Delta Pilots Association
02-25-2011 | 04:22 AM
#4493
Gets Weekends Off
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 1,462
Likes: 0
It always amazes me how pilots complain ALPA can't get anything done in Washington, yet refuse to contribute to the PAC for any given reason.
Money talks - I hate that that's the case, but its the truth.
02-25-2011 | 04:59 AM
#4494
Get's Every Day Off
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 1,864
Likes: 0
From: Retired
I used to give to the PAC too. I quit after ALPA ignored the membership on the age 65 deal. You're right, money talks and withholding it does too.
02-25-2011 | 05:01 AM
#4495
Gets Weekends Off
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 2,350
Likes: 0
From: Flying the SEC
Problem is PG, the money doesn't just go to issues for us. It goes into the coffers of politicians that are down right evil in my view. I'm glad that ALPA separates their PAC money from their union money. Applying for a refund of dues money used for political donations is a hassle.
02-25-2011 | 05:03 AM
#4496
Gets Weekends Off
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 1,601
Likes: 0
From: Dismayed
The overriding issue there is the state (as many) are broke. Big time. Beyond the ability to recover without some massive, earth shattering, sacred cow skewering, unthinkable and unacceptable outcomes to municipal unions. Even FDR, arguably one of the biggest cheerleaders of unions in this country ever, was over all against public unions entirely.
And from what I've heard they have most certainlly not agreed to the necessary cuts but rather viewed the cuts as an opener from which they would negotiate downward upon. They then, of course, try to turn it into a poor underpaid teachers arguement but the NEA as a whole and their particular state affiliate are extremely corrupt, have been found using membership dues money for mass direct political contributions to candidates of a particular persuasion, argue vehemently against parental choice and meaningful accountability, and their cries for parity go straight out the window because public teachers still make, on average, way more than their private counterparts. Not only that, but the percentages of benefits they are being faced with paying pale in comparison to almost the entirety of the private sector and that is microcosm for government in general.
State and national debt is beyond out of control. It is a crisis, period. No one, not even the evil anti union republicrats, dare to propose literally even 10% of the austerity measures necessary to stop the bleeding, much less fix the problem. Although I have great reservations about "public unions" (which, by the way, have been the lynchpins in almost every totalitarian regime in modern history) they can have as much collective bargaining rights as they want, as long as the overall problem is fixed IAW fiscal realities. But they will never, ever go for that.
This is playing out to be a classic partisan divide, but the fact remains the party is over, the bill is here, we can't pay and its time to go in the back and wash the dishes. That goes not only for public union contracts but other untouchable sacred cows like Social Security, Medicare, foreign aid, military, global welfare and government overhead at every level, not one iota of which a political majority up to this point has had the courage to even face much less fix, including considerable majorities in all branches of government at given times by both major parties. All we have done is roll the snowball up the hill and defer a greater problem for someone else. That someone else is now us.
I don't believe for one second that they are just protesting about some esoteric contstruct of collective bargaining in theory only. They are protesting the cuts, and they think in doing so they can bargain those cuts down. They can not. The economics of it are as undeniable as they are staggering. And unlike a money losing private company, they are burning the people's money and like it or not that makes it different. Even FDR, the high priest of modern leftism understood that. And the peoples' whose money is burning are broke too. The take away on this is Wisconsin is just the tip of the iceberg. Austerity here will rival Europe by a large margin and sooner than later, and it will be bitterly resisted along the way but there is no other way.
What we as a private profession shouldn't do is get in the middle of it because "unions good always and forever" as that is not the case. Do we want a system where everyone is in a union and it becomes a superpower politburo that blends the functions of corporate and political interests into one indistinguishable force? Public unions and private unions are 180 degrees different in concept. Lets not get so wrapped up in the banner of the concept that we lose sight of that.
And from what I've heard they have most certainlly not agreed to the necessary cuts but rather viewed the cuts as an opener from which they would negotiate downward upon. They then, of course, try to turn it into a poor underpaid teachers arguement but the NEA as a whole and their particular state affiliate are extremely corrupt, have been found using membership dues money for mass direct political contributions to candidates of a particular persuasion, argue vehemently against parental choice and meaningful accountability, and their cries for parity go straight out the window because public teachers still make, on average, way more than their private counterparts. Not only that, but the percentages of benefits they are being faced with paying pale in comparison to almost the entirety of the private sector and that is microcosm for government in general.
