Jet Blue Pilots Files with N.M.B. for ALPA Representation

[vetrider]

Go Alpo go! Hip hip hurrah! Alpo alpo alpo! Hoorah!

 

[ualdriver]

ALPA and the company are like Dems and Repubs who pretend to fight each other so that the citizens can gravitate to one or the other to be protected, at a fee of course.

How many ALPA dues ever got a return on investment? Opinions of Rez and PCL don't count.

I have definitely received a return on my investment. Had we not had ALPA protecting our interests through the bankruptcy, the pay cuts we pilots would have taken would have been MUCH greater than the 2% that I pay. Also, management would have split our airline in half (narrow body/wide body) and set up a whipsaw that would have cost us a fortune to undo. Further, the bond that the company paid its pilots got many pilots a significant amount of money. Senior pilots received a few hundred thousand. The idea of floating this bond came from an ALPA purchased consultant, and Delta later "copied" that idea and got themselves a nice chunk of change, similar to the amount we received I believe. For me, it covered my ALPA dues for the rest of my career and a little more.

And it wasn't "ALPA" that allowed the RJs on the property. The individual pilot groups did that, and it would have happened no matter what the name on the union representing those pilots was. Obviously, an error on our part but I don't blame ALPA for my mistakes or those of other pilots.

I think the guys that say ALPA is responsible for this outsourcing are just trying to scare the fence sitters. If the JB guys get ALPA on the property, they can decide themselves what to do with scope. If they get crappy scope, it will be their own fault for voting for it when they negotiate their first contract. I would hope they would learn from our errors concerning this issue no matter which union they ultimately get on the property.

 

[BLUE BAYOU]

I have definitely received a return on my investment. Had we not had ALPA protecting our interests through the bankruptcy, the pay cuts we pilots would have taken would have been MUCH greater than the 2% that I pay. Also, management would have split our airline in half (narrow body/wide body) and set up a whipsaw that would have cost us a fortune to undo. Further, the bond that the company paid its pilots got many pilots a significant amount of money. Senior pilots received a few hundred thousand. The idea of floating this bond came from an ALPA purchased consultant, and Delta later "copied" that idea and got themselves a nice chunk of change, similar to the amount we received I believe. For me, it covered my ALPA dues for the rest of my career and a little more.

And it wasn't "ALPA" that allowed the RJs on the property. The individual pilot groups did that, and it would have happened no matter what the name on the union representing those pilots was. Obviously, an error on our part but I don't blame ALPA for my mistakes or those of other pilots.

I think the guys that say ALPA is responsible for this outsourcing are just trying to scare the fence sitters. If the JB guys get ALPA on the property, they can decide themselves what to do with scope. If they get crappy scope, it will be their own fault for voting for it when they negotiate their first contract. I would hope they would learn from our errors concerning this issue no matter which union they ultimately get on the property.

The fact is UAL pilots had the "dream" contract before 9/11. This contract was gained through many years of negotiations, slowdowns and strikes. However, the company has the ultimate power-- called bankruptcy. The reset button was pushed and all those years and contracts went down the tubes. No union will ever prevent that.

 

[pilotyip]

The fact is UAL pilots had the "dream" contract before 9/11. This contract was gained through many years of negotiations, slowdowns and strikes. However, the company has the ultimate power-- called bankruptcy. The reset button was pushed and all those years and contracts went down the tubes. No union will ever prevent that.

Doesn't the consumer have something to do with this, like they would not pay the prices to support the UAL pre-9/11 contract?

 

[Neubyfly]

ALPA sucks

 

[sligo1]

ALPA sucks

Having nothing sucks worse.

 

[Turtle21]

Having nothing sucks worse.

10 out of 9 pilots are taught to believe the only alternative to ALPA is nothing. And ironically, absent the brainwashing they receive in exchange for their dues, 10 out of 9 ALPA pilots would still believe that nothing is better, and none of them can remember when they had the wool pulled over their eyes.

 

[scoreboardII]

The fact is UAL pilots had the "dream" contract before 9/11. This contract was gained through many years of negotiations, slowdowns and strikes. However, the company has the ultimate power-- called bankruptcy. The reset button was pushed and all those years and contracts went down the tubes. No union will ever prevent that.

You see, right there, thats how ALPA lost it for UAL pilots, they killed the goose. They held the gun to the heads of management and said "go ahead, give it too us or we'll strike". They did, and they got exactly what any reasonably minded person could have told them, they went bankrupt. Yes, ALPA caused that.

 

[scoreboardII]

Having nothing sucks worse.

Ask the UAL pilots furloughed about that.

 

[sligo1]

10 out of 9 pilots are taught to believe the only alternative to ALPA is nothing. And ironically, absent the brainwashing they receive in exchange for their dues, 10 out of 9 ALPA pilots would still believe that nothing is better, and none of them can remember when they had the wool pulled over their eyes.

What is better is a perfect world, where management and employees unilaterally work together. Both have their needs met for profitabilty and compensation. Unfortunatley the airline business doesn't operate on that notion. Management has fiscal duties for share holders, pilots have responsability to each other. Collaboration only works when "both" sides are held accountable. Is ALPA the end -all, definatley not but its a start for Jetblue pilots.