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."

 

I highly recommend the ALPA app.

 

I'm glad the DALPA propaganda machine has found its sea legs again. Look how many popped out of the woodwork. Someone calls out bureaucratic waste/abuse, and the entrenched functionaries start squealing like stuck pigs.

 

That's exactly what needs to happen. You should always do the right thing and try and call. But...Flt Ops really needs to get some new resources (software and means to communicate). They were pursuing Apache (the HP re-write of DBMS) but dropped it (I can't imagine buying anything from HP--5 CEO's in 2 years) and now they're back to square 1. Until SD gets enough ammo to show RA how this affects the ops, we're stuck with lousy comm and software that is seriously lacking. Personally...I try and do the right thing and then I give up and do what I personally think is reasonable. During the ATL SnowJam, one of my SLC buddies calls up and practically having a meltdown at the inability to contact Delta. I asked how long and how many times he'd tried. 5 hours, 9 times and on hold for over 45 min. I told him to hang up, grab a cab and look for an InterContinental hotel. Not his problem. They'll call when they need him...there's no pilot lounge and it doesn't seem reasonable to sit for that long. Then he was upset he was going to have to pay....Just be reasonable, they'll reimburse. They'll be po'd but if SD has tangible evidence to show the problem...they'll throw $$ at it pronto.