WOW - Should have become an ALPA-officer

[D-Jumbo]

This is amazing, especially in today's industry!!

http://www.unionfacts.com/unions/unionOfficers.cfm?id=235072

 

[Mamma]

An interesting link in the webpage you offered. I'm not saying ALPA is involved in any of this but it is interesting.

Union Leader Fraud & Corruption

The Department of Labor's Office of Inspector General saw a three-fold increase in the number of convictions in internal union cases between 1998 and 2004. And in 2005, criminal charges and fines hit five-year highs. Union leaders have continued to earn their reputation for greed, corruption, and mismanagement of union dues. During the past five years, more than 1,100 indictments have been issued, and more than $400 million in fines and restitution has been awarded in Department of Labor racketeering investigations.

Labor Racketeering Investigations FY 2001 FY 2002 FY 2003 FY 2004 FY 2005 Cases Opened105 125 124 135 103 Cases Closed109 130 144 115 107 Cases referred for prosecution 57 74 66 87 88 Indictments161 218 181 260 322 Convictions92 154 120 143 196 Fines, restitutions, forfeitures,
and civil monetary actions$ 42.5
million $ 105.9
million $ 27.9
million $ 36.5
million $ 187.9
million

Source: Department of Labor Office of Inspector General
​

• 71% of union members said the government ought to do more to protect union members from corrupt union officials, and that unions should be required to give detailed reporting of union finances to discourage abuse, according to a 2004 Zogby International poll.
• According to the FBI, four of the last eight Teamsters presidents have been criminally indicted.

• Nearly 50% of the U.S. Department of Labor Inspector General's labor racketeering investigations involve pensions and employee welfare benefit plans.
• "Schemes involving bribery, extortion, deprivation of union rights by violence, and embezzlement used by early racketeers are still employed to abuse the power of unions," according to the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General.

 

[737 Pylt]

This is amazing, especially in today's industry!!

http://www.unionfacts.com/unions/unionOfficers.cfm?id=235072

I think the most disgusting part about this is that Worthless complains about managment salaries and bonuses and is MORE guilty than they are. How does he have the balls to accept a salary like that?? Who is the highest paid airline and how much are they making in comparison to his pay!
737

 

[Mamma]

How did this case end up? They are all a incompetent bunch.

hundreds of USAir pilots file federal lawsuit
Hundreds of US Airways Pilots File Court Claim States That Airline, Union , and Key Investor Formed A Criminal Enterprise To Steal Pilots' Pension Plan

NEW YORK, June 4 -- More than 200 US Airways pilots filed a civil complaint in federal court on Wednesday alleging that the airline, along with the pilots union ALPA, and a major investor banded together in a criminal conspiracy to steal their pensions away.
The court filing, filed by Mr. Michael Haber, attorney for the group, the US Airways Pilots for Justice was an amended complaint filed in United States District Court in Brooklyn . The pilots' lawsuit alleges that US Airways, Inc. the Air Line Pilots Association, and Retirement Systems of Alabama violated the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act [RICO]. The pilots seek damages of at least $150 million, in addition to the reinstatement of the pilots' defined benefit pension plan, which they contend was stolen from them through the actions of the aforementioned parties.

The court filing also contends that the pilots union aided and abetted company officials in early 2003 when the defined benefit pension plan of US Airways' more than 5000 pilots and retirees and pilots' widows was terminated and traded in for a much more meager defined contribution plan. The union, according to the plaintiff pilots, promised its members that they would have a vote on the matter, but quickly and quietly caved in to the airline without any membership ratification vote. The lawsuit also alleges that the union then reaped the benefits from the plan termination by suddenly becoming the manager of hundreds of millions of dollars of pension monies, as part of the deal to scrap the defined benefit plan.

The complaint also quoted former US Airways chief executive officer David Siegel as telling a tight-knit group of upper management officials shortly after he was hired in early 2002, "Gentlemen, we stand to make a lot of money and we're not going to let the pilot pension fund stand in the way." The suit also lambasted Siegel's vows of a, "labor-friendly Chapter 11 reorganization" as a sham, designed only to lull employees, and the US Airways pilots in particular, into a false sense of security.

