Resigning from ALPA

[RubberNeck]

I had big bad DU ANE on my flight a few month ago.... We didn't know till we got to DCA and I was standing in the door say by to everyone and here he comes up the isle...looked right at me and off the plane not even saying a word. You would think the president of your union would stop in and say hello.....not. Spineless BAstard!!!! I'm glad I found a new job and don't have to pay for his retirement!!!!!!

 

[Saabslime]

"I see your point, and frustration, but lets say everyone at United did what you propose...the SOS (suspension of service)."

I think you're missing the point. I agree, one carrier alone wouldn't accomplish a thing. However if all ALPA carriers stood together on the threat of a SOS, I think we may just get heard. Enough is enough already, don't you agree? After all, aren't we on here everytime a carrier is in negotiations saying do what's right for the industry!! It's time to stop acting as a fragmented union.

 

[Resume Writer]

In "right to work" states you do not have to join the union or pay dues, but you get the benfits of the contract that the union has with management (you get the same pay, benefits and retirement as the union members).

It was not that way at AFA in Arizona (right to work state). You still had to pay dues if you were not a member and they could fire you if you refused to pay the dues. Not sure if that was in our contract or part of Arizona Labor laws or what.

Kathy

 

[anon]

Sign me up

I totally agree with this letter.

My MEC has gone so far as to make an Eastern scab the head of one of the committees. It was at that point that I realized what ALPA has become.

ALPA is not the union it once was. It's time to send a message!

 

[FoxHunter]

It's not, but you still have to pay dues even if your not a "member" The only way you don't pay dues is if you wanted to be a member and ALPA denies you membership.

It all depends if the airline you work for has an "Agency Shop" clause in the contract. If there is Agency Shop and you quit, you have to pay a service fee that is about equal to the dues. If you do not pay up, ALPA will notify the company, and they will be required to fire you. It is my understanding right to work laws in individual States do not protect you from being fired. If there is no such clause in your airline contract, you can quit and not pay any sort of service fee. At FedEx this is the case.

 

[LearLove]

Saab,

I did the very same thing back in the summer of 2002 (when the WO protested outside ALPA HQ). I wrote Worthless a letter explaining my position and sent him my own ALPA card and that of my father's.

About 4 months later I got a 2 paragraph letter back from DW explaining all the benifits of belonging to ALPA. It was all a bunch of crap. I called the guy out on all the BS he was feeding us, put my membership on the line and he replies months later with basically a form letter along with returning my ALPA card(s). I just goes to show that he doesn't care about any of us. All he cares about is his 400,000/yr salary.

My letter and DW's response is packed away from when I moved this summer but if I can get to the storage place I'll pull them out and post them here so you can see.

The only justification I have for paying my dues anymore is for loss of medical help (if it happens to me) and even thats starting to get hard to justify. That and 30% of my dues are part of my tax return.

 

[lumax]

I believe that unity is the important point here. One of the ways to achieve that is by having one union (say ALPA) negotiate one contract (pay only) for all pilots at all the airlines represented by that union. For example, ALPA national negotiates with AA, Delta, ATA, Airtran, etc that all 737 pilots will get paid $XXX.xx per hour. No matter which airline you are at, you get paid the same to fly a 737. Then your local ALPA MEC would negotiate individually with the company for work rules, retirements, etc.

The only way for it to work would be if the same union represented all airline pilots (at least for the pay issue). This might make it harder for judges to abrogate contracts if an airline goes into chapter 11.

I am not the self-proclaimed airline expert, but we have to start thinking outside the box in order to stop this race to the bottom. I am not advocating ALPA, but what I am saying is that one voice made up of all the airline pilots in the USA would be a lot harder to silence. As J L Hayhust stated in the original post: “UNITY: An industry-wide, ALPA-supported suspension of service (SOS) remains our only hope to send a message to Bush, Wall Street and the American people, and the only effective way to halt the destruction of our profession.”
Just my thoughts

 

[CRJDog]

In "right to work" states you do not have to join the union or pay dues, but you get the benfits of the contract that the union has with management (you get the same pay, benefits and retirement as the union members). ALPA will usually post a list of the pilots that are not in the union and don't pay dues and the pilots that are not in the union and do pay dues on their ALPA bullentin board.

Well I was told that even in the "right to work" states you can still have a closed shop due to the fact that Federal Law (Railway Labor Act) supersedes state law.

I agree with the letter that James wrote. ALPA is just sitting on the sidelines while our profession is being crushed. Get in the game and F*ckin do something about it. What do we have to lose? Our pay, pensions, benefits? They have already taken that away!! This sh*t has got to stop and it has to stop now no matter who in Capitol Hill you have to get in bed with!!

 

[StaySeated]

If your carrier is ALPA and you decide to not participate you still pay dues, period. I am not supporting one side of this argument or the other but all alpa carriers pay 1.9%. Those that decide not to participate still get 1.9% deducted from their checks as part of the Agency Shop section of your cba. I just read the thread about having this section in your contract. There is not one alpa contract on the planet that does not have agency shop, and you should see the look on the company's attorney's face when agency shop is mentioned. It is better than sex for these freakshows.

If you are on the seniority list and work under the agreed upon work rules then you pay, no exceptions.

 

[Rez O. Lewshun]

I totally agree with this letter.

My MEC has gone so far as to make an Eastern scab the head of one of the committees. It was at that point that I realized what ALPA has become.

ALPA is not the union it once was. It's time to send a message!

Who elected and directed your MEC?

How was ALPA once upon a time or rather how do you think ALPA was?

Guys, c'mon... all this thread is, is rhetoric. Lots of talk but no solutions. The equivilant is after 9/11 and hearing, "they should just kill all the terrorists" Who is 'they' and how.

Finally the SOS talk.

Please provide a history of ALPA's use of SOS and its effectiveness.....

This is not the time to get educated... you should know all of this already....

Good Luck...