Mostly sports reporting IS inane... but then again.. he's a GOLFER, not a rocket surgeon.

 

You are pretty arrogant in the way that you like to throw around numbers. Ponder this: How many members would ALPA have if we were not FORCED to join? SO before you get all comfortable in your assertion that everybody who is not a DPA "member" is automatically an alpa supporter... step back and take a look at it from a different perspective.

 

I don't remember exactly why, but I ended up with the same negative bank after I got hired as well. I'm pretty sure everybody did. I only remember it because they took it out of my last paycheck when I got furloughed in 03. They also took what I still owed for my new hire uniforms. Needless to say, that last paycheck was a little smaller than I expected.

As for paying it back, yes delta takes the first five credit hours over 80 for negative bank, but it is only the first five credit hours, not all hours. So, if you are over 80 only due to a green slip or other pay/no credit time, they won't put anything into your bank unless you ask them to.

 

Tsquare wins the debrief.

 

Not so fast. Tsquare may be right that Pineapple Guy has a penchant for sarcasm, but he's putting extra words in his mouth. I don't think PG's post said anything about the number of ALPA supporters, and I'm not sure Tsquare is correct in his assertion that anyone (much less everyone) is forced to join ALPA.

All PG did with numbers in his post was to question Nerd's 50% articifial inflation in DPA support. That and he suggested only 2 people have stepped up to be reps, something I didn't see TSquare, Esquire, cover on cross-examination.

PG can be a bit arrogant with his numbers, of course, but T2 failed to connect on cross. The ruling is overturned by a higher court.

 

The negative bank happened the first few months on reserve. NWA tried to pay everyone 80 hours/month. Reserve was only 75 hours/month. After the first three months of not flying very much, you would be -15 hours (the maximum negative bank at NWA). It wasn't a big deal as the NWA bank was in dollars, not hours.

 

+1 The AF JV portion of Section 1 is solid.

I wish the rest of our Section 1 had the same high level of checks and balances.

More AF upgauging of the Transatlantic fleet equals more ER flying to Europe, it's that simple.

Cheers
George

 

The Most Dangerous Thing You'll Do All Day
Yikes!
We stand around a lot here at Men’s Health. In fact, a few of us don’t even have office chairs. Instead, we write, edit, and answer e-mails—a lot of e-mails—while standing in front of our computers. All day long. Why?

It all started last summer, when Assistant Editor Maria Masters came across a shocking study in the Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise (one of dozens of research journals we comb each month as we put together the magazine). Scientists at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Louisiana analyzed the lifestyles of more than 17,000 men and women over about 13 years, and found that people who sit for most of the day are 54 percent more likely to die of heart attacks.

That’s right—I said 54 percent!

Masters immediately called the lead researcher at Pennington, a professor named Peter Katzmarzyk. Turns out, this wasn’t the first study to link sitting and heart disease. Similar research actually dates back to 1953, when British researchers found that (sitting) bus drivers were twice as likely to die of heart attacks as (standing) trolley operators.

Here’s the most surprising part: “We see it in people who smoke and people who don’t,” Katzmarzyk told Masters. “We see it in people who are regular exercisers and those who aren’t. Sitting is an independent risk factor.”

In other words, it doesn’t matter how much you exercise or how well you eat. If you sit most of the day, your risk of leaving this world clutching your chest—whether you’re a man or women—as much as doubles.

 

Technically, you are correct, nobody is forced to join the ASSociation. But we are compelled to pay dues, at essentially the same rate as members, so while you win on a technicality, in practical matters, it is akin to federal taxes without a deduction for having a brain.

As far as DPA support, it is at best a wag. I guess you could get a scientific polling group to get a better read, but I would also bet that that group would find that alpa support isn't as high as PG thinks it is either. What those numbers are can be argued ad nauseum in the forum environment, so I guess we can declare a mistrial.

In summation though, I don't think that DPA is a real threat to the ASSociation. They know that in Herndon. So they aren't paying it any more than a little lip service. When DPA goes away.. and I have said this before... alpa will go back to the same old same old... not that the national pig has changed it's ways.. but the local version will go back.... time will tell. I request a continuance.

 

Without objection... so ordered.