Originally Posted by
tsquare
In other words, like many corporations in America in the past 10 years, they finally cut some of the fat. I maintain there is still lots to be cut. And while we are at it, why is the union owning property to begin with?
T;
On the property front:
Think about it, it is smarter to own then rent, and it works better in the long run. Not even going to divulge in to that one.
On the cutting of more fat:
Maybe, maybe not. I know the ppl I know at national are extremely busy. They work their tails off.
You talk about these services being cheaper on the open market, but the fact is that you pay retainers to keep blocks of time open for that right. ALPA has these same subject matter experts working every day of every week on some pilot group's issues. That means when all is right in the world of DALPA, they can attack the issues at Atlas, or UAL, or NKS, etc. With 38 groups pooling their finances together to obtain these services, it ends up being cheaper than doing what you want. From a productivity standpoint, it makes more sense too, since these people that have been accused of doing nothing and making loads of money, are constantly working on some groups issues, and not sitting idle collecting a retainer.
I agree on some basic level that better accounting and office structure may lead to better visibility for our members. It is part of the reason I say get involved, see what these people do and how much they actually do. It will change your opinion of how you see ALPA and what they do with your dues dollars.
There are over 30 services that we get as part of our money we send to National. This includes the media services, legal, E F and A, and too many others to list on a web board. Fact is that here at DALPA, we use all of them and frequently. On any given day we have ALPA lawyers, some who work for us full time, and some that are residing in DC working for us full time, defending your fellow pilots. Not one more red cent is spent on that defense, it comes as part of the dues structure. Buying this on an open market would prove a lot more difficult that anyone can imagine. Most law firms worth their salt would not go anywhere near a labor union. Why? It is simple, they would not want to alienate future corporate business. Again, another reason why what we have is a lot better than you can get almost anywhere else.