Its not just about carpet dances. Everyone deserves due process.
The ones who need Due Process are the ones who royally messed up. I looked for it, but can't find it. I forget the fine details, but the jist of it was a regional crew preformed a go-around in NY, either JFK or LGA. The captain was at the controls and either stalled or got the shaker/pusher and froze up. Passengers and the FA's could hear the FO yelling at him to do something. If I remember correctly when he did gain control, he put it in a steep bank, maybe possibly got the shaker a second time, not exactly sure since it's been a while.
But it was such an abrupt situation that the tower even saw the airplane was in serious trouble. I think they might have even declared an emergency for them.
Point of the story, the airline fired the guy even thought they had ASAP on the property. But the airline watched the FDR and CVR and saw it was grounds enough to terminate him. The last I heard, ALPA is fighting for his job back....trying to put a guy back in the cockpit who doesn't belong there and has proved it. I understand the ASAP program, but sometimes you have to admit when it's time to cut ties with someone. What if this guys back and now put that RJ into the ground? I hope ALPA can defend on why they thought he deserved to be in the cockpit again after almost crashing another airplane.
Who says there is nothing ALPA can do about it? Its just that ALPA is not God and can't just make all pilots get paid hundreds of thousands of dollars overnight. There is clearly in expectations issue here. ALPA and management have to operate in the same set of rules spelled out in the RLA.
It's not just referring to dollars. ALPA drops the ball on a lot of things, wrongful terminations (Not talking about the guy above) failure to follow through on contract agreements.....Wait, there is one for you. I have a friend at an ALPA carrier. In their contract they're able to get one year of personal leave. The company told him no, and he has yet to hear from any of his rep's despite a number of emails, and when he did get an email from a rep he was told that he's working on his case and might have a solution, but can't promise than he can get the full 1 year for him (then why is it in the contract? How about "Some personal time, if at all")...but hasn't hear from him in 3 weeks. It should be a no brainer, since his wife has becoming extremely ill, and he's been taking care of the kids, working another job to pay the bills while he's not flying. He's been on FMLA but it's about to run out. ALPA reps have been "working" on this since he went out on FMLA.
And to think this isn't the only case like this. It's not the first and it's not the last. Rep's don't even have the power to hold management to the contract they agreed on.
Now I sit and await your defense as to why ALPA can't get this taken care of. I'm sure I'll hear "Well, there is more to it than what you see. A lot of it happens behind the scenes" or how it's not as cut and clear as you think it is. Make all the excuses you want, it's just another foul up by ALPA.
