Hey NYC! It appears you are famous! Careful. There is not as much anonymity as some here believe...
Handcuffs on the jetway
The old adage “if you don’t provide the forum, someone else will†couldn’t be truer when it comes to USAPA. One would imagine that a new union with a membership hungry for information would quickly establish a web forum for the open exchange of ideas. Assuming web boards take months to design and establish, we patiently waited thinking its arrival was imminent. Our curiosity got the better of us so we contacted a number of internet service providers to get a better idea of just how long it takes to get a web board up and running. We were shocked to learn that one can have a board up and running in less than an hour! So what in the world was taking the self appointed USAPA leadership so long?
We believe the answers to this are numerous, but let’s examine a few:
USAPA was formed with the singular goal of voiding the Nicolau Award and forcing a DOH seniority list on the minority west pilots. Providing a web board for the pilots to openly challenge the self appointed leadership would be problematic as dictatorial regimes cannot achieve their goals within the realms of free speech. Remember, Mr. Bradford and Mr. Seham promised those that voted for them a quick resolution to the east/west stalemate. Sanctioning a web board with open dissent would severely hamper their efforts.
As numerous web boards sprang to life to fill the void left by the Association and the disbanding of the ALPA boards, Mr. Bradford decided to enlist a group of loyalists to fear monger and threaten non compliant pilots. These disciples may or not be officers of the Association but they are armed with inside confidential information, which makes them de facto representatives. Just this past weekend a frequent poster on an alternative web board posted the following in response to those that defy paying dues:
"Those on the east who have sucked at ALPA's teat for years, now have to live with their legacy and
who refuse to pay up will find themselves met on a jetway in the near future by a CP with a law enforcement escort and handed a dues non-revokable check-off agreement and promissory note for the amount of back dues. The choice will be made there and then: sign now, or turn in the company issued property and ID card. It will happen to the self-righteous objectors from both sides. My guess is that all but one or two will opt to sign. Once the news gets out, USAPA will have no problem getting people to pay.â€
Seems to us this was just chest thumping by a ardent USAPA supporter until this was posted as a followup to the above:
“I believe one of the westies of video fame is already on a year's non-revocable dues check-off. (I doubt this pilot wants to let all of you know that, though. It wouldn't be good publicity for "the cause" to know a poster child is paying up involuntarily.)
It’s clear the Mr. Bradford is using alternative sites to threaten and bully dissenting pilots as this poster has access to confidential inside information. If USAPA were to have its own web board, anonymous threats wouldn’t be possible.
From day one, Mr. Bradford and Mr. Seham focused their strategy on pursing legal action against pilots that openly criticize the Association on alternative web sites. It would not be consistent for an Association that uses the courts to threaten members who engage in free speech to have its own web board.
If USAPA had its own web board, the effectiveness of the USAPA noise machine would be greatly diminished. It’s one thing to have their updates challenged by alternative sites, but if they let it happen on their own servers, what little credibility they have would be forever lost. It’s clear that most of the membership is losing faith and tired of their propaganda, but Mr. Bradford doesn’t want to lose the few remaining loyalists to the truth.
Clearly, Mr. Bradford and his self appointed gang fear open and honest dissent. Their Association won because they hoodwinked a majority into believing the impossible was in fact possible. Now that the world is unwinding both in the courts and at the negotiating table, they have no choice but to mute any challenges to their mission.
Thankfully the Department of Labor and the US Constitution guarantees the right of union members to openly criticize their leadership through alternative publications. Until we oust Mr. Bradford and his gang of thugs, expect business as usual. The irony that Mr. Bradford was a frequent poster on our old ALPA web board is not lost on us.
Until then please be careful out there. It's possible you'll be the first pilot in history handcuffed on the jetway for nonpayment of union dues
Hahaha! You guys are so funny.
Until we all got booted from the ALPA forums, the only place I posted was there (almost exclusively on the east forum) and here on our beloved USAviation.com.
I looked at PilotLoop once and haven't been back.
Now I only post here (much to the dismay of the moderators.)
I am not on any other forum that deals with these issues, nor to I "own" any type of forum myself. I did look into it, and you can indeed have a forum up and running in an hour.
Some folks here know who I really am. I suppose you think you do, too. And I don't really care one whit whether you do or not.
NOTHING I've said here is confidential (or at least was presented as confidential.) Nothing I have said here was not heard in an open union meeting by dozens of others.
Keep "investigating," Mr. Holmes. At least it will keep you off the streets.
Oh, and who in the world said anything about handcuffs? You guys just like to make this stuff up as you go along, say it over and over, and in a week or two, voila, it's your reality.
Metroyet said:
And there it is. In a nutshell. Your willingness and enthusiasm for using USAPA as a tool to block and otherwise frustrate the due process that was already agreed upon by both groups is the heart of why you guys are being sued. USAPA exists for one solitary reason, to evade the implementation of the Nic. That my friend a clear DFR and is patently illegal. Our attorneys put on their own road shows and illustrated, ad nauseum, how many ways the Bradford/Seham band of Angry FO's violated US labor law, and more basically contract law. It's quite the laundry list that concludes that the very foundation of USAPA was illegal as it was custom designed to disenfranchise the minority. There is no "do over."
Believe me when I say that there is literally a MOUNTAIN of archived evidence, of all forms, that makes this fact crystal clear. The best part is that there is 100x more out there waiting to be discovered.
I wonder why USAPA is so frightened of the Discovery process? I wonder why Seham has been replaced? I wonder why USAPA claims that "attorney client privilege" is only applicable to the East pilots of the ONE union and is fighting tooth and nail to bury as much material as they can?
I wonder what kinds of things may have been said in private emails between the founders of this fake union.
I wonder what kinds of advice Seham was providing?
I wonder what Seham is referring to when he advises that by throwing out alpa, USAPA can reach "their goal"?
I wonder what "the goal" is/was?
I'm sure nothing incriminating will be turned up. Certainly not from your Sec./Treas. Mr. "hothead" King. Sure. I'm guessing Bradford et.al aren't getting much sleep these days.
Here is where you guys start jumping up and down screaming that it was a fair election, "majority rules!!!" and the NMB authorized it. The NMBs only function in all of this is vote counting for a new CBA election. They have no knowledge of, or interest in, the Ulterior motives of a group. That's where Judge Wake takes over.
Hahahaha! You guys REALLY are funny.
What a leap of logic you make and then try to pass it off as fact. And, again, I am just a pawn in the big game and will tacitly live with the final ruling of the final court, whatever that may be.
But I will NOT EVER vote to have ALPA back on this property, and I sincerely doubt there would be enough support to get a different union (independent or otherwise) certified here if USAPA closed its doors.
BTW, I saw Stephen Bradford in person last week for the first time ever (at least that I am aware of.) My first impression was that he looks much younger than the one picture I had seen of him in some newspaper. He certainly looks to me like he gets plenty of sleep.
And the other officers at the PHL meeting looked and acted equally chipper.
So, reach out for another straw. Keep grasping.
Except for the entertainment value, do you really think I buy into any of the disingenuous, misguided, daydreaming B.S. you guys spew around here?
But, please, don't stop. The yucks alone make it priceless.
