What you're asking is unprovable. The benefits of a connected, educated, empowered pilot group are intangible. That doesn't mean they aren't real and extremely important.

What you did get for your dues dollars was a massive information campaign that sought to get out ahead of FAR 117 among many other issues. To my knowledge we are the only pilot group that made such an extensive effort to educate on the new rules prior to January 1st. And to head off your next point, yes a large portion of the hotel op was in response to 3-4 years of BS from the DPA which I think most of us are finally coming to see for what it was/is. However, your democratically elected MEC reps were the ones that decided to authorize the action, so again if you think something is awry you have the ability to hold them accountable.

The pilots staked out in the lobbies were also available to answer a multitude of non-FAR 117 questions, take feedback and generally be available to let guys "be heard." This information, believe it or not, was collated and passed back to the MEC for review/action. Some of this "temperature of the pilot group" stuff will undoubtedly be the beginnings of the MEC's decisions wrt C2015.

The feedback that comes through almost every channel is always overwhelmingly that pilots want more access to their union, more face-to-face contact, more opportunities to provide feedback, etc. The vast majority of pilots that we came in contact with at the layover hotels, were either positive on the idea or at least pleasantly neutral, thanking us for the effort and information. The loose cannons were in the severe minority.

You, Purple, are the perfect example of "can't please everybody, all the time." I'd rather us continue to make the effort, even if it sometimes is less than ideal, than to sit around hoping things will turn out for the best. If you feel strongly that DALPA's efforts are a waste, then you have plenty of mechanisms at your disposal to advocate change. Just remember, your voice is 1 of 11,620 (as of the latest list!) and just because the other 11,519 don't agree with you doesn't mean the system is broken.

I saw you're making a move. Congrats!

I thought about it, but couldn't stomach the thought of going to training AGAIN

So...it was a complete waste of money. We funded a PR drive at Moak's behest. Got it. How much did each minute of interaction with line pilots cost? A few hundred dollars?

I've got it. Let's double (triple?) dues, and spend it all on FPL for boondoggles such as that. Then even more of us can be left with that "positive impression."

You sure about that number?

There's some ALPA arrogance.

You're missing the point. Since you're taking me literally, let me re-word it for you. Try to follow along:

The reason your viewpoint is not driving the agenda is because it's the minority. That doesn't mean you're wrong OR that the system is broken. It simply means that not everyone sees ALPA's every move as a [insert your favorite derogatory descriptor here.]

There is no arrogance here. Some of the best conversations/feedback come from pilots with opinions that are 180 degrees out. That's how we identify problem areas and improve over time. My problem is with your baseless accusations. Just because you disagree with the will of the majority doesn't mean that anyone is screwing you.

Stated differently, maybe the ALPA guys aren't going to jump through hoops trying to satisfy your (PD's) quest for info, when your quest has consisted of replacing the union. Maybe the guys that work hard for free, and have been getting lambasted by the DPA for years, are tired of addressing non-stop complaints, real or imagined.

Maybe this is the flip-side of having invested years of trying to replace a machine with another machine, instead of helping, and reforming? My biggest gripe with the DPA is that they never seemed to want to make a positive impact, to the detriment of everyone.

I met TC years ago, when he gave me the sales-pitch on a layover. He had a number of complaints. I kept asking him why he wasn't sending his followers in, to take over the MEC, or effect his changes. He said that wasn't what his movement was about. He said he could take over the MEC the next day, but what had to happened is that the DPA had to remove ALPA.

You tell the guys trying to work for ALPA, and trying to reform ALPA, that you're not there to improve, just kill ALPA. You keep doing that for years, and ultimately fail to kill it... don't be surprised if your input doesn't get immediate results every time.

I'm not speaking for the volunteers, or ALPA: I'm just speculating as to how I would address it their shoes. I think I would spend the precious time I volunteer trying to help those who want to be part of the solution. I'm not suggesting those volunteers should be arrogant, or fail to consider the weak areas of the union. I just think that they would probably feel most interested in solving the real problems of the majority, and they probably would feel they've been sufficiently insulted by the wannabes.

I'm glad Purple has found his sea legs again, and is back to bashing people for doing the work he can't do. Or won't do. Maybe he keeps his light under a bushel.

The job for comm, DPN and P2P is to inform the pilots. Emails and stuffing the v-files isn't enough. Not enough pilots read that stuff. You have to go where the pilots can be found in large numbers to be effective. Nobody who is actually showing up for the work is calling it a boondoggle.

The lies that the DPA was spewing got to the point where they were threatening another contract negotiation, so Kingsley Roberts decided to do something overt. Playing nice and pretending they didn't exist wasn't getting the bills paid.

In related news, I hear the sewing circle in the ATL lounge got shut down today.

Hilarious!

Terrific news! Congratulations and welcome aboard!

We augment all the time in the Caribbean. Meal & a Movie...guys are making a comfortable career out of it. The company hates it because they remove 2 revenue seats from the inventory on each leg. Now we're not making it a 3 pilot leg for other reasons...you'd have to make the 737, MD, 320 an int'l category (and that may be your arguement). But Meal & Movie is augmenting just an expensive method. At the end of the day...the only reason Delta (or any other company for that matter) isn't augmenting is because it is expensive and costs $$. They have to balance the crew cost with a hotel cost verse the loss of revenue from passengers. As Carl says..."follow the money."