Further, according to the lawsuit, there was a "virtually endless series of restructuring agreements," and specifically cited another such agreement that was made in December 2002, in which the pilots union, unlike every other union at US Airways, agreed to virtually every concession requested by the airlines.

The union, the pilots also allege, had a right and duty to audit the pilots defined benefit pension plan on an ongoing basis, but failed to do so, and furthermore lied when it told its members that it had no way of knowing whether or not their pension plan was truly in dire straits. US Airways also agreed to indemnify ALPA for any liabilities arising out of the termination of said pension plan.

Retirement Systems of Alabama (RSA) became the major stakeholder in US Airways during its first bankruptcy, and its president, Dr. David Bronner, emerged as the chairman of US Airways' board of directors in April 2003. The lawsuit names ALPA, US Airways Group, Inc., US Airways, Inc., RSA, and Retirement Systems of Alabama Holdings, LLC as conspirators in an effort to illegally wrest billions of dollars in pension funds from the pilots to the benefit of each of the parties. Among the claims are that the defendants committed mail fraud, wire fraud, and other types of racketeering activities on an ongoing basis.

US Airways originally filed for bankruptcy protection in August 2002 and emerged from bankruptcy in April 2003, a year and a half before its second foray into Bankruptcy Court.

 

[Smoking Man]

Go ALPA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


oh yea I put my 1.95% in a roth IRA not the DW checking account. Well really it is 2%.

 

[Ben Franklin]

"Mr. Abramoff... paging Mr jack Abramoff, please pick up the white courtesy phone, Mr. specter is holding"

guys, no one is immune.

If you put money in front of someone, they will grab at it.

Sincerely,

B. Franklin

 

[spinproof]

Spy-ri-do Ski-a-dos? Sounds like a charsacter out of a Mel Brooks movie! Probably a straw man made up by other officers that split his salary!!!!:angryfire

Think any of these "union employees" will be taking a salary hit in solidarity with the working class? Yes I do know the answer.

I do think it's interesting the Worthless, when things get tough, appoints committees such as "J4J", "pay to play" and such. Of course he's worth the money! Anyone that can get paid as much as he and yet looses money for his constituents gets my vote!

NOT!!!!! Suckers

 

[ultrarunner]

This is amazing, especially in today's industry!!

http://www.unionfacts.com/unions/unionOfficers.cfm?id=235072

Heck, how about a secretary. I bet there are more than a few RJ drivers that would take that money.

 

[TheBaron]

7368 Vs. 6

Playing the devils advocate here. You can argue that there are problems with ALPA leadership...but you can't claim that it in any way compares with the corruption of many (maybe most) other unions.
The National Labor Relations Board investigates instances of union violations of the National Labor Relations Act and other labor laws. Unfair Labor Practices include instances of bad faith bargaining, excessive dues, violence, threats and many other violations.

Teamsters....7368 violations
ALPA........... 6 violations

 

[ultrarunner]

Teamsters....7368 violations
ALPA........... 6 violations

There's a shocker.

The Teamsters long ago solidified their status as the most corupt union to walk the face of the planet. It's likely not changed.

I'd eat dog$hit before I let them represent me! Not that they care.

 

[Tejas-Jet]

This is amazing, especially in today's industry!!

http://www.unionfacts.com/unions/unionOfficers.cfm?id=235072

I've said it before....I'll say it again. Write a resolution for your next LEC meeting for a review/reduction of the pay for Duane Woerth and the ALPA officers. After all the "Whereas"...."Whereas"....Whereas"...and "Therefore"s....then the members of your local LEC will have a chance to vote on it....

There you will find out if you really have a legitimate concern or if you are out in left field....

One thing for sure....posting this on www.Flightinfo.com will not get any of this changed.

Good luck....and let us know how it goes.

Tejas

 

[vetrider]

You don't even have to be a union officer, even secretaries and other ancillary staff appear to do pretty darn good.

 

[IB6 UB9]

There's a shocker.

The Teamsters long ago solidified their status as the most corupt union to walk the face of the planet. It's likely not changed.

I'd eat dog$hit before I let them represent me! Not that they care.

Good thing ALPA is around to save you.

