rjlavender

I was copied on an email purportedly written by TonyC regarding his recent encounter with a USAir pilot. It contained this sentence:

I was approached by a very unhappy US Airways pilot. His career has seen some incredibly bumpy roads, and most of us would also be disappointed by the misfortune he has encountered. He lost his pension. He doesn't like the results of the seniority list arbitration. And for all the bad things that have happened to him, he blames ALPA.

While ALPA is not responsible for "all" bad things, it is directly responsible for the problems the pilot is enduring with the seniority list integration, lost pension, and for the inability to work past 60 to make up for his lost pension. These problems exist because ALPA has failed to take the lead on fixing the underlying economic causes for them. Even worse, ALPA officials have prevented the publication and dissemination of creative ideas that would have helped solve these problems, simply because they dissented from traditional policies.

The USAir pilot is not blameless; there was plenty of warning available. But, until the problems directly affected him, personally, he was, likely, as apathetic and clueless as anyone about the strategic deficiencies facing his profession. Many FedEx pilots, apparently, still do not see the connection between ALPA's strategic weaknesses and the negotiating weaknesses that they are experiencing with the FDA LOA, the quality of trip pairings, the future of retiree health insurance, etc..

The clues about where things are headed are all around. Regardless of how you feel about the Age 60 rule, ALPA's abrupt change on it is a clear signal that the Association is in political gridlock and unable to anticipate even the most obvious problems. In my opinion, this kind of thing occurs most often when officials/"leaders" are more worried about their own reputations and positions than they are about the welfare of their constituencies.

If you have not been heavily involved in thinking about and participating in this kind of thing for 29 years, you may not recognize this time-worn marketing tool:

"We will fix it the next time around when we have more leverage."

Wishful-thinking pilots fall for this reasoning every time around, whether it comes from management or the union. Both entities repeatedly count on the legendary naivete‚ of pilots to make it work. The latest edition of this comes in the form of the "Domestic Solve" affair where, in the name of safety, the SIG is again begging for line purity and a reduction in day-night swaps. What? I have been here for nearly 18 years; the same battle is fought every month and things are increasingly deteriorating. The next time around? That will be next month and every month thereafter.

If anyone here has any sense, they will demand that their reps get to the economic bottom of the problems now and explore new ideas on both a local and global basis. Otherwise, the status quo will continue to eat their lunch and they will end up in exactly the same position as the USAir pilot. I can assure you that the necessary ideas and solutions are out there and available. It is up to the pilots, themselves, to receive and implement them.

Bob

rjlavender

This thread was originally pulled due to my use of a personal name. That has been rectified with the help of the administrator of the site.

HerkDriver, please repost your question to me so that I may respond publicly. And, someone else posted that I was "right on the mark" with my comments. I would like to hear from that individual again too. Please write.

Bob

fdxflyer

Bob -

Whether we pilots have any "sense" or not, it amazes me that you would find it your place to provide input. You have made a conscious decision to be a nonmember, yet you continue to advise us on how to be good active members. Surely, you must understand how unwelcome we find your input regardless of your intentions.

Imagine an uninvolved spectator looking over your shoulder next time you post Bob. Now imagine that person asking what you are doing. If your answer goes like this: "Oh, I am just giving advice to other Fedex pilots. They pay dues to their union which gives them the right to participate. I choose not to pay. I am not a member."

Doesn't that sound just like the kind of person that dues paying members don't want to hear from? Right or wrong, whatever! You took your ball and went home. Quit text messaging us with how to play the game!

Here is how I equate your actions:

A nonmember is like:
A family member who opts out of a family reunion.
Bob is like:
A family member who shows up at the reunion, offers no help paying for food, and tells everyone what should be on the menu.

Nonmember:
Doesn't go out drinking with the guys.
Bob:
Goes out, mooches beer, and never offers to be the driver.

Nonmember:
Doesn't join football team.
BOb:
Doesn't go to practice, but wants to call the plays and be QB on Saturday.


Do you get it???????? I am not ignorant enough to believe you would even publicly admit your foolishness. But if you are half as intelligent as you continue to make yourself out to be, then you would have the introspective ability to understand that someone who has opted out of an organization has no right to tell its members anything relating to that organization.

FreightDawgyDog

"Please write.

Bob"

It's good to see nonmembers like NMB begging for someone to communicate with him. Maybe ignoring him and his ilk is having some effect. I encourage all of you who are considering writing him to realize he has his hand in your wallet with every word he types. He can always find a voice by becoming a member, if that is truly his desire. Maybe he should change the above pathetic plea to "Please write Bob, please write that check and stop freeloading" if he really wants to be heard. Until then he remains just another poacher, stealing our benefits without paying his way.

FLMD11CAPT

rjlavender.............NON-MEMBER...........end of thread.

AerisArmis

OK Bob, this should be easy for you to answer, what is your position on union membership, to wit, why do you let us pay for your services while you don't.. and do you think we all (4800 of us) should follow your lead and quit the union? Lastly, do you believe we would be better off as a non union group?

frozenboxhauler

AA, I think you're gonna' be waiting a while....better go get a good book.
fbh

hamfisted

Bob...for someone who is obviously as smart as you are.....when are you going to wake up and realize that your conscious decision to be a non-member automatically throws you in the "do not disturb" pile?
We don't like paying dues but we do because all of us believe that it's the right thing to do. It's the price of admission to have a voice in all things related to our professional lives. As members, we have the RIGHT to **** and moan about what we perceive the shortcomings of our Union are. You my friend are an outsider who we turn our backs to simply because you have decided to exclude yourself from the membership.
Either join the Union and provide some positive thrust or take a hike on trying to impact anything that happens when it comes to ALPA. I automatically almost gag when I see your name on this forum because I feel like some tired-@ss uncle is about to lecture me again.
So please, do us all a favor...either join us or shut your pie-hole.

