ALPA BOD Meeting

[sweptback]

With ALPA pilots on furlough and many facing tough economic time in general, holding ALPA meetings a lavish resort sends a negative message to it's members.

Our dues are paying for this.

ALPA needs to hold their Board of Directors meeting every two years. Being a union, ALPA will only hold their meeting at a union hotel property. Such hotel must be large enough to have many ballrooms available, plus several hundred hotel rooms to support the influx of people.

Union membership is declining around the country, and typically the union hotel properties large enough to support a meeting like this are in "desirable" locations like Miami, Chicago, Vegas, New York, etc. Also, ease of non-reving to the meeting factors into it. Even if you could find a union hotel large enough in Indianapolis, chances are there aren't enough flights from across the US to make it easy to get everybody there. Buying tickets for everybody would greatly increase the price.

Las Vegas would actually probably be less expensive, but as others said it was too hard to non-rev there, and plus it was open season on ALPA bashing because everybody thought the reps were there to drink and gamble.

Given the economic environment, ALPA got an excellent rate for the meeting, and secured the rates for the next 2 meetings as well. Where would you have held the meeting at? Not having one is not an option. I'm sure if you could do better, they would love to hear about it. I don't think you could, however.

And just FYI, your dues aren't paying for any of this. Your dues can barely fund the ASA MEC.

 

[DGdaPilot]

My reps have their phone on 24/7, fly the line, and handle nearly as much sh.t as a chief pilot. I would say they've earned a comfy week.

 

[Rez O. Lewshun]

My reps have their phone on 24/7, fly the line, and handle nearly as much sh.t as a chief pilot. I would say they've earned a comfy week.

Usually the reps spouse and/or kids attend as well... not sure if that makes up for the interuppted dinners, time away from family and constant phone calls....


This comes up every two years.... nothing new.....

 

[higney85]

My reps have their phone on 24/7, fly the line, and handle nearly as much sh.t as a chief pilot. I would say they've earned a comfy week.

Someone who understands! Amazing! My wife won't go.. She hates ALPA because of the time commitment. The idea for "working for free" doesn't equate to her.

 

[sayrejm]

Someone else posted this somewhere else... thought I'd pass it along for consideration:

The Diplomat is a luxury high rise beachfront resort that is, ironically, 100% owned as an investment property by the Plumbers Union. They give ALPA a steal of a rate to hold the national convention there, and it has been there for many years. It has taken a hiatus in Las Vegas for the past two meetings due to extremely cheap rooms and meeting space there, but is now back in FLL because it was too hard for everyone to non-rev to LAS. This meeting is the biennial national convention when the MECs of ALL ALPA groups in North America come together to conduct ALPA's business and to elect national officers. ALPA National pays for the brunt of this event by the way, NOT the MEC.

So whoever is trying to run a smear campaign by trying to make it look like our union reps are wasting our money on a luxurious vacation at a South Florida beach resort, please find one of the many legitimate issues that you can gripe them about, instead of making things up. That's just plain cowardly dirty politics.

 

[CX880]

Too hard to non rev to Vegas?? Didn't you hear Vegas is in a crisis? They can't get people to show up.

 

[DGdaPilot]

Too hard to non rev to Vegas?? Didn't you hear Vegas is in a crisis? They can't get people to show up.

How about when 500 pilots try to non-rev in on the same day? Good luck.

 

[WayBack]

ALPA needs to hold their Board of Directors meeting every two years. Being a union, ALPA will only hold their meeting at a union hotel property. Such hotel must be large enough to have many ballrooms available, plus several hundred hotel rooms to support the influx of people. blah blah blah blah

ALPA shovels out bs letters telling pilots that times are tough and they need to accommodate.
Maybe the MEC and National should practice what they preach.
Tell me this. What has ALPA really done in the last 10-20 years? Nothing, you're duty/rest hours still suck. Your pay sucks. Your jobs are going to other ALPA carriers who will do it for cheaper.
Talk about standing arm in arm with a brotherhood.

 

[higney85]

ALPA shovels out bs letters telling pilots that times are tough and they need to accommodate.
Maybe the MEC and National should practice what they preach.
Tell me this. What has ALPA really done in the last 10-20 years? Nothing, you're duty/rest hours still suck. Your pay sucks. Your jobs are going to other ALPA carriers who will do it for cheaper.
Talk about standing arm in arm with a brotherhood.

