netjetwife
1 of many w/an opinion
- Joined
- Sep 18, 2004
- Posts
- 2,741
Opecjet
Don't even worry with these folks. They don't care about the rank and file pilot anymore. The only thing they want is our money. They are on their own personal agenda.
For those just joining the thread, Opec is a furloughed NJA pilot with personal experience in how NJASAP treats its Members. He addressed this question on p.3 post 42. The following excerpt is noteworthy: "I've gotten two calls from line pilots I've never met asking how things were, inviting us to go visit, etc. There are also FWG members working hard behind the scenes. Saying that we're totally out of sight / out of mind is a slap in the face to those guys." Those of you without personal experience to rely on may wonder about the validity of Raj's accusation: Does he have an ax to grind or is he making a fair assessment? To put things into perspective it is helpful to recognize the rules of living that apply to this situation.
No one is perfect. NJASAP has high standards and the NJ pilotgroup has taken on a lot of projects, thus you will be able to find mistakes, especially if you have a "glass half empty" attitude. But a fair-minded person will recognize hard work and a sincere effort to serve when they consider the following: many Volunteers; numerous committees; weekly and quarterly publications; weekly Membership meeting/update in CMH complete with a slideshow briefing and a Q&A session; Stewards on duty 24/7; and leadership (committee chairs and EBoard) contact info always provided with the invitation to call or email. Pilot interests are vigorously defended as this Friday's 411 showed--with a daily timeline, no less.
There is a silent majority. NJASAP regularly surveys the Membership thru a professional 3rd party and the vast majority of the pilots are satisfied with their Union and feel they are getting a good return for their dues.
There is a balancing act. As others have pointed out in this thread, NJASAP is legally obligated to represent all of its members equally. Common sense tells us that can be difficult when there are competing interests and a big discrepancy in the demographics of the group.
You miss the forest when you single out the trees. That the NJ pilots have nonetheless managed to come as far as they have from their grossly under-paid, no Union infrastructure of their own, IBT 284 days to an independent Association with a contract that sets the bar for the industry and strives to provide top notch representation to all of its Members is testament to the fact that the NJ pilots care about one another and their industry.