This will open a can of worms
 

This is going to be a loaded post no doubt, nevertheless I will ask anyway.

It seems that many pilots I have come in contact with recently are angry of about what is going on at Expressjet, specifically with the latest travel benefit change. It seems that no one is happy with the XJT ALPA leadership.

What will it take to vote out of ALPA and have our own in house union? It seems to me there is a conflict of interest between Continental ALPA and Expressjet ALPA.

I wonder also, if the Skywest pilots will be interested in merging all three pilots group if we have one in house union for all of them? would that serve us better?

Last but not least, what does it take to vote ALPA out like U.S. Airways did?

For me presonally I am not in favor of one or the other because I know very little information, hence this post. Now whether I would get answers that I could really learn from, but rather a bunch of angry replies, it is worth the shot at least.

This particular SkyWest pilot supports merging our seniority lists. I can't speak for anyone else though.

Does your ALPA leadership at XJT control your travel benefits?

If not, do you have anything in your CBA that stipulates specifics about travel benefits that the company is violating?

If not, what do people expect the union to do about something they have no control over?

Definitely agree with you as far as an existing conflict of interest goes, but I wonder if you, or a majority or your pilots, felt the same way when Expressjet was growing while mainline Continental was shrinking.

Please don't take that statement as a personal attack against you or your pilot group. The conflict of interest between regional and mainline companies is only bothersome to a pilot group when it begins to adversely effect said pilot group.

This, in my opinion, is ALPA National's biggest failure as an organization over the past few years.

I personally wouldn't characterize it as anger but more of distrust with the MEC. There may be some anger over rolling over on the one list issue but for me its more of distrust on what else they may roll over on in the future. The union had no say on pass travel since its not contractual. There was nothing much they could do other than what they did do and ask management to ask Continental for a reprieve.

It would take 50%+1 to vote out ALPA and go non-union or independent. The result of the vote would decide which. I personally don't see the conflict of interest. I want ALL branded flying at mainline just as the mainline pilots do as well. All of us in ALPA also want the safest and most secure industry as well. Therefore I don't see ANY conflict.

I think would would serve the industry better is for all of us to be ALPA or APA or IPA or SWAPA.

Seriously, how do we get this ball rolling?

I am not smart enough to find the data or know if it is even published somewhere but...

I have been gossiped to a number of times that at ASA we are allocated and spend more than we contribute to National. Not stirring the pot, just wondering if hard facts are out there?

How do you not see a conflict of interest? It's like a lawyer defending and prosecuting at the same time. Major airline pilots dues goto ALPA and some of those dues goto protecting the same regional airline jobs that ALPA says they are trying to take back to mainline...

Mainline pilots decide with their management what they will or will not fly. The leftover is negotiated by the regional MEC as to pay and QOL of those scraps. I don't see the conflict especially since I'd like to see all branded flying done by pilots on the mainline seniority list anyways. That's coming from a regional pilot.

I want to see all the flying done by mainline seniority lists as well. That doesn't mean that ALPA negotiators for regional airlines want that. I'd love to see XJT or Comair or any other ALPA regional tell their pilot group that they're all being furloughed because they got all their flying put back on mainline seniority lists.