Complaints about ALPA Flight Pay Loss/National Officer "salaries"

[Rez O. Lewshun]

Come on, Rez. He doesn't need any facts. Didn't you know that all ALPA officers are crooks and are just in it for themselves. You were an MEC officer, once upon a time. Bet it was a great deal, for yu, huh?

usually some guy runs the mouth and after a polite and professional schooling of how it really works, they sheepishly say ok... those with some character actually apologize....

That is the penalty for getting ones union info from the "street"

It is fustrating though because pilots get suckered into these kinds of distractions.... and force the volunteers to address these perceptions instead of defending the profession...

What would you rather have your union volunteer do?

 

[igneousy2]

I've chaired 2 different grievance committees at 2 different airlines, negotiating committee chair so when I got to my latest airline I was asked to help the "hotel committee". I thought - cool - sounds pretty benign in comparrison to what i've done before. Boy was I wrong, from what I experienced and what I heard from other comm. members. Confrontations between Association and management hotel rep - crews calling at all hours because "the van isn't here".

The vast majority of ALPA reps sincerely try to do a good job. We may not always answer your e-mails as quick as you want - at one point I was getting 30-40 a day from various pilots/lawyers/company officials, I am sure I didn't reply to a few. If your phone rang as often as mine would - My record was 32 calls for union business in 1 - 24 hour period - you wouldn't answer it a lot of times either. All this while flying a line and not getting paid one penny more than I would had I just flown my line and went home.

Even if you get 100% FPL (like most MEC chairs and others at larger airlines) it does not pencil out. It becomes a 40-80 hour a week offfice job which is what most of us were trying to avoid by getting into this proffession in the first place.

I want to smack pilots when they complain that "the MEC chair" shouldn't get paid more than a line pilot. (There is very little if any opportunity to do this) If you are jealous, you could have run also. If MEC chairs (and other FT ALPA FPL guys/gals) got paid 150% - even, 200% of what they would make as a line pilot I would not have a problem with it.

In criminal law they say "it is better that 10 guilty men go free, then one innoccent man go to prison" and I say that in FPL "it is better that there be a few instances of abuse of FPL then one well intentioned volunteer lose income."

There is already a mechanism for controlling this - the pilots. Committee chairs/members serve at the will of the MEC - speak to your MEC and have them removed - if they won't - see the next two suggestions. If it is your MEC members, don't vote for them next time there terms expire. If you can't wait that long - start a recall vote.

Go volunteer for any committee and go see how much you can "profit" from FPL. Most volunteers quit in less than 6 months.

Later

 

[PCL_128]

igneousy2, you're wasting your time with these anti-ALPA guys. They want to complain and complain, but none of them want to do anything. They won't even take the time to become informed about those things that they whine about.

Thanks for serving your fellow pilots and your union.

 

[ualdriver]

Nice post igneousy2.

 

[Captain X]

I agree. Good post.

I too have served on various ALPA committees and have been in both pure volunteer and FPL positions.

Both of them were thankless jobs.

FWIW, after I left the FPL position, another ALPA pilot NEVER paid for a meal when he/she was eating with me.

And also, I do feel there are minor issues with the FPL system that can (and should be) addressed at the Local MEC level.

My original post that started this thread was more of a "put up or shut up" response to those who bitch constantly about ALPA and then when there is something going on at their airline they don't like will be the first to ask, "Well, what is the union gonna do about it?"

I've always believed that you get from ALPA what you put into it. Hence the reason why I've volunteered before and will probably end up doing so again....God help me. :erm: