ALPA Priority: RLA or 3rd Class Medical?
 

Would you rather ALPA spend time/money modifying the RLA and airline bankruptcy rules or fight the pilots and aviation community working toward 3rd class medical reformation (EAA, AOPA, etc, proposing self reporting 3rd class medical)?

Most of the legacy pilots/contracts got obliterated during BK. Now that airlines are wildly profitably they don't want to pay back that debt and make pilots whole again. What should be the high priority items at ALPA national?

For over 73 years the Railway Labor Act has governed airline contracts with only one minor revision in 1981.

Should ALPA be spending time/money creating more red tape for old timers (many former airline pilots and dues paying members of ALPA) to obtain medicals or working to prevent the decimation of future pilot contacts through "convenient bankruptcy" as well as change outdated RLA governance?

To my knowledge very little effort has been made by ALPA to put RLA amendments forth or work with congress (Democrat or Republican) to modify the RLA to reflect today's environment.

I'm told ALPA doesn't want to attempt change because they are AFRAID it could make things worse. Notice fear is embedded in virtually everything ALPA says or does.

CAPA, is having that conversation:

"At CAPA we feel that airline labor is no different than railway labor and should be protected with no less vigor. In today’s modern world, airline transportation is essential to our nation’s economy. Since airline labor contracts never expire, there is no logical reason why airline labor is excluded from the protections in bankruptcy that railway labor contracts enjoy. Airline contracts need to be given these same protections. All airline employees whether, working for financially sound or troubled carriers, are affected by bankruptcy code application.

We point out that it is not the bankruptcy laws in of themselves that has created havoc; there are obviously sound reasons for corporate bankruptcy laws. It is the discriminatory application of the bankruptcy law that creates the issue.

Creative manipulation of the NMB process inside the RLA by management has destroyed critical professions in an essential industry. Government must recognize that in order to promote airline safety, qualified professionals must be attracted to the airline industry. Revising arcane regulations and bankruptcy code applications must be the start of the process to rebuild aviation careers and the aviation industry."

Jeff Skiles on behalf of CAPA

Jeffrey Skiles (Sully's Co Pilot) Explains How Railway Labor Act Hamstrings Airline Workers - Democratic Underground

http://www.capapilots.org/capa-appla...aibt-amendment

http://www.capapilots.org/Websites/c...tcyhearing.pdf

That's not the reason at all. ALPA doesn't want the RLA to change because ALPA uses the RLA as the reason to pressure any member union from considering putting labor risk on the table. ALPA will immediately hit you with: "I know it sucks guys, but the RLA just won't ever let anyone strike anymore. Management knows it, so we have to all get along no matter what." It's totally false of course, but it provides the road map for ALPA's excuse making.

The fact is that ALPA has turned itself into a sham insurance company. No different than companies that want to sell you extended warranty insurance or earthquake insurance for houseboats. ALPA wants to continue collecting dues (the equivalent of insurance premiums) from you, but they want to ensure that you never consider anything that might be a risk to ALPA (striking or any other fight against management) that might cause ALPA to actually spend money. It's the perfect scenario for them. A continuous revenue stream of dues income, while fighting members from ever taking an action that might present a risk to ALPA. The key to the scam is line pilots continuing to believe ALPA is actually offering them anything of value.

Carl

I think you can get wallet sized pictures of the president's portraits, that is one good thing.

FYI, ALPA loses closed shop provision if the RLA goes away, I'm dead serious.

Wow, that's something I never knew. Are you absolutely sure about that?

Carl

Right to work laws don't apply to the railway labor act. I found this out when I wanted to stop payment for the poor way ALPA was handling the Pinnacolaba merger situation.

You're a loon if you think it's a good idea for Congress to "legislate to regulate." Turning safety issues over to politicians never works out in the long run.

You're an even bigger loon if you think that ALPA could re-write the RLA with the GOP controlling both houses of Congress and a President who thinks that TTIP and TPP are great ideas for American workers.

Read it, loon.

Re-write the RLA? NO! It's about being treated the same as all other union members in the US, and falling under the NLRA. That's fairness.

FedEx ALPA wrote closed shop into their collective bargaining agreement!