You do a great job at complaining, have you tried to fix the problems? Your word tense indicates you don't even work for a union carrier. I run out of fingers and toes if pilots who have kept their jobs through meetings with the driving force being the fact that the union would take them to the cleaners if they attempted a termination. Alpa aeromedical keeps pilots in the air, done it countless times. Alpa national committees and support staff are amazing and work for the pilots. A union is what you make it, if you complain and simply blame the union you obviously don't understand the fundamentals of working together to get things done. Corporate greed was allowed to railroad all professions over the last decade, you may want to look on the macro-economic level before a statement on a micro-economic level blaming a single union. What have YOU done for the INDUSTRY Mr. Semi-professional pilot (according to your sig)?

 

[Afraid to Fly]

You do a great job at complaining, have you tried to fix the problems? Your word tense indicates you don't even work for a union carrier. I run out of fingers and toes if pilots who have kept their jobs through meetings with the driving force being the fact that the union would take them to the cleaners if they attempted a termination. Alpa aeromedical keeps pilots in the air, done it countless times. Alpa national committees and support staff are amazing and work for the pilots. A union is what you make it, if you complain and simply blame the union you obviously don't understand the fundamentals of working together to get things done. Corporate greed was allowed to railroad all professions over the last decade, you may want to look on the macro-economic level before a statement on a micro-economic level blaming a single union. What have YOU done for the INDUSTRY Mr. Semi-professional pilot (according to your sig)?

Well put.

 

[Rez O. Lewshun]

Don't recognize poor behavior.... it only encourages them to do more....

 

[CX880]

You do a great job at complaining, have you tried to fix the problems? Your word tense indicates you don't even work for a union carrier. I run out of fingers and toes if pilots who have kept their jobs through meetings with the driving force being the fact that the union would take them to the cleaners if they attempted a termination. Alpa aeromedical keeps pilots in the air, done it countless times. Alpa national committees and support staff are amazing and work for the pilots. A union is what you make it, if you complain and simply blame the union you obviously don't understand the fundamentals of working together to get things done. Corporate greed was allowed to railroad all professions over the last decade, you may want to look on the macro-economic level before a statement on a micro-economic level blaming a single union. What have YOU done for the INDUSTRY Mr. Semi-professional pilot (according to your sig)?

You can't fix the problems. The union is only as good as how much management is willing to relax the leash. You are delusional if you think the better paying ALPA carriers have achieved that because of ALPA. As WayBack was saying, there's not much to show for the majority of the industry. Particularly embarrassing for ALPA is Comair, other cheaper ALPA carriers have been tearing it apart the last decade. As far as keeping drunks in the cockpit, also known as union support, who would be against this type of service? But it's about the big picture and there have been far more failures than successes in the industry.

 

[Rez O. Lewshun]

You can't fix the problems. The union is only as good as how much management is willing to relax the leash. You are delusional if you think the better paying ALPA carriers have achieved that because of ALPA. As WayBack was saying, there's not much to show for the majority of the industry. Particularly embarrassing for ALPA is Comair, other cheaper ALPA carriers have been tearing it apart the last decade. As far as keeping drunks in the cockpit, also known as union support, who would be against this type of service? But it's about the big picture and there have been far more failures than successes in the industry.

Perhaps your expectations of unions was never proper..... Where did you learn of the American Labor Movement?

It appears you suggest the classic response of 'head in the sand'. However, please speak for yourself on how as professionals in a 'free market' rigged in favor of corporations, you suggest we protect and promote the profession.....

 

[CX880]

It appears you suggest the classic response of 'head in the sand'. However, please speak for yourself on how as professionals in a 'free market' rigged in favor of corporations, you suggest we protect and promote the profession.....

For one thing, management has to be the solution rather than the problem. Too many pilot groups have followed ALPA right over the cliff.

 

[Rez O. Lewshun]

For one thing, management has to be the solution rather than the problem. Too many pilot groups have followed ALPA right over the cliff.

If management is not the solution then who do the pilots follow?