While the rhetoric regarding ALPA often gets heated on SM and it may seem like everyone hates them you must put this in perspective. The people who strongly dislike APLA are much more likely to be vocal about it. Pilots who are Neutral or even slightly positive probably don’t contribute much to the conversation.

I am not a big fan of ALPA but concede they serve a purpose and would rather have a union than not. I think the bloat at National is excessive and while I want our Reps to be well compensated - I don’t think they should have benefits that line Pilots do not. I would also like to see them flying the line more. For example after a 3 year ALPA gig back to the line for the next three years. Two year gig - back to the line for two years. Some of our Reps seem out of touch with Line Pilots.

The fact that the majority of ALPA folks run for multiple terms leads me to believe their perks are adequate if not on the high side.

Scoop

 

Flight pay loss is a powerful tool for schedule control and credit. The fact that they just raised it is infuriating. Most reps do it for personal gain, then scream about what a bad job it is when questioned. If that was true, they wouldn’t all keep volunteering.

 

You do realize that reps are not on full time leave, right?

Last time I talked to my rep, he had just gotten in from a 12 hour day, and had more calls to make that night. I ran into him later, and he told me that ALPA work cost him 15-20 hours every month and no way would he do that again.

When I got hired, you often saw 4-6 people running for each rep position, and the contest was strong.

These days, you’re lucky if you have any choice, because only one person steps up.

That tells me it’s a much better deal to be out on the line. Of course, you’ve got the TA1 crowd complaining, but when they were running things, the contract blew in a lot of ways, so maybe flying the line wasn’t the best deal going at that point. A lot of those people stuck around in ALPA work for a long time.

 

Why aren't independent pilot unions more popular?

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Because they are much more prone to corruption, have less resources and less national influence.

 

I was.

I think it was the way 23.M.7 went down as it's analogous.

I'm always cautiously optimistic with our union. And I agree with ancmans balanced viewpoint. I think we as a group get engaged when deals are not made in the shadows. When they are, I think that stings us. But then we sometimes just shrug it off and get back to rowing the galley. We've gone thru our ups and downs for sure, recalls have and will continue so long as we are engaged and paying attention. Certainly I'm probably an outlier here, but I can say we've managed to move in the right direction most of the time.

 

So you want committee chairs and other SMEs to build up proficiency and foster relationships with their counterparts at the company to build up good working relationships and provide effective resources just to force them back to the line and start from scratch every 3 years? That has to be the worst idea I’ve ever heard.

 

He was specifically talking about Elected Reps:

 

And yet many ALPA keep going back and run for multiple terms - it must really suck.

Scoop

 

Yes - this is exactly what I would prefer. Train your relief and then go back to the line. Isn’t this exactly what happens in the rare case someone doesn’t run for reelection? With staggered council elections we would always have plenty of experience. So you think these folks are irreplaceable? Plenty of sharp Pilots that could excel at these positions.

As pointed out above I was specifically referring to elected Reps but I would have no problem with ensuring a steady turnover of all positions including SMEs. If committee experience is paramount why just not hire full time non Pilot professionals?



Scoop