Originally Posted by
Carl Spackler
It's a great question. If ALPA's crack legal team didn't know about this 1976 case, then that's an obvious problem. If ALPA's crack legal team DID know about it, they advised all of our negotiating committees to go ahead with Scope cave-ins knowing full well that you could never strike over it in order to get it back if it later proved to be a mistake.
Since I cannot conceive of ALPA legal not knowing about this case, it's clear their advice was the latter. Truly unbelievable.
Carl
Carl,
Again you assume this what happened was a "scope cave in" and not a "scope sale." The history is clear. It was a sale. Bargaining credits were received in exchange for farming out flying considered to be work that was beneath the majority of members represented by the MEC.
Scope was not taken from us. We sold it.
ALPA is very quick to state the legal limitations which prevent it from doing it's primary mission of protecting pilots jobs, seniority and longevity. This primary mission is the most important work ALPA does. Not only is this work critical to us, it is critical work to ensure the association's survival.
As written before, outsourcing is a fatal poison to any union. The fact we have this thread here, while over on the regional board several similar threads are in motion openly discussing voting ALPA off the property are obvious signs ALPA has been snake bit.
The antidote is obvious to us on this board. Step one, return to the basics of representation. Realize that a union's power is dependent entirely on each and every precious represented member. Make decisions in light of expanding that power.