What has ALPA done for me lately?

[ualdriver]

Plenty of ALPA carriers have more than min rest built into their agreements.

You're back! How was your vacation?

 

[PCL_128]

You're back! How was your vacation?

Relaxing.

 

[Turtle21]

"Taking it Back"

:beer:

On April 17, 2008, ALPA got schooled on "taking it back."

 

[JungleJett]

ALPA's motto should just be "Taking it...and not giving back."

 

[Rez O. Lewshun]

ALPA's motto should just be "Taking it...and not giving back."

Of course, you measure ALPA in terms of what kind of deal you got.. your wallet and bank account....

And of course that matters....

However, your yardstick is to expect ALPA to be an individual bargaining agent for your interest, when in reality ALPA negotiates via the profession for collective bargaining interests...


IOW, your expectations are incorrect....

 

[PHXFLYR]

Got this today:
At the invitation of President Obama and Vice President Biden, Prater was also selected as one of a handful of union leaders invited to the East Room of the White House for an additional private meeting, along with the officers and other Executive Council members of the AFL-CIO, the presidents of the NEA and NTEU, and the officers and presidents of Change to Win.

President Obama told the group that he “would not be here” without the support of unions. He was also frank about the realistic timeline that it would take to fix the economy, but said that he is committed to creating jobs and helping working Americans.
“I do not view the labor movement as part of the problem; to me, and to my administration, labor unions are a big part of the solution,” President Obama said during the discussion.

In a private 45-minute meeting with the president and vice president conducted in the Blue Room, a handful of union presidents,of which Prater was one, were given the opportunity to discuss ways to improve the current system. They were briefed on the newly created White House Middle Class Task Force. The administration describes this as a major initiative targeted at raising the living standards of middle-class, working families in America. It is comprised of top-level administration policy makers. In addition to regular meetings, it will conduct outreach sessions with representatives of labor, business, and the advocacy communities, and ALPA will be right in the mix.


ALPA certainly has its faults, but its nice when your Union leader has the ear of the President, even if it's just for a short time......

Funny I didn't see USAPA's appointed Grand pooh bah Scabford er,un I mean Bradford's name on the a- list of invitees to the White House discussion with Obama. What's up with that? Over to you,Marty..

PHXFLYR

 

[JungleJett]

Of course, you measure ALPA in terms of what kind of deal you got.. your wallet and bank account....

And of course that matters....

However, your yardstick is to expect ALPA to be an individual bargaining agent for your interest, when in reality ALPA negotiates via the profession for collective bargaining interests...


IOW, your expectations are incorrect....

Typical ALPA line...man you are mainlining ALPA kool-aide. Have you ever heard the term "Lemming"?

Either way...they have FAILED. As far was what I expected, I paid them plenty to represent my personal and professional interest and on multiple occasions they failed. I paid for representation as an individual and a pilot..and got neither.

Is it not the role of ALPA to represent its membership at disciplinary hearings? Or should they stay home and install a fence instead...true story...or not even return your calls. Is it the role of ALPA reps to play golf with management on the unions dime...and FPL?

 

[PHXFLYR]

Really? ........................ USAPA somehow being less than a real union is nothing more than childish blather.

Then why wasn't your fair-haired boy Bradford or any of your fellow goons invited to the White House meeting with Obama, Biden and the other labor leaders mentioned in the post above while Prater and Alpa were ?? Until USAPA has that same political clout, I will continue to view them as nothing more than a bunch of thugs masquadering as a pilot's "union"

PHXFLYR

 

[JungleJett]

By the way..

What is the purpose of a union?

 

[Hamburger]

Is it not the role of ALPA to represent its membership at disciplinary hearings? Or should they stay home and install a fence instead...true story...or not even return your calls. Is it the role of ALPA reps to play golf with management on the unions dime...and FPL?

Man, that sucks.

Actually, though, that is the role of A PERSON, elected by your pilot group. If this happened, you need to get rid of that person. Kind of like blaming America because you have an incompetent Congressman.

 

[Dan Roman]

Flying is as safe as it is in no small part due to ALPA.
The list of what it has accomplished to the benefit of ALL pilots is far to long to list.
Right wrong or indifferent, since deregulation our profession has been under attack by the "free market" We have had to compete to survive. It's not ALPA's fault that every pilot isn't happy with his own personal situation. Near as I can tell, the ALPA bashers base their discontent on their own situation and not the big picture.
In my mind it wasn't ALPA that got the downward pressure on wages ball rolling. It was American when they opened the B-scale pandoras box. They originally agreed to a 50% pay cut for all new hires if the company would undertake a massive expansion aimed at undermining ALPA carriers and competing with upstart (non ALPA) carriers. It was UAL that struck against the b-scale and now it's mostly a thing of the past, thanks in no small part to their strike in 1986.
I am not meaning to bash APA, it's called competition and for better or worse, it's the American way. Much of what our country has accomplished is due to competition, but it does have it's victims. ALPA has done it's best to try and protect the profession as best it could.

 

[Dan Roman]

Typical ALPA line...man you are mainlining ALPA kool-aide. Have you ever heard the term "Lemming"?

Either way...they have FAILED. As far was what I expected, I paid them plenty to represent my personal and professional interest and on multiple occasions they failed. I paid for representation as an individual and a pilot..and got neither.

Is it not the role of ALPA to represent its membership at disciplinary hearings? Or should they stay home and install a fence instead...true story...or not even return your calls. Is it the role of ALPA reps to play golf with management on the unions dime...and FPL?

