Alpa President John Prater's Video Response To Age 60

[PCL_128]

Why is that a bad idea? You pay roughly two percent of your salary to a union that is supposed to represent the body and its wishes. Further, we live in America where voicing your oppionion is completely acceptable. Do you have some concern that by doing so you would somehow be black-balled by a union that supposedly has 70% of your brethern behind you? I don't see any reason why you wouldn't do something to voice your concern over his lack of support.

Voicing concern is one thing, but recalling the Association President is quite a jump from "voicing concern." I can think of a dozen different resolutions that would address this issue without calling for a recall. Recalling a President that has only been in office for a month simply because he is taking the pragmatic approach is simply asinine.

 

[A350]

PCL:

Careful there.....if Prater does an RTO, your nose might get broke!

If the man won't listen to the will of the pilots he represents, he does a disservice to the office and the profession. The problem with Woerth is that he let all the different groups do what they wanted, no direction at the top.

Now Prater is ignoring the majority of the pilots he represents.

I am not in favor of raising the age limit, but not because of the "safety" reasons ALPA has been spouting. But that is another topic.

A350

 

[Flopgut]

I'm still rooting for Prater, but this is a make or break issue. Too bad he got this right off the bat because I think he is one of the best to ever run ALPA.

Question about the video: In the UAL pilot scenario, I don't think the 37 year old FO can actually make up on retirement. If you consider current and past contracts, time value of money (lost by the FO), inflation, etc the FO can't make up what the captain is going to get. Certainly so if the FO wants to retire at 60! I don't think we owe these soon to be retired types that much! Especially when you consider it was the captains peers who sold out half the list and hundreds of millions dollars trying to save the A fund. AND it was this UAL captain's seniority group who sold out the FAL brothers and caused them to lose their A fund right after they had honored the UAL picket line.

I think five more years for this generation is too much, certainly in Prater's scenario: a furloughed war veteran vs. a pilot who caused a fellow union member to lose their fully funded A fund. Does it bother anyone else?

 

[Vne]

Yes it does.
Unfortunately ALPA National seems as Bankrupt as some of the airline managements .

 

[Freight Dog]

PCL, you're a Sec/Treas, am I right or are you an FO rep?

Here's the thing... if the majority of your LEC membership came to you with the resolution to recall Captain Prater, what would you do since we all know you are deadset against that?

 

[chase]

Didn't see this posted anywhere but here are the results from the SWAPA balloting on Age 60 that concluded coincidentally on at noon shortly before Blakely's luncheon in which she made her announcement. This is the third vote by SWAPA on this issue in 7+ years. The question was simple,

1. Do you support SWAPA efforts to seek repeal of the Age 60 Rule during the 110th Congress (2007- 2008)?

68.44% of members participated
59.51% voted yes
40.49% voted no

74.3 % of CA's voted yes
26.7 % of CA's voted no

42% of FO's voted yes
58% of FO's voted no

The overall percentages are nearly identical to the past two ('99 & '03) ballots on the same issue.

FYI.

 

[canyonblue]

68.44% of members participated

Pathetic. uke:

Now we have some guys actually stirring up the "let's talk about the guys who just miss the date" crap. At least on the bright side Chase has been doing a good job at keeping communications up to date, better than the last Administration that is still somewhere on Mt. Hood. Thanks again Chase, don't let the rabblers get to ya.

 

[PCL_128]

PCL, you're a Sec/Treas, am I right or are you an FO rep?

Sec/Treasurer. This is the third year of my term, though, so I'm up for reelection at the end of the year. I'll most likely be running for Captain Rep/Chairman this time around, but I haven't made a final decision on that yet.

Here's the thing... if the majority of your LEC membership came to you with the resolution to recall Captain Prater, what would you do since we all know you are deadset against that?

At the meeting I would do my best to convince the membership that that course of action would not be in their best interests, or in the best interest of the Association. If it still passed, then I would submit it to the MEC Chairman to be placed on the agenda for the next MEC meeting. At that point, it's up to the entire MEC body to determine a course of action. Why do you ask?

 

[Andy]

Wow. This is quite possibly the worst idea I've ever heard about anything.

Prater was VERY CLEAR in his pledge to the membership when he ran for office. He wanted age 60 to change, but would support the majority opinion of keeping it the same. He has broken that promise and he has chosen to use his position to push a minority agenda.

To paraphrase him from his video, 'This guy (Prater) doesn't get it.'

 

[Freight Dog]

I ask because Prater is doing just the opposite. The membership has spoken, and he hasn't done what the membership said.