290kts

Bob-o

I have many times considered quitting the union - prior to the handcuffs being put on by the new contract, but when you stop and take the emotion out of it change is made from inside not from throwing rocks from the outside. The decision that I came to was that until the union was "unfixable" (in my opinion of course) that I would not quit. Don't get me wrong - these numskulls really hack me off sometimes with their stupid answers.

But, if you spent half the energy you are spending currently attempting to facilitate change as a member of this organization I submit that not only would you be better off, but the organization would also.

I had a lengthy conversation with a non-member (who became a good friend prior to his departing the union) last week and asked him point blank what would it take for him to come back. He said:

First, I have been setting aside the money so it is available in a lump sum. Second, I will become a member the day that they start making the financials public - he was specifically referring to Trip Loss Pay by pilot, by trip, by committee. Now I know where he stands. Is it reasonable to ask ALPA to do this - yes. Should we do it anyway - yes.

Until you can prove otherwise - you are just a guy not paying his way. I make the same challenge to you - what would it take for you to pony up to the table and join this admittedly flawed group. Until you answer that question you are no different than the guy outside the pub last night that asked me for spare change.

rjlavender

To Contributors:

I have written a response to HerkDriver, but I will put that on hold in order to address a couple of comments here. They are:

You and I currently see the purpose of this board differently. I do not see it as a forum for union members. In fact, I don't care if readers are members or not. All I do is post in order to create a public record of ideas. If you recall, when I was a member of ALPA in good-standing, a friend and I stuffed nearly 4000 pilot mailboxes (twice!) because ALPA refused to publish my articles on leadership and on the "impending train wreck" known as Age 60. These articles were censored solely because my opinion "dissented" from ALPA policy. Even as a member, I received the same type of treatment from the MEC that I am receiving now. Membership, at least in this regard, bought me nothing, and I strongly believed that ALPA was preventing the crewforce from seeing important information.

In those box-stuffers, I did not advise readers "how to be good active members." I merely stated the facts about the Age 60 matter and laid out the consequences of not "getting out in front of it." Today, I cannot walk through the crewroom without being approached by one or more (ALPA) pilots who either thank me for my efforts on Age 60, or outright say to me, "You were right." I have received phone calls stating the same thing.

I am writing the same types of articles here. I am laying out the case for changing the way we do business with each other in order to reconcile our differences, and I am saying that our problems will continue if we follow the ALPA model. I am not emotionally tied to this; it is very matter-of-fact material to me. I created a public record then, and I am creating one now. If you choose to not read or pay attention, fine. I have done my part and I am not trying to get elected.

Very simply this: The perspective of a pilot who spent two years on strike and gave up ten years of his career and about a million dollars in lost compensation in order to defend your profession, is probably a lot different than yours. Please appreciate that the striking pilot very much sees his offerings as the equivalent of "dues." (I was also fired from People Express Airlines for trying to protect employee interests from an unscrupulous management...more dues). Maybe I should ask, "What, exactly, would I have to do, Mr. Armis, to catch up with you in terms of offerings? Where have you been?"

If I were watching this whole affair as a disinterested observer, I think I would inquire, "How did Bob Lavender get so far out in front on the Age 60 issue when it seemed to catch everyone else, including every single freaking union official, by complete surprise?" The answer I would give is that I have fairly good experience and some talent in strategic thinking. I look at things more globally than most people and I tend to see things like this coming. Having said that, I am not as talented with some of the technical issues that confront us. Some of you are better at that than I. The problem with some of you guys is that you are emotionally out of control and you use profanity to try to make a point. So, your talents remain hidden.

Just as with Age 60, the union continues to ignore solutions that are not only out there but are routinely used by organizations worldwide to align the perspectives of their members and establish internal harmony. I have written a bit about this in the letter to HerkDriver, but, for now, you are being deprived by the union of these solutions because union officials refuse to reach outside for answers. They fear change and, interestingly, some fear for their reputations if they bring you the truth. Most, including TonyC, simply do not have the experience to deal with this sort of thing. They are in over their heads. So, pilots in this country are going to die a slow death. Sorry.

If I could convince you of anything, it would be that the problems you are seeing at FedEx did not start yesterday. This has been developing for about 25 years, even before the A,B, and C pay scales came into existence at American, and it has accelerated in the last eight years. You have now witnessed some very large mistakes made by the union...and your are ticked. Imagine watching these same mistakes being made over and over, again, for 25 years. If you can imagine that, then you can imagine how I feel. This is not new folks. You might be experiencing it for the first time, but it has been SOP at every crewforce for years. If you think you have problems, you need to go visit USAir.

Right now, things are about as bad as they have been in modern times for pilots. If you want to make it stop, you need to start thinking about doing something new. Until you do, every dollar paid to ALPA goes to further the destruction of the profession. ALPA might take one step forward, but it also takes three steps back. And that is something I will not pay for any longer.

Bob