 

[D-Jumbo]

I've said it before....I'll say it again. Write a resolution for your next LEC meeting for a review/reduction of the pay for Duane Woerth and the ALPA officers. After all the "Whereas"...."Whereas"....Whereas"...and "Therefore"s....then the members of your local LEC will have a chance to vote on it....

There you will find out if you really have a legitimate concern or if you are out in left field....

One thing for sure....posting this on www.Flightinfo.com will not get any of this changed.

Good luck....and let us know how it goes.

Tejas

Very good point (and I don't mean that sarcastically). Actually I do think posting this is getting things somewhere, awareness is half the battle. Go for it ACTIVE ALPA members, give it a shot, hope it will get you somewhere. It certainly is time to have these salaries adjusted to be more inline with the average pilot income.

I thank The Man every day that I am no longer one of them and am now working for a company with its own union, with only ONE agenda: the well being of its pilot group, not its officers. Hope for all ALPA members that they one day can be in that position aswell.

 

[YourPilotFriend]

I think duane was getting 747 captain pay and ALPA pay, so in 2004 he was making $800,000 a year. I bet he is glad he secured his pay before the industry tanked, foreshadowing perhaps?

 

[StaySeated]

You have been around aviation too long if you think that those salaries are a lot of money. This list pops up all the time and some of the reactions never cease to amaze me. The alpa staff are actually under paid compared to similiar positions both in and out of the industry. As a matter of fact, a lot of the stellar attorny's in representation jump ship to the dark side where the big bucks are. Bruce York could leave alpa this afternoon and quadruple his salary. Two of the ef&a people on that list make less than 100k and are worth double if you ask me. 500k for a president of a union with almost 70k members just doesn't seem like a lot of money to me. Just my opinion. If you think that the president of the union is there to solve all of your problems, then you do not understand the purpose of the association. Now would be a great time to volunteer for any committee at your airline. You will learn more than you ever imagined about your profession and actually make a positive difference for you and your coworkers. FWIW, the national officer pay is based upon the 3 highest paid pilot positions at alpa carriers. As those rates go down, so does the officers'.

 

[Carl_Spackler]

If you want to be an ALPA officer, you have to rock the 'stash.

 

[A350]

The scary part of this is that there are several here will tell us that this is "just the cost of doing business" and they are worth every penny.

Hardly.

A350

 

[Dizel8]

500k for a president of a union with almost 70k members just doesn't seem like a lot of money to me.

That's funny, there are a few unions out there with more members where the President makes a lot less. As for Duane, well, he would be unable to make that at NWA and he, afaik, is past sixty.

IIRC, the President of the US gets 400K!

Duane needs to step up or be recalled, but unless the unions members gets tough, he will continue to ride the gravy train!

 

[JoeMerchant]

To those who say the solution is simply to write up a resolution and submit it at your next LEC meeting, you either don't understand how political ALPA is, or you are choosing to ignore this reality.

The resolution may very well pass at the LEC level, but as it moves up from there, it will be squashed by the "politicians". To fully appreciate this, you need to look at some of the history involved in how the National officers are compensated.

The compensation is set every 4 years at the BOD. Prior to the 2002 BOD, the compensation was based on the highest 6 ALPA carriers. What happened in 2001/2002 that changed this you ask? Mainline carriers started signing concessionary agreements which would have affected this formula in a negative way, so the formula was changed to the 3 highest ALPA carriers. Guess how many mainline carriers hadn't taken concessions by this time? 3 - DAL, NWA, and FDX. So instead of a paycut, DW and the boys got a raise. Coincidence?

The system is rigged to benefit those in power, and if they don't like the rules, they simply change them for their benefit.

 

[hnljay]

If they are such a great leadership group why do they need such a large staff for such a small union (relatively speaking). Go to the site and compare total costs versus some of the truly large unions, teamsters, AFL-CIO and then even go to the hi roller type unions (screen actors guild). The dollar cost per member at ALPA is waaaay out of line.. I totalled just the communications department and found 59 positions with total annual salary of 4.4 mill. How do you justify the head of communications making 303K. This is no better than the management types at many of the legacy carriers. Hands in the cookie jars. Mgt-retirement cookies National Alpa-Dues cookies.
http://www.unionfacts.com/unions/unionOfficers.cfm?id=235072

 

[StaySeated]

I am not sure if you were replying to my post, but I NEVER stated that the current leadership at ALPA is "great". I actually think they have totally failed over the last 15 years. They just came out with a whipsaw article in the fancy shmancy mag stating that "pay to play" is a bad thing. I found it laughable that the article was published just as one of the few remaining acceptable contracts at the regional level was decimated. I think the ALPA staff does a great job and I don't think the current compensation for the officers is out of line. Again my opinion.

