Thank you! Sounds good. Oh and I ain't signing crap until I get a free meal and a lanyard. You can keep your stickers and magazines. When is the food coming? I am fat and hungry.

So I filled out a ALPA card being told it was so we could have the right to vote. I also filled out a IBT card but am now being told it basically said I was Voting for IBT. I think it would be great to see a union help out our company... but I will wait to make the most informed decision I can. Can anyone shed light on what that IBT card people filled out really meant?

You didn't have enough time to actually read what you signed?

Yes, the IBT letter you signed is basically a vote. If you took the time to read the small paragraph at the bottom, it says:

"...to conduct and investigation and a representation election and/or to represent me for all purposes under the Railway Act..."

The ALPA card says:

"...to conduct and investigation and representation election pursuant to the Railway Labor Act and, upon winning, to represent me for purposes..."

I think it's extremely shady of Teamsters to do this, probably knowing that a lot of pilots won't bother to read that small paragraph. That's the first indication to me right there of a shady union I don't want representing me.

And it's exactly like what the Steel Workers union pulled on our flight attendants last year. I mean cmon what the heck is a steel workers union doing representing flight attendants? We're not even flight attendants, but any of us would agree that AFA would've been a smarter choice for them. So why would any one of us think that a trucking union would be better for us pilots? Are we really dumb enough to let the same thing happen to us?

I am so annoyed of hearing about this ******* staple job... I can't believe my fellow pilots would be so stupid not to know the law and think that this would ever even happen. None of those douchebags over at EWR or even Houston are researching facts for themselves but merely basing all their opinions on PURE HEARSAY. Way to decide your futures!

What's most annoying is the fact that a lot of pilots DID fall for this IBT card scheme.. they have no idea they signed a vote. Seriously, they didn't even have to read a lot, it's ONE sentence. This is especially frustrating given that a good percentage of them are still undecided.

And dues? OK, so Teamsters dues is like ~1.5%, and ALPA is like ~1.9%. Based on a first year FO guarantee (since the majority of FOs are still on their first year), the difference of .4% comes out to 6 bucks per month. Congrats, you just saved 6 bucks on dues and got yourself a ****tier union in the process!

Ok I will stop this rant before I give myself a stroke. All I ask of my fellow pilots is to some factual research!!!

Well put. Here's a trend I've been seeing over the last few years. Very low time pilot, first real job out of high school/college, gets on at regional of his choice in the last 1-2 years. Lives in this fantasy land that regionals are still stepping stones and that as soon as he gets 1000 tpic (because he WILL pass upgrade as soon as he meets the bare upgrade mins) Fedex and UPS will be sending recruiters to his house begging him to come over to the cargo side. And since he got on no problem at the first regional he applied to, it must be the same at the majors. So I'm only going to be here 2 years, why do i need to waste $10/month on a union? I mean the management was kind enough to trust me with these shiny new $20 million airplanes! Plus I heard from a Captain that we would be stapled to the bottom, so it must be true!

What are you, in management? This is obviously a rumor started just to defeat ALPA.

That is just the word on the street. Whatever though where's my free food.

Are you telling me they don't really do that?!!?!?


I was given a Card being told it was simply requesting the right to vote, I remember reading it and being confused but i was assured it was only requesting the right to vote and not actually giving them permission to represent me. what are the percentages that it will take for one to beat out the other unions? say it goes 33%Alpa, 33%IBT and 33% want no union. in a situation like that... what would the outcome be? or maybe say.. 40% alpa and 40% IBT and only 20% no union?


and btw does anyone have the email address for IBT where I can tell them I revoke there right to represent me from that damn card I signed?

From the Teamsters website:

Due to high Internet virus activity, we are no longer accepting website feedback via email.

This is the union they want representing us? High internet virus activity? As opposed to non-internet virus activity? Maybe their members are the ones trying to infect them...

Now, hopefully you follow through and send a letter.

Teamsters Local 747
1419 FM 1960 Road
Houston, TX 77073

International Brotherhood of Teamsters
25 Louisiana Ave, NW
Washington, DC 20001

What our pilots need to understand is that the Colgan ALPA Organizing Committee and Pinnacle MEC both want to work together with one another when our seniority lists are merged. Colgan voting in ALPA is in the best interest of our pilots as well as the Pinnacle pilot group. We can stand together against management collectively as opposed to isolating ourselves by voting in Teamsters. If anything voting in Teamsters will leave Pinnacle and ALPA feeling alienated and THEN they might attempt to staple us.