Resigning from/stopping auto payroll dues from ALPO

[twoturnin]

any pilots got any guesses on the numbers that have done it so far----from what I hear more and more are doing it every day---seems that should send a messege in a big way.

 

[exB717Flyer]

If everyone did it then a huge message would be sent. Until then is just means that those pilots lose their ability to vote for their representation while still paying 85% of normal dues (agency fee). Resigning from ALPA has an all the impact of a fart in the wind.

 

[twoturnin]

LOL good one ex717-----and it "just might be" that if the age over 60 thing that ALPO is fighting against fails to pass---the 48 % who polled against over 60 will soon find they are the only ones paying dues. Now thats just my .02$ not my real attitude of course.

 

[exB717Flyer]

Right...

I just find it amusing. I've been a Teamster, APA, and ALPA -- every one of them as f-ed up as the next. You want change you must do it within your representive body. Throwing stones from the outside has never been effective. (And keep in mind, this comes from an ex-TWAer who's part of a class-action lawsuit against ALPA. Just keepin' it real.)

 

[twoturnin]

RgR that one sir!

 

[CaptBud330]

I'm not so sure resigning won't hurt ALPO. If enough pilots resign, Duane Worthless might actually have to take a pay cut.

 

[pilot]

ALPA is only as strong as the will of its leadership and membership. Duane Woerth is an incredibly weak leader and it flows downhill from there. CLT, BOS, DCA, and LGA has the same weak leadership at the local level and their constituents follow.

It's not an ALPA problem, it's a membership/leadership problem.

Resigning isn't the answer. Stepping up and providing some leadership is. And the folks who resign aren't interested in taking the time out of their personal lives to make the effort to change the minds of the weak sisters.

Until the membership understands how the management is raping the profession ALPA will remain a paper tiger. Until Woerth call for a nationwide SOS and the membership supports it we are just fiddling while Rome burns.

pilot

 

[aquagreen73s]

ALPA is only as strong as the will of its leadership and membership. Duane Woerth is an incredibly weak leader and it flows downhill from there. CLT, BOS, DCA, and LGA has the same weak leadership at the local level and their constituents follow.

It's not an ALPA problem, it's a membership/leadership problem.

Resigning isn't the answer. Stepping up and providing some leadership is. And the folks who resign aren't interested in taking the time out of their personal lives to make the effort to change the minds of the weak sisters.

Until the membership understands how the management is raping the profession ALPA will remain a paper tiger. Until Woerth call for a nationwide SOS and the membership supports it we are just fiddling while Rome burns.

pilot

I think it's 95% correct to say the problem is with the membership because ultimately it is up to the membership. However, it can also be said that the ALPA tent has become too big and ALPA's drive to unionize all pilots under the ALPA banner has generated an incremental bump in revenue at the extreme cost of spawning a myriad of conflicts of interest. Now we have PSA fighting against Johnny Ornstein outsourcing which directly affects PSA and indirectly affects every mainline pilot. Same goes for the CALEX pilots and CAL pilots. Glass, Parker and every management/negotiator team in the industry recognize this handicap and play the outsourcing game against every MEC to the fullest. It was a nice, feel good idea to ALPA-ize all regional airlines, but I don't think much thought was given to the policy because it has been a tactical disaster. ALPA is supposed to be war fighting machine. I know the Executive committee and most MECs would abhor that thought, but it's true. We are direct descendants from the Samuel Gompers era and we stand on the shoulders of unionists who had to fight the government, powerful industrial barons, and a lopsided court system before a remotely fair balance between labor and management could be achieved. Our grandparent unionists showed the way, the only way, to maintain a fair balance between labor and management. Instead of all the happy pictures in the ALPA rag, why not do a monthly story on a coal miners union strike, or a pipefitters union strike, etc? I guess they can't afford to because MECs are now in a position where it's not management they are really fighting, but against thye ghost of outsourcing. One pilot group against the other. This has got to change.

 

[pilot]

Once the local membership takes control and defines what they want and need they then have the leverage to force ALPA national to respond in concert with their desires.

If ALPA national refuses at that point then leaving them is not just an option, it is essential. I agree the tent is too large. But the tent can be made smaller with just one move.

Assigning a national seniority number from the time you first became an ALPA member.

pilot

 

[luvthe9]

DUMP ALPA NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[aquagreen73s]

Once the local membership takes control and defines what they want and need they then have the leverage to force ALPA national to respond in concert with their desires.

If ALPA national refuses at that point then leaving them is not just an option, it is essential. I agree the tent is too large. But the tent can be made smaller with just one move.

Assigning a national seniority number from the time you first became an ALPA member.

pilot

It would end a conflict before it even started. And yes, members can take action now and start wagging the tail instead of the tail wagging the dog. The problem has been that many would rather believe the happy talk that ALPA national has been all to eager to dish out. I guess it's human nature to want someone else to do the heavy lifting and fight the battles. ALPA national has therefore slipped into a comfortable existence of playing Oprah and telling pilots to ignore the elephant standing before us. It's much easier to enjoy the lavish perks at Herndon, publish and pretty magazine with plenty of smiling faces, and then talk the talk about such gravely important things such as fatigue. Don't get me wrong, fatigue is important, but it's a rather low priority when we're in the midst of having pensions obliterated and wages slashed 50%.

At some point, just like at DDay, somebody will have to do the heavy lifting. The sooner we get on with it, the easier it will be.

 

[twoturnin]

Rgr that AG----we are just to splintered as a group to act as one----as in a By the Book ops for couple weeks------and how about those ALPO Secs. striking wanting more than 80K per yr. OOO well-----I heard that even though you actually resign from ALPO you still have to pay some form or minimum dues I think---not sure.

 

[CapnCockroach]

any pilots got any guesses on the numbers that have done it so far----from what I hear more and more are doing it every day---seems that should send a messege in a big way.

Are you talking resigning from ALPO, or are you talking quitting dues checkoff and self paying? I did the latter and pretty much paid when I felt like it. Never had a problem even though I was under the vile agency shop provisions of our contract. Last 3 months in ALPO I never paid the bastards. THAT feels good - to this day!!

 

[twoturnin]

if the over 60 fails then Iam getting out---all together----I like that---write em a check when I feel like it !!

 

[exB717Flyer]

I heard that even though you actually resign from ALPO you still have to pay some form or minimum dues I think---not sure.

As I wrote in response to you above, even non-members must pay an agency fee that is approximately 85% of full dues.