State and national debt is beyond out of control. It is a crisis, period. No one, not even the evil anti union republicrats, dare to propose literally even 10% of the austerity measures necessary to stop the bleeding, much less fix the problem. Although I have great reservations about "public unions" (which, by the way, have been the lynchpins in almost every totalitarian regime in modern history) they can have as much collective bargaining rights as they want, as long as the overall problem is fixed IAW fiscal realities. But they will never, ever go for that.
This is playing out to be a classic partisan divide, but the fact remains the party is over, the bill is here, we can't pay and its time to go in the back and wash the dishes. That goes not only for public union contracts but other untouchable sacred cows like Social Security, Medicare, foreign aid, military, global welfare and government overhead at every level, not one iota of which a political majority up to this point has had the courage to even face much less fix, including considerable majorities in all branches of government at given times by both major parties. All we have done is roll the snowball up the hill and defer a greater problem for someone else. That someone else is now us.
I don't believe for one second that they are just protesting about some esoteric contstruct of collective bargaining in theory only. They are protesting the cuts, and they think in doing so they can bargain those cuts down. They can not. The economics of it are as undeniable as they are staggering. And unlike a money losing private company, they are burning the people's money and like it or not that makes it different. Even FDR, the high priest of modern leftism understood that. And the peoples' whose money is burning are broke too. The take away on this is Wisconsin is just the tip of the iceberg. Austerity here will rival Europe by a large margin and sooner than later, and it will be bitterly resisted along the way but there is no other way.
What we as a private profession shouldn't do is get in the middle of it because "unions good always and forever" as that is not the case. Do we want a system where everyone is in a union and it becomes a superpower politburo that blends the functions of corporate and political interests into one indistinguishable force? Public unions and private unions are 180 degrees different in concept. Lets not get so wrapped up in the banner of the concept that we lose sight of that.
I've never understood why public sector employees need a union. They're almost impossible to fire and have all types of codified protections, so in effect they're paying money to some union fat cats for protection they already enjoy.
02-25-2011 | 05:10 AM
#4498
Gets Weekends Off
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 1,462
Likes: 0
That's fine - but just realize that when legislation (flight time/duty time, LGA slot swap, IRA rollover legislation, cabotage, foreign ownership, etc. etc.) doesn't go your way, you know who to blame - at least to a degree.
02-25-2011 | 05:16 AM
#4499
Gets Weekends Off
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 1,601
Likes: 0
From: Dismayed
I disagree. ALPA gets plenty of money from DALPA to enable them to go out a press for legislation beneficial to our positions. They just don't use it on education campaigns. I'm pretty sure the DOT is the problem behind the slot swap and LaHood is already in someone else's pocket so I'm glad we're not trying to lobby him - good money after bad.
02-25-2011 | 05:18 AM
#4500
Gets Weekends Off
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 478
Likes: 0
[COLOR=red][QUOTE=Jesse;954075 [/COLOR]
The average Milwaukee public-school teacher salary is $56,500, but with benefits the total package is over $100,000. Not too shabby for 180 days of work.
QUOTE]
An old Indian saying: "Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt"!
Are you a management stooge??? Let's take "our" hourly wages, company 401 contributions, company paid medical benefits, company paid LTD benefits, company paid life insurance benefits, etc, etc then divide them by "our" annual hours worked and then use that as a comparision.
The atrocity, a six figure salary for college educated individual, masters degrees and hundreds of credits for continuing education.......
Oh and last I checked, teachers actually have to do a "bit" more work than the 180 days a year the students are in the classroom, but hey you're the expert right............
The average Milwaukee public-school teacher salary is $56,500, but with benefits the total package is over $100,000. Not too shabby for 180 days of work.
QUOTE]
An old Indian saying: "Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt"!
Are you a management stooge??? Let's take "our" hourly wages, company 401 contributions, company paid medical benefits, company paid LTD benefits, company paid life insurance benefits, etc, etc then divide them by "our" annual hours worked and then use that as a comparision.
The atrocity, a six figure salary for college educated individual, masters degrees and hundreds of credits for continuing education.......
Oh and last I checked, teachers actually have to do a "bit" more work than the 180 days a year the students are in the classroom, but hey you're the expert right............
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