Originally Posted by
tsquare
Great post except for what I highlighted. DALPA is no more us than the federal gubbamint is us... Just to be clear... it was.. is, and will always be the vocal minority that will rule the day. Witness one of the most "important" issues year after year in federal elections... abortion... that carries who gets elected. The silent majority at DAL go to work.. go home.. and don't read these boards or much else that the union puts forth as they expect to be successfully represented. It is the rabble here that is most dissatisfied on a daily basis...
At least we understand the philosphical nature of our disagreement. We
also are the federal government. That is
also us. Just because the people have chosen to let the corporations handle complicated tasks like writing laws, doesn't mean they are not responsible for the failures of their government. It's still a democracy, and we're still stupid enough to put these people in office. Of course, there will be a point where we will be so lazy, so stupid, so uneducatd and un-involved that we will no longer have any say in the process, and voting will not be required or allowed, but maybe then we won't be smart enough to notice anymore.
And as far as getting involved with LEC meetings and such... ASk the 85% that make up DTW and NYC if it is PRACTICAL to attend those meetings on their days off... but would those same folks attend a webcast of the same meetings? I know I certainly would, but getting on an airplane for a 2 hour flight each way to hear the same old thing is not my idea of a good way to spend a day off...
I'll hang up and listen
Did you ever get concrete answers as to whether webcasts were actually possible/legal? Last I heard, there are labor laws that prevent this, and for very good reasons. The bottom line is that important matters don't get solved in ways that are practical or convenient. Then again, noone is asking people to go to the frontlines and bleed here. I'm just saying that if an issue such as scope is so critical to people, maybe they could find a way to suffer through the unbearable challenge of showing up, and could somehow summize the courage to speak up, and articulate their views.
Bottom line is, I've seen a lot of huffing and puffing, and a lot of electrons flow over scope, but seldom have I seen this translated into action. The only time I can recall something like this was when AG supported a scope report in C44, and I think he was elected as a rep in the process, and the report got done.
Bottom line: it doesn't seem that weird to expect that their would be people at LEC meetings. And just so we're clear, I'm not much better. I've had a few instances of actually showing up where I could be counted, probably more than the average pilot, but it's still fairly pathetic. The only thing I've done much more often than most is to frequently call my reps and articulate my views.
I didn't have a lot of competition, strangely enough.