And remember when you were all up in arms when the Company said the same thing about the other employees?

 

That's funny. Don't get involved with DPA, the group trying to throw out ALPA, until you get off probation and are enjoying the protections provided by ALPA.

 

ALPA would never hack DPA's website because it is the greatest tool ALPA has to counter what miniscule amount of support they still have. As DPA has become more and more irrelevant their website rantings have become more and more unhinged. It is a virtual treasure trove of false and misleading statements that just destroys what little credibility the DPA leaders have left.

If anyone has any doubt what this lawsuit is about, just follow the money. The attorney for DPA is the same attorney who got fired at USAPA after running up millions in legal bills and never once negotiating even a single penny of pay raises for US Airways pilots. After milking that cow dry, he moves on to a new group of pilots who have felt the pain (as we all have) of a terrible decade in this industry and plays off their pain and insecurity.

So now DPA attorney finds a new group of pilots to suck money off of, and this lawsuit is just the vehicle for removing money from pilots wallets and putting it into the lawyer's boat payment. If there were any evidence that ALPA had anything to do with this, the DPA would have sued ALPA because they have money. Instead, they invent this John Doe case which is about to get blown out of the water, despite the stupid DPA rhetoric about a "great victory in court." Remember, their great victory was something that had already been offered by ALPA many times. ALPA was more than welcome to hand over any information they had as long as the pilot was protected from being publicly trashed by DPA before he had his day in court. (which will never come by the way, because DPA is about to get squashed). Gee, what a concept, a union that wants to protect their pilots instead of trying to publicly attack them.

Remember, this same DPA attorney filed a lawsuit against US Airways pilots under the RICO act; the same act that is for the Mafia and other organized crime. The lawsuit was dismissed, then filed again, then dismissed again. So DPA attorney gets millions in legal fees and the only thing the union accomplishes is to drag 18 union members into court and trash them. That is really what I think a union should do. Instead of negotiating for pay raises, they should just sue their own members to ensure that the attorneys make tons of money.

In my opinion, if you send money to DPA, you are being duped by a slick talking attorney who is firing up his shrinking base of support to give more money so it can all end up in his pocket. There is no one left who thinks DPA has any chance whatsoever to become the bargaining agent here so exactly what is their purpose other than to enrich the attorney.

If anyone has any doubt about what this lawsuit is about, follow the money. None of it will benefit one Delta pilot in any way. So who is really benefiting? Follow the money.

 

Fixed it for you

 

That would certainly be helpful.

 

It is more likely Lee Moak's interview was more along the lines of the fact we have removed "labor risk" from the equation. It does not mean we work for free, or cheap. It means we've progressed from the mutual assured destruction tactics which had been used at Eastern and Tigers. We do better negotiating with solvent employers.

This should not be a surprise. Delta's labor leaders have (mostly) been pragmatic about labor costs, watching the others fight battles to the death and then walking into open markets, or buying what's left and incorporating it into the Delta network. In years past some labor leaders have levelled pointed criticism at Delta - ALPA for being too management focused. Yet, which airline do so many pilots aspire to work for? Which airline did at least half of us apply to and make our first choice?

It is a balancing act for sure. Always looking out for your pilots, always protecting them and trying to find a way to satisfy the basic human desire for "more" in such a way that you don't end up with less.


... for perspective ... I have always viewed the Eastern group as heroes. But as much as their MEC Chairman was morally correct for his pilots, the plan just was not workable.

We should not squander this opportunity. The time for us to improve unity, fragmentation, successorship, work rules, and pay is while times are good. While a focus on pay is critical, it is not more critical than addressing schedules that leave us exhausted and the half of our profession who work their jobs with the constant uncertainty that their express carrier is going to be creatively restructured which will result in the loss of their longevity. ALPA is relevant and we have work to do.

 

Certainly.

It is interesting, though, that your "personal opinion" is almost always identical to DALPA's spin.

 

Excellent post.

 

Who cares? They're both irrelevant.

 

Given that I rarely even express an opinion on these boards, preferring rather to state facts, I'm not sure how one would reach that conclusion, other than someone who's own opinion is "almost always" diametrically opposed to what DALPA puts out.