If you needed representation "multiple times" perhaps the problem lies with you and not ALPA? They can only do so much.

 

[JungleJett]

If you needed representation "multiple times" perhaps the problem lies with you and not ALPA? They can only do so much.

You need an education and you will get it...now. Representation does not simply mean disciplinary hearings (there was one)...how about grievance hearings? Like when your company f*ucks you while you have a wife and kid (both nearly died) in the hospital and ALPA is more excited about using your case as "The poster child" for why we need a certain provision in the contract. Not "Hey..how are things going? Is there anything we can do for you." Instead, "Hey, can you come down to XYZ and testify at this hearing about your problems and we can use that to help our case. Next week would be great. (Wife and kid STILL in hospital). Just JS down..ok?" Huh...no...and you can go straight to hell.

Or the fact that military members are not allowed to vote on ALPA related elections while called to active duty because we are treated like we "might as well be furloughed". "You are not paying dues so your interest cannot be represented." (ALPA National words)

Or the DB that had the nuts to call me out for not having a pin on and then told me this "You are either part of us or not...which is it." Because of a F'ing pin? I asked him where is American Flag pin was (two weeks post 9/11)..and told him "You are either with us or agaisnt us.." He just walked away.

I wore an ALPA pin on my flight suit on over 50 missions in Iraq and what did ALPA do for me when I got home...sent me a bill for dues that they thought I owed. That was the ONLY, the ONLY thing I got from ALPA in over a year on military leave.

So you ALPA cheerleaders can have your corrupt, inept, impotent, self serving union. You can use all the excuses you want. ALPA's primary responsibility is to protect its members and enhance their quality of life...as a whole and as individuals. You keep saying ALPA IS its members but when someone says "what has ALPA done for me" you whine about "it is about the greater good..its not about you." But I thought I WAS ALPA...

I paid thousands of dollars for a shiney magazine. I assume you ALPA drones sit by the mailbox and wait for that piece toilet paper to show and then hang on every word of your messiah John Prater who has done what so many like him have done in the past all over the world..led you straight down a path of destruction. And you guys are screaming "wheeeeeeee wheeeeee" all the way.

Wake up girls.....

 

[PHXFLYR]

Maybe you"re just better suited for military aviation rather than the civilian sector. I've noticed most (not all,but most) military aviators like yourself loath ALPA. Never could figure out why. And somehow I don't think that changes much across party lines. I live in a town which has a pretty big military presence. Have quite a few friends who are current and former military aviators flying for airlines represented by ALPA,APA,IAP, Teamsters aviation division and even that low life outfit USAPA. They feel just the same towards their union as you do yours. Maybe you just enjoyed military aviation more than your realized when you were in and didn't recogonize it at the time, no? If so,can you re-enlist? After all you got to do what your most happiest doing? Life's to short to be so angry. Anyway, here's hoping hoping your wife and kid are doing well.

PHXFLYR

 

[Dan Roman]

You need an education and you will get it...now. Representation does not simply mean disciplinary hearings (there was one)...how about grievance hearings? Like when your company f*ucks you while you have a wife and kid (both nearly died) in the hospital and ALPA is more excited about using your case as "The poster child" for why we need a certain provision in the contract. Not "Hey..how are things going? Is there anything we can do for you." Instead, "Hey, can you come down to XYZ and testify at this hearing about your problems and we can use that to help our case. Next week would be great. (Wife and kid STILL in hospital). Just JS down..ok?" Huh...no...and you can go straight to hell.

Or the fact that military members are not allowed to vote on ALPA related elections while called to active duty because we are treated like we "might as well be furloughed". "You are not paying dues so your interest cannot be represented." (ALPA National words)

Or the DB that had the nuts to call me out for not having a pin on and then told me this "You are either part of us or not...which is it." Because of a F'ing pin? I asked him where is American Flag pin was (two weeks post 9/11)..and told him "You are either with us or agaisnt us.." He just walked away.

I wore an ALPA pin on my flight suit on over 50 missions in Iraq and what did ALPA do for me when I got home...sent me a bill for dues that they thought I owed. That was the ONLY, the ONLY thing I got from ALPA in over a year on military leave.

So you ALPA cheerleaders can have your corrupt, inept, impotent, self serving union. You can use all the excuses you want. ALPA's primary responsibility is to protect its members and enhance their quality of life...as a whole and as individuals. You keep saying ALPA IS its members but when someone says "what has ALPA done for me" you whine about "it is about the greater good..its not about you." But I thought I WAS ALPA...

I paid thousands of dollars for a shiney magazine. I assume you ALPA drones sit by the mailbox and wait for that piece toilet paper to show and then hang on every word of your messiah John Prater who has done what so many like him have done in the past all over the world..led you straight down a path of destruction. And you guys are screaming "wheeeeeeee wheeeeee" all the way.

Wake up girls.....

First off, sorry about the family. I hope they are OK now and whatever happened is 100% behind them.
Family is way more important than any career, unfortunatly we need a career to take care of them.
I'm also sorry you had a bad experience with your representation. The fact is in circumstances like this is usually when ALPA really shines. Their are 1000's of pilots and pilots families that have benefited immensely from ALPA's support during times like what happened to you. It's an area that ALPA shines in. It would be a mistake to characterize ALPA by your incident. It certainly isn't the norm.
Anyway, I care more about your family than proving you right or wrong. Hope they are OK.