Originally Posted by
ATCsaidDoWhat
Midwest flight attendants just won a huge victory with the support of AFA. Congrats on a hard fought victory!
But what happened to the Midwest pilots? They ended up with Brian Bedford because of ALPA. And now FAPA is working with ALPA to get their hooks in again. As well as into some painfully thin wallets.
Anyone who wants to get a vision of the future of regionals under Lee Moak need look no further that what he did when he was at the table negotiating LOA19. Remember at the time, DAL owned 48% of Midwest Airlines. They (ALPA & Moak) told the Midwest MEC that the plans were for Midwest operations to be, "business as usual." Yet in LOA 19 over at DAL, they had 3 pages discussing the code share relationship between DAL and Alaska, but nothing about Midwest. An airline that DAL had a 48% ownership stake in.
Thousands of employees jobs lost, careers gone and families destroyed and what did ALPA do? Make excuses, hire pilot hating egomaniac like Bruce York to try and keep them out of legal hell and all the while, putting out bogus communication video's like "WE are ALPA" to take the focus away from what was really going on.
Sheer ineptness by some, calculating destruction of human dignity by others and knowingly trading political favors in exchange for personal gains at the expense of others became the personal mantra of Prater and Moak. Any semblance of a “union” left ALPA in October of 2006. Duane Woerth attempted to change the attitude over there in his "One Union" campaign that began in 2000, but the Executive Council, along with a couple of the legacy MEC's who could not stomach the thought of “little guys” having a voice or a real seat at the table, made sure it never had a real chance for any success.
It’s not just Midwest they did this to, but many others like TWA, PanAM, ATA and Emery, to name a few.
In this business it’s understandable how some airlines can unfortunately go by the wayside and Midwest might just have been one of them. But to see your own Union, whom so many paid out so much in dues to over the years, assist in that demise? That’s one that no ALPA supporter can yet explain with a straight face. Moak said that Midwest Pilots would never become DAL pilots, made sure of it in NWA/DAL merger negotiations, Prater went along for political purposes, he needed to keep DAL happy. Why do you think he got a DAL ExAdmin when Helling became VP of Finance?
The Midwest pilots supported Duane Woerth in the 2006 elections. And just like every carrier who did not support Prater, Midwest paid the heavy price for not supporting an egomaniac who took everything personally and saw the job as his stepping stone into a nice DC job after he served his two terms.
In October of 2008, Moak pulled his SPC Committee from supporting the Midwest pilots when they were picketing our company. He called the MEC and told them he was “appalled at their actions” and told them that, "We (DAL MEC) don't treat our management down here like that." Of course they don’t. Lee has been bought and paid for by former DAL management lobbyists who have him do their bidding. His next career has already been assured and his pockets are well lined for when he leaves ALPA.
Lee called Tony Freitas months later, whining about the "rumors" he heard. He said there were people up at Midwest who thought he had something to do with Midwest's demise. He ASKED if any of the furloughed Pilots at Midwest might be interested in DAL interviews, and told Freitas he'd be in touch once they start hiring. To this day, that phone call has never happened. Even today, as FAPA and Moak are having their love fest, has Tony been asked to participate in the discussions? No.
You have to wonder how FAPA's Captain Thomas feels about DAL flying right on top of all their flights out of MKE and MKC? When UAL/CAL eventually wakes up and realizes their problem is not with their management, but with ALPA, you have to wonder how he and FAPA will feel when UAL/CAL teams up with SWA in DEN to take them on. I'm sure Moak and the ALPA Executive Council will rush to their rescue.
Remember when Prater went to MSP? And he said he would “change his zip code?” When he met with the leadership and was asked for help, Prater very calmly said, “If I help Midwest, I will have to help Champion, Mesaba, and Compass."
Why in the hell should he help out a “little guy” like Midway...... who had 100% membership and ran its budget in the "black," for their entire history at ALPA?
In December 2007, NWA MEC chair Dave Stevens was struggling with a decision. Should they deal with the "little guy," Midwest first, and then deal with the "big one, DAL next, or go with what Moak wanted and deal straight with him. We all now know the end of the story. By February 2008, the communications between Midwest leadership and NWA MEC Chairman Stevens were done. He refused to return calls.
Later on after the demise was over, Stevens Executive Administrator told Jay Schnedorf that; "Dave felt he let the Midwest guys down". Well Dave, you DID let them down.
If you look around, it's already started..."We are ALPA! Want a sticker? How about a lanyard?"