bumped 5 days prior to my first show this month.

So...my block reps and negotitating committee got a hotel room and a steak off my dues? God bless them! If I get to fly with any of them, I'm buying them dinner too!

C'mon man...is 1.95% really screwing you THAT BAD? If you want to work at a great place, with great work rules, then union dues are cost of doing business. Lately...business at our MEC has been good. We are blessed. Why are you so so angry? If its that painful--join the budget committee and do what you think is best...but quit throwing spears at the hard working guys and gals who've done so much to make MY life even better this last year.

FWIW...and I'm not trying to get too personal here...but I tithe at our church. I figured out a long time ago that if I can't be happy on 90% of what I make, then I need to make some adjustments to my life. Learning to tithe was an adjustment--but once I looked at that 10% as "God's" and not really mine to begin with the transition was very easy. (If anyone wants to wax philoshopic about faith, etc....we can do it in a PM. I'm not trying to evangelize here...) The 2% that the union gets is THEIRS, not mine. Yeah...I earned but...but HOW? I earned it with great work rules, pay rates, etc that were negoatiated by union guys who had gone before me. Even in the pre-union days at FedEx, the work rules were modeled after contracts at other airlines that were negoatiated by...guess what...unions! So--its their money anyway--before I ever touch it.

Lets say you make 200k /year....easy enough as a captain at FedEx. Your 2% works out to 4k, so you clear 196k. If so inclined--share 19.6k with your local church or charities. That still leaves 176.4k. You won't even get taxed on the other 24.6k. When you started this gig---did you think you get by on 175k or more a year? If it galls you that much to give up less than 2 percent...then I'd say maybe you need to look at your own perspective.

Now--if its all about fiscal responsibility--then that's a different issue. You know the fix--quit pointing and start volunteering.