Is this profession in peril?

[PCL_128]

There you have it guys! A guy that's far from being an ALPA cheerleader telling you that membership apathy is at the heart of the problem.
Great post, Lear!!!

 

[waveflyer]

what has the leadership done to inspire participation pcl? b/c i can think of a lot of things that union leadership has done that has inspired the apathy. What you and Rez do constantly is one of them- and management couldn't love you more for it-- rail on those you supposedly lead.

None of you has thought to adopt any of the organizational behavior techniques taught in any basic business degree... And that is pretty dumb. Do us all a favor and don't get involved w/ air tran's politics holding that attitude.

It is an unarguable point that GOOD LEADERSHIP CAN SOLVE APATHY- why you stick to your guns on this and continue to do something that actively contributes to apathy- i have no clue- but STOP!

This goes for everyone- Stop crying and blaming and DO SOMETHING. This career will be what we make it. If you believe it's in the toilet and hang your head- then it will only slide farther... Get positive, get to work- and make it what it should be- none of the problems we face- INCLUDING APATHY- are unsolvable.

 

[PCL_128]

what has the leadership done to inspire participation pcl?

Pilots shouldn't need to be "inspired" to be involved in their own careers. I'm not exactly sure what you think Prater can do to get you off your ass. If what has happened to labor and this profession over the past seven years hasn't "inspired" you to get involved, then nothing will.

and management couldn't love you more for it

You might want to ask the former CP and the rest of the Pinnacle management team about that. I can assure you that their feelings for me are far from "loving." Loathing would be more accurate.

This goes for everyone- Stop crying and blaming and DO SOMETHING

The ironic thing here is that the only people in this thread that have actually done what you suggest are Lear, Rez, Occam and me. The rest of you simply rest on your laurels and complain about the leadership. If you have a problem with the leadership, then get off your ass and become the leadership. We already have.

 

[Flopgut]

It's a shared responsibility.

I'll tell you what: show me a union that is OVERSTAFFED with volunteers, that has to TURN PILOTS AWAY who want to be on committees, can pick and choose from the best, brightest, and most-suitable for those jobs, and also who has a better than 90% turnout of "available" pilots (those who aren't at work) for picketing events, MEC quarterly meetings (the important ones), and has a more than 90% vote turnout for EVERY vote, and I'll shut up about membership involvement.

I think we can look no further than ALPA's past. UALALPA functions used to be standing room only; They were operating at avery high level. What happened? UALALPA grew to believe they were ALPA. And National let them do whatever they wanted to the detriment of the union.

That sort of behavior has become the norm.

 

[Flopgut]

Biggest problem at this moment: The guys running things have a fundamental difference of vision. Prater believes there are two different futures right now. Prater wants to trade on every hot issue of the day to hoard for his generation. He simultaneously believes the next generation of pilots are a near lost cause and too expensive to champion. TD at CAL was the same sort and we just got rid of him, thankfully.

 

[ExpWayVis31]

After all the mergers, the regional airlines will be the place to be due to the furloughs and such. No more flow backs either. I feel pretty confident, AND I don't have to worry about being some lame gear jerker, either.

I'll leave that to all you guys. LOL

Pocono,
I disagree, if industry consolidation does happen, then the unions at the remaining airlines will have more power. One area where they will flex there power is with scope clauses, which will favor the mainline pilot over over the commuter pilot.

 

[Flopgut]

Without that kind of solidarity, you could have the best Leadership in the world and you won't accomplish jack crap.

I think you are confused. Solidarity [unity] is what gets things done! I'll take unity over gross participation any day...and they are separate things.

 

[pilotyip]

Stop Whinning!!!

Nothing but whinning, this is still a great career

 

[Andy]

I believe the last time I saw doctor's strike was about five years ago in Pennsylvania. Could be wrong on the state. They went on strike to protest outrageously high malpractice insurance. Cannot remember the last time my pilot group went on strike. Thats right, we never have. We continue to give and give! I just googled doctors strke america. Not only have doctors struck, they have picketed as well. You were saying?

You're correct; google's a wonderful thing. I've opened mouth and inserted foot.

I don't know which pilot group you're with, but it seems like UALALPA is setting up a picket line somewhere every month or so. We had one on 1 Feb in Sacramento; 30 pilots showed. On the same day, we had one in Oakland; 4 pilots showed. We had one 23 Jan in Detroit; 7 UAL, 2 NWA, and 1 Spirit pilot showed (it was a UAL picket). We had one 18 Jan in Schaumberg, IL outside of Motorola; 16 pilots showed. We had one 20 Dec at DCA; 5 UAL, 1 DAL, and 1 ALPA National showed (it was a UAL picket).
How effective is picketing as a tool when you do it so often that it's not even noticed by the media?

In the above pickets, the stated objective was to "bring to light the corporate greed that permeates upper management of our airline." Great. When you use picketing so often with very few turning out, how effective is it? IMO, it's the wrong tool and it ends up being counterproductive.
Tilton's response to pilot pickets last summer was to call them a vocal minority. That's the problem with overusing picketing as a tool.

 

[PCL_128]

Nothing but whinning, this is still a great career

You edited your post for "speiling," but still couldn't get "whinning" spelled correctly? If you're going to call us whiners, then at least spell it properly. Or better yet, get back to work. Does USA Jet know that one of their overpaid managers spends a lot of his time at work on an internet message board? Don't you have a memo to distribute or something?