I'm curious if anyone here who works for an ALPA airline has chosen to decline union membership (but still pay dues). Were you treated differently? Denied jumpseats, harassed, etc?

 

How do you pay dues and deny membership? Is that possible?

 

Yes. You don't have to be a member of the union, however, they still have a legal obligation to represent you, so you're required to pay agency fees regardless of your membership status.

 

A person can decline to join the union...however, since they are benefitting from the pay, work rules and protections of the union contract, they are required to pay a "contract maintenance fee" that is equivalent to the dues a member pays.

 

At my carrier they will be treated with indifference and exclusion. Their name will be posted in the crewroom for all to see how they are selfish SOBs who want the benefit without the responsibility. They will be treated appropriately like another group.

 

Not so fast, there is NO responsibility for ALPA to represent or provide legal resources to a non-member in a disciplinary hearing. The same is true with ALPA aeromedical resources, lose your medical, go find your own doctors to deal with the FAA. There are other ALPA membership benefits that non-members do not receive

You are correct that ALPA contracts are "closed shop" meaning that the contractual language applies to all in that category and class. Because ALPA negotiates the pilot contract for the category and class, non-members are covered by and benefit from those efforts (pay rates, work rules, retirements, etc.). Non-members are billed a "contract maintenance" fee which is at a different rate than membership dues.

Professionally, there's no difference in treatment when operating the aircraft safely but conversation is limited only to operational items. Interpersonally, it appears to be a very lonely work existence for non-members.

 

http://www.airlinepilotforums.com/un...non-grata.html


Non-members are not entitled to ancillary benefits afforded by union membership, but they ARE entitled to fair representation under the CBA. The bargaining unit has a duty of fair representation to all members of the class or craft.










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Ah. I guess I had that wrong. I didn't realize one could refuse representation.

 

That's not what "closed shop" means. Closed shop means all employees (of the class or craft) have to be union members. It is certainly a goal in ALPA CBAs, but it is not universal.






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No, you had it correct.

If the union will represent a member in a disciplinary process, it has a duty to provide the same level of representation to a non-member.

Duty of Fair Representation






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