I was previously non-union, in-house, Alpa, in-house, and finally Alpa....all at the same carrier.

Member ratification was the only way Alpa gained a permanent foothold, and it did not lead to anarchy. However, when the membership approved a woefully inadequate loa governing the opening of a new foreign domicile, they had no one to blame but themselves.....just food for thought.

 

Just another example of why there needs to be one seniority list for one brand of flying.

 

After the merger we will be a total of almost 34.000 crewmembers.

The benefits would be that 100% of what we pay in dues will be used to improve our lives, we would have a much closer relationship with the company, and thereby achieve synergy to levels we now are unable to reach.

Can't really think of any downsides other than a bunch of p!$$ed off people at ALPA.

There is no limitations unless one set them themself..

I am not against ALPA, I just think we will have a lot more power on our own. And by including the FA's we will have a happier more unionized workplace with a union that works towards our best interest. I strongly believe in efficiency and synergy, and the better relationship we can have with the company, the better off we are. Make no mistake about it; More efficiency leads to more profit and more profit leads to more pay. I also believe that the salaries of some of todays management is at levels that does not promote a good working relationship between crewmembers and the company as a whole. Maybe it is just me, but seeing a new hire pay for his own hotel while in training and the CEO making millions just don't make sense to me. I know which one is putting in the most effort!

Just some food for thought...

 

With all respect Avro, that wasn't exactly the point I was trying to get at.

Actually was leaning more towards having a more structured, separate if you will, Regional ALPA that coordinated a worked closely with Mainline ALPA to set boundaries, rules, and basic regulation mandatory in contracts. I'm not suggesting separate the two union groups completely, but at least a set a different set of goals and mission statements for either side.

While I don't think a "One Seniority List" proposal is a horrid idea, I just think the sheer logistics of being able to come up with a list that everyone could agree on is damn near impossible. Conjoining merely two large sized pilot groups is a monumental feat, nevermind ALL the pilot groups out there. Personally, I can't see anyway of creating said list in way that would be "Fair and Equitable" to all the pilots.

In theory, it's a decent idea that would down the line create some stability and fairness to senior pilots, but I can't see management signing off on it and at the end of the day we all, collectivelly, have bigger fish to fry these days.

 

I can...there's strength in numbers, particularly when it comes to Capitol Hill. I can think of a lot of good things about independent unions, but I can't think of a single reason an independent union would be better than ALPA at getting you the best possible contract.

 

ALPA itself needs a rework, but most people do not realize the benefits of a union its size. Normally when they realize it, is when they get in hot water, and ALPA is the only thing that saves their career. I have seen in many times.
There are good things too.
That said, there are bad things as well. We just need to be willing to step up and fix them not just complain from the side lines. You union dues are not like a Country Club membership. The idea is that with numbers there is strength, same goes for our dollars.

 

Do you really want flight atendants in your union?

Really?

I can't imagine a worse recipe for disaster...


Kevin

 

An in house union with the benefits of CAPA would be better than ALPA. CAPA is a coalition of the American, Southwest, UPS, and Airtran pilots. ALPA has a serious conflict of interest and it appears that it doesn't want to fix it. An in house Delta union alligned with CAPA would be much better in my opinion. We should do it now so that in 2012 we can actually fix some of our problems.

 

I had a very smart Captain explain it to me. When our Fa's were trying to unionize he told all of them "hey you don't want to do that Delta has always taken care of you" (which they do pretty well for the FA's). When I asked him why he didn't want them to unionized he summed it up with this:

"Do you want them to have a right to strike? A lot, not all, but a lot of their incomes are secondary in a household. Additionally they can readily replace that income with a lot of other jobs outside the industry. Now how easy is it going to be for you to find a six figure job when the airline gets shutdown due to an FA strike or slowdown? Not as easy as it will be for them to replace their income."

Ever since then I don't promote unionism to FA's.

 

Get junior guys on the MEC and LECs and get rid of Lee Moak!!