I highly recommend you do not sign up for automatic paycheck deduction. You will be signing a financial contract that is fully legally binding. That contract is very bad because it lets ALPA do whatever they want. It's just a bad business deal. Instead, calculate your own dues and send in a monthly check. I recommend using your bank's Bill Pay feature. That way, you are still paying like a regular member, but you are not giving a stranger the legal ability to take 100% of your paycheck.

 

WTF, over?

 

Sorry no, don't do this. I mean, pay by check if you'd like, but all the guys who seem to end up in poor standing are the ones who don't auto pay and screw up what they owe. You can always check that they're taking the correct amount each month if you're concerned.

I have not heard of any issues with ALPA taking more than they should.

 

I look at everything with the eyes of a lawyer. I guarantee you that JB and ALPA will both use the lawyer standard to get what they want from you. So, don't be naive and assume kindness is the law of the land. It isn't. Be smart.

Look at the ALPA contract you are signing. Even though I have all the faith in the world that ALPA would NEVER screw you over or do something unethical, it doesn't change the fact that you are entering a contract that is non-negotiable once signed. It's that simple. Law is law. Change the name of ALPA at the top and put in Comcast or some other terrible company. Would you sign such a one sided deal?

Most pilots are sheep. Please don't be one.

 

So, Uptpilot, do have insurance, 401k ... deducted from your paycheck?

Or do you write checks to be safe?

 

It depends on the "severability" clause of the agreement/contract. If I don't like the agreement/contract, I don't sign it. I read the fine print and make decisions based on informed consent, not lemming order. For example, I make it a point NEVER to sign anything that supersedes my right to litigation (i.e. "arbitration clauses"). Incidentally, this is why I am a big fan of a contract through ALPA. I don't like that our only option is arbitration. Arbitrators are frequently in the pockets of the employer, which is why they have you sign an arbitration clause in the first place.


Not a single one. There are other ways to pay electronically. I simply don't do automatic payments if I am unhappy with the agreement/contract for it or if I don't have confidence in their ability to write bills properly (i.e. the cable company).

 

I agree on all counts. I've never agreed to utilities having access to my checking account. Even regular mortgage/car payments.

But we're talking about payroll deduction here. Just like your health insurance premiums -- do you pay those yourself or have them withheld?

I've been an ALPA member for 18 years and they have never -- not once -- screwed up the witholding amount.

 

I don't pay for health insurance. I don't need to.

My point is that I don't care if it is ALPA or not. The bottom line is that I have to trust an assembly of people further than 1-degree of separation away from. As a fundamental axiom, they will not care if a mistake or intentional act doesn't benefit me. It is a layer of protection never to sign any contract/agreement with language as draconian as the ALPA language. If they never have an intention to screw me over, they can change there language to include a severability clause that allows me to stop automatic payments whenever *I* choose to do so. Why should I trust anyone who is effectively holding a gun to my head with a contract as insulting as theirs? Have you ever stopped and thought about questioning the verbiage of the ALPA autopay contract/agreement? Believe me, I would love to have it autopay but I will never do so with the legal language they have on there. This is not about what I feel, what you feel, how they have never screwed you in 18 yrs, etc... this is about the fact that the legal language of the autopay contract is draconian.

 

There is always that one person. Just shake your head and move along.


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Woe be to the man who doesn't read the terms of agreement fine print.