Skywest: Confessions Of A Kool-Aid Drinker

[SeeYa]

Good post auspac. The best I've seen. As a fellow Skywester with about the same seniority as you, I agree with most of what you say.

One correction to your post: Insurance is not included in ALPA dues. It must be purchased above and beyond your 1.95%. I encourage all to look at the cost vs reward for this insurance if it is your primary reason for wanting ALPA.

(Identical insurance can be purchased directly from the same company ALPA uses, without being an ALPA member.)

Very good posts by all. Let's keep it educational.

 

[Superpilot92]

On a side note, Most regionals that furloughed did so only because of Flow Through Agreements. I know XJT (COEX at the time) wouldnt have furloughed had not been for the flowbacks.

Overall i am pretty happy with our Union, are there some problems? Sure but they are definitly nice to have around.

 

[Ganja60Heavy]

auspac,

That was the most well written post I have ever seen on flightinfo.
Thanks, I enjoyed reading it.

With that level of intellijence, why are you a pilot? Go to collidge!

 

[ASACAPT]

Just a clarification. ALPA does not contribute to political parties out of your union dues. That comes from the ALPA PAC (ALPA Political Action Commitee) which you as a member may voluntarily contribute to. If you do not, as I do, non of your dues go to political campagning. ALso when it comes to medical, there is a lot more to it then insurance. ALPA medical has a staff of physicians that will assist you in matters related to your medical and health. I know several pilots who have had their medicals reinstated much sooner because of that departments help.

Hope this helps....

 

[auspac]

Thanks for the replies. All except mckpickle have added constructrive posts. Asapilot, A-V-8 and Atrdriver , thanks for your points of view. It is refreshing when we can share ideas in a rational way. Too often pro ALPA people are very quick with the insults and threats and I believe they do much more harm to their cause than good, but these boards attract the extremists and I believe most pilots whether ALPA or not have valid ideas.
Is what SeeYa posts true? I was thinking about loss of medical and loss of licence, does that require additional funds ontop of the 2% dues? How much?

 

[USCtrojan]

Thanks for the replies. All except mckpickle have added constructrive posts. Asapilot, A-V-8 and Atrdriver , thanks for your points of view. It is refreshing when we can share ideas in a rational way. Too often pro ALPA people are very quick with the insults and threats and I believe they do much more harm to their cause than good, but these boards attract the extremists and I believe most pilots whether ALPA or not have valid ideas.
Is what SeeYa posts true? I was thinking about loss of medical and loss of licence, does that require additional funds ontop of the 2% dues? How much?

No, that does not amount to more than the 2% for the medical dept. to prepare and submit your packet to the FAA for reinstatement. I have personally met ALPA's Dr. and he's awesome on numerous levels. A fellow pilot friend of mine has been fighting the FAA off an on for the last 6 years and it's because of ALPA Medical he's still flying. If you need tests done and work done, of course it's out of pocket (and most should be covered by company insurance).

Trojan

 

[SkyNation]

Great post, very good points made.

 

[ASApuppy]

Loss of License Insurance is extra. I do not participate since the company also provides us with it and our contribution comes out of each check. It is $1.25 per check. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I remember that ALPA's LoL insurance kicks in quicker and lasts longer. Anyone?

As I said on another thread, I believe the Legal Dept alone is worth the dues. We as a crew made a mistake a few years ago and ALPA handled everything in regards to FAA certificate action and because of it there is not even a letter in my file. ALPA has also reinstated people with some unbelivable screw ups that were fired. Hopefully they come back a little humbled.

Bottom line, ALPA is what you make it. Most of the dues money is to pay some of your peer volunteers to have time off from the company to do union work. The quality of whom you elect will say a lot about the effectiveness of your union. In the past, ASA elections have had little interest among the pilots. The consequence of that is that we now have some extreme viewpoints in the MEC and that is not helping us present a unified front to management. We have elections coming up and I can assure you that I am paying attention to the candidates.

I think the biggest change in the dynamics for the Skywest pilots has been our inclusion to your parent company. Clearly you guys have had a good ride in the past in dealings with your management. But, we are too big to be a tight family, and fighting in the sandbox will not get us anywhere.

 

[ASACAPT]

Loss of License Insurance is extra. I do not participate since the company also provides us with it and our contribution comes out of each check. It is $1.25 per check. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I remember that ALPA's LoL insurance kicks in quicker and lasts longer. Anyone?

Be very careful on just relying on the company offered LOL. That plan pays nothing if you can be gainfully employed in ANY occupation. The ALPA LOL pays you if you cannot be a pilot.

 

[007]

Thanks for the replies. All except mckpickle have added constructrive posts.

He is just p o'd cuz he couldn't go on his fishing trip...