Yep, and let's call it an Association, so it's actually like several company specific unions that negotiate with their companies but share resources, experience, and common industry experts.

Oh yeah....that's the Air Line Pilot's ASSOCIATION!!!!

What has confounded many a pilot is the belief that ALPA National is some sort of a Union, it isn't. It's an association of a bunch of company specific company unions that share resources.

When a company gets over on a pilot group, that is THEIR local MEC (union) agreeing to a CBA, ALPA National can agree to not certify/sign off on it, but in the end each pilot group votes on their own destiny.

Calling ALPA a UNION, is not understanding how a true Union works. If ALPA were a union, we'd have a National Seniority List (or at least one that applied to union shops) so that each if a company needed a pilot they'd go to the union to vet and hire one.

 

Absolutely, you need SWAPA and ALPA.


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SWA and a few other airlines are not ALPA, so the synergy cannot exist. I was in ALPA for 17 years and it does not have the front line pilots in its interest. There has to be a fresh, all-inclusive initiative among MECs that doesn’t include ALPA national officers using our issues to support their politics and building their resumes.

I have great respect for SWAPAs commitment to the pilot group, something ALPA doesn’t have.

 

I definitely don’t trust the company.

I also don’t trust SWApA. Despite all of the rhetoric from “SWApA 2.0” (as they like to think of themselves), I consider them to be, at best, SWApA 1.01. First, SWApA has a long history of “collaborative”, and even traitorous, behavior (like, for example, this mild example starting at the 18:55 mark and ending at the 20:55 mark).

Even if we disregard all of the previous administrations, there are still key members of the SWApA old guard filling critical committee positions right now. Even if we claim that it doesn’t matter that those sorts of people are occupying key roles, SWApA 1.01:

• Settled for more than a billion dollars less than “The Platform” that the entire BOD and the current SWApA president signed their names to affirming that they would not settle for less than “The Platform”.
• A year ago, passed a MOU regarding training for the MAX without informing the pilot group.
• Operates largely and needlessly in secret. A member of our group analyzed every SWApA BOD meeting for the last several years, going back three administrations. He found that the current administration has operated in secret approximately 75% of the time, while the previous two administrations operated in secret less than half the time.
• Ramrodded the May Timeline MOU through.
• Allowed the company to violate the CBA via Hindsight and the ETO program with barely a whimper of protest. This does not bode well for any coming fight against concessions and furloughs.

Unless SWApA gets their act together and quickly, we will be made short work of by the company, it’s labor relations team (which includes a former SWApA president and a former SWApA Contract Admin manager), it’s corporate counsel, and FordHarrison. SWApA’s bluster and bravado may thrill some of the troops who don’t pay much attention, but the company sees right through it. They know there’s no bite behind the bark. Instead, they see but a little man with a trembling voice behind the curtain instead of a great and terrible wizard.

 

I hope SWAPA does great, but again, ALPA National is not a UNION, (not even in it's name) it's an ASSOCIATION, a dues collecting collective of UNIONS (Individual MEC's) that helps the unions share resources and promote the airline pilot's career well being. Maybe ALPA National should change their name to A4P (except SWA and AA pilots) so pilots will realize what they already have in place.

Some MEC's are bad at some companies, some are good, it's an elective post so it's a moving target, not to mention everyone's a star when things are growing and going great, and everyone's a dud when things are sliding backwards. That seems to be human nature. Having the Bestest union MEC in the world doesn't change the financials of a poorly run/mismanaged company.

 

You could say that about all the ASSOCIATIONs representing pilot groups; APA, SWAPA, (they’re all associations) etc. Doesn’t mean there couldn’t be an organization that functions collectively with them the way FH does with the airline mgmts.

The problem could be there’s always an “it’s all about me” core group that diverts attention from the overall group. Whereas airline managements have come together for their greater interest.

 

All the more reason to pull resources like the managements do. They look at how unorganized we are as an industry and it’s easy Pickens.

 

T. Boone? May he rest in peace.

 

I think he meant Slim.

 

when it auto corrected to that I knew that’d be the response. 🤣