Rez O. Lewshun said:
Fins,
I say to you, that the issue has been raised...but HOW do you propose to get back to the basics... In addition, what exactly is the RJDC doing besides sueing.
ALPA's representational "race to the bottom" is the same structure that brought us UAL2000 and DAL2001. Seemed to work fine then. If you want to change the structure around, then all will be complaining when the boom and growth return, that thier pay is limited by the national structure. If the UAL guys return to super profitiablity why should thier negotiations be limited by another company that is doing poorly?
The problem is management runs thier agenda and all expect ALPA to counter free market forces (even Greenspan can't do that!) and reverse upper management decisions....
Air Line Pilots Do Not Run Airlines!
I'm not "the" expert. Others in ALPA and the RJDC are a lot smarter than I am but I will give it a shot:
1. ALPA needs an effective judiciary branch where a pilot, or group, can resolve grievances dealing with the harmful activities of another competing pilot group.
2. ALPA needs powerful and effective National leadership to restrain the predatory inclinations of pilots against one another.
3. ALPA needs to reform its constitution and bylaws to restore its merger and fragmentation polisies, as well as the restoration of other sections which were removed specifically to enable predatory bargaining. The changes just prior to the 2000 BOD meeting serves as a partial example.
4. ALPA needs to philosophically return to the days when our union did not want low pilot wages to enable one airline to unfairly compete against another airline. As you know, ALPA has endorsed every single concessionary contract in force today.
5. Once the floor is established we need to return to jacking up the house, one corner at a time, by establishing a pattern of only endorsing progressive contracts.
6. The union needs to stop shinking and grow.
Your examples of UAL's 2000 contract and Delta's 2001 contract were not restrained by ASA's 1998 contract, or any rights given to any ASA, or Comair pilots. In my opinion ALPA today could not obtain those contracts because it lacks the organization to achieve them (gutting the Constitution and removing the rules tends to cause any organization to begin running amok). I don't know how having a fair union representing all pilots equally would cause a reduction in ALPA's bargaining ability. After all, aren't the Delta and Northwest pilots currently negotiating rates that are less than the established regional rates? It appears to me that ALPA's acceptance of alter ego competition has resulted in more competitors driving the price lower.
If your point is that ALPA should be able to negotiate higher wages for mainline on the backs of First Officers at ASA and Skywest, then I disagree with you. Mainline pilots do feel like theirs are the only "real" jobs and that small jet jobs are simply for losers and a place to serve an apprenticeship. I disagree strongly with that view and believe that all of us are in a profession together. Sure mainline pilots should make more, but they should not recieve a bonus for selling their scope to an underpaid regional pilot.
The RJDC lawsuit not only seeks to roll back the clock, it provides a stiff penalty if ALPA fails to take corrective action. The litigants sked nicely, attended LEC and MEC meetings, proposed resolutions, took their arguements to ALPA National, the Bilateral Scope Impact Committee and the President of the union. ALPA refused to take any corrective action, effectively telling the pilots they really should negotiate with the Delta MEC to solve an ALPA problem.
Again, I'm not "the" expert, but clearly ALPA could do a lot better if it listened to the input of all of its members instead of a select few. That is the nature of a Democratic union. Like our nation, ALPA can follow the will of the majority, while protecting the rights of the minority.
Regards,
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