You speak of "ALPA" as if it were a monolithic organization with the President sitting at the top pulling the strings of every pilot group. That is simply false.
Actually, that's not far off. DW determines policy, no one has had the balls to stand up to him and tell him to go a different route, therefore he IS sitting at the top pulling the strings.
ALPA is a collection of individual fiefdoms. This is whole mess was started back in the '80s when the mainline pilots thought flying small prop airplanes was beneath them.
No argument there but, again, what we're talking about is how to fix things NOW and ALPA has been Woerthless (excuse the pun), at changing ANYTHING in our favor.
Yes, I know that it's the judicial system and the government's support of the more onerous parts of the RLA that are largely to blame, but isn't that what ALPA PAC was for? So if it's not ALPA PAC swaying the government to blame, and it's not the individual carriers who are CURRENTLY FIGHTING to blame, who is there left directing the organization?
Blame ALPA if it makes you feel a bit better. The fact of the matter is that the pilots at Pinnacle, Mesaba, Comair, and ASA all work for bankrupt carriers who are going to do whatever it takes to achieve the lowest costs in the industry. Northwest is particularly ruthless. Both these carriers have not only basic labor law on their sides, but they also have the power of the bankrupcty court.
Agreed.
All these pilots need to look deep within themselves and ask whether it is better to keep their jobs or move on. The Mesaba guys are not being given a choice. The others could make a deal and have a much higher chance of living to fight another day. The deal will be tough to swallow, but losing your health care and jobs you may have invested ten years or more, all for the sake of holding the line, will be even more bitter.
There is no "living to fight another day". That's a useless mantra being chanted for the disinformed masses and something all the carriers have been crying for over a decade, yet it continues to worsen, even as record profits are being posted.
Explain to me HOW you're living to fight another day? Explain to me HOW things are going to be somehow better for negotiations in the future? Be specific. Are you somehow going to get the RLA overturned or modified? Not likely. There is no "better day" out there; airlines will rake in the profits for the next 5-7 years then start posting losses right about the time all these negotiations start back up again.
Die all at once NOW, salvage your career and move on NOW, or die in little bits and pieces like so many carriers taking huge pay cuts then not even getting BASIC COLA adjustments and make equivalently LESS as you age.
Until pilots are ready to bury an airline and move on, nothing good will happen at any of these carriers. Loss of income is all these management people understand; make it hurt THEM and they'll stop. Continue to capitulate and you'll only encourage them.
But that's all a pipe dream. Too many people willing to HOPE for a brighter future and give in now and keep dreaming. One day a couple decades from now, you'll wake up and wonder "WTF happened to my career?"