If you really want to get upset, ask your MEC how much they spent at the last BOD! You will never see a larger, more gratuitous waste of dues money than when a handful of guys are clamouring for an evp position while partying like rock stars at some resort.

 

[Rez O. Lewshun]

The website listed is an union busting, anti labor website.
The hook is visbile in thru your gills as you are flopping around on dry land. The union busting groups have got you guys a nice fight amongst yourself program. Why attack head on when they can plant a virus from within. Way to go.

There is education going here, albeit negative.

Joe Merchant does have some value in that a resolution at an LEC meeting is ineffctive. However, this is how the democratic proces works at our local, state and fed level. Do we really want the ability for a small political faction to show up with one piece of legislation or resolution and effect instant change? The democratic process is slow and deliberate for a reason. This is why CSPAN is so boring.

Also Joe Merchant will have you believe that the BOD is were the evil work gets done. On the contrary, the BOD is the most democratic. If you didn't know the agenda of your elected reps then who can you blame? At my property the 2004BOD agenda was given to the membership. I asked my reps and not a single member engaged the BOD democratic process. I guess ALPA compensation wasn't really an issue, was it? Apathy at it finest.

But yet some guy will post an pro managment website on flightinfo and the pirana's jump onto the feedng frenzy of emotion and ignorance. Like a piece of sensational journalism, the ignorant get quicky loaded with biased info and suddenly the outcry is defeaning...

This union busting website has been posted on another "shock and awe" thread and it has been addressed. Get informed, it is the only shot we got....


http://forums.flightinfo.com/showthread.php?p=911138#post911138

http://forums.flightinfo.com/showthread.php?t=53627&highlight=alpa​

 

[kc81900]

What I find amazing is look at the united auto workers 650,000 members compared to 50,000 at alpa. Duane gets twice the compensation as the president of the UAW.

 

[surplus1]

Compensation of the Executive Administrator seems to be absent. Did I just miss it or is it really not there? Anyone know what it might be?

Just curious.

 

[Bizjet]

To those who say the solution is simply to write up a resolution and submit it at your next LEC meeting....

Hey glass house boy--don't go casting stones!! What do you know about attending LEC Meetings JOE? Aren't you the LEC Sec/Treas. for ASA in ATL? Didn't you make statements that indicated that you wouldn't attend any LEC meetings until the other two elected members took you seriously and allowed you equal time--time to spread your HATRED FOR ALPA? You don't understand that majority rules and you seem to always be in the minority. Why would anyone take you seriously? Your unrelenting ALPA bashing indicates a disconnect between your brain and your mouth!

 

[Rez O. Lewshun]

What I find amazing is look at the united auto workers 650,000 members compared to 50,000 at alpa. Duane gets twice the compensation as the president of the UAW.

Perhaps you'd like to take home the career earnings of a UAW worker for flying jets....

 

[Boeingman]

Perhaps you'd like to take home the career earnings of a UAW worker for flying jets....

For many ALPA members this would be a raise. For the rest, this is a wet dream by management which is so far, on a course that has been implemented perfectly with little resistance by ALPA in the race to the bottom.

 

[spinproof]

ALPA has become an ineffective barginning agent. You don't like the Teamsters ? Last I looked they are doing well for their constituents.

 

[Rez O. Lewshun]

For many ALPA members this would be a raise. For the rest, this is a wet dream by management which is so far, on a course that has been implemented perfectly with little resistance by ALPA in the race to the bottom.

More anti union rhetoric with no substance...

Also, with the road the GM and Ford are on.... the UAW members are going to be worse off than us....

I'm sure that GM and Ford problems are really cuased by the UAW. It is the unions fault.....

My mistake for even engaging the comparison.... UAW to ALPA members... Apples to oranges...