Bucking Bar

I wish I had not read that ....

Check Essential

What's the problem?
There's no conflict of interest at ALPA National. Read all the statements again.

The union's position is perfectly clear.

hitimefurl

There lies the fallacy of the DPA being the solution. We went into 2012 screaming to management that we were divided. The self fulfilling prophecy was that because we were divided we lacked leverage for another point or two in pay. Doing this again before 2015 is another tell to management. Divided pilot group. Regardless of which side you voted for, assuming you voted for any union (you're out there I know you are), you are going to get less and pay more for it. Hear me out.

Just flew with a DPA guy with less than 8 months left on property. His vote out the door affects the next 16 years I have left. He's ****ed off at something that happened in the late 80's and he voted yes on every contract from POS96 to today. The pilots vote the contract in. MEMRAT is the power for the pilots. Blaming ALPA for a contract no one liked means that no one voted no when they should have. Are we really blaming someone else for not having the ba11$ to vote no ourselves?

This forum tears apart everything that ALPA puts out. Every word is checked and every paragraph scrutinized but no one appears to have read any of the DPA material or cared to go through it. A list of goals and a constitution that is downright scary.

Dues go up with DPA. Not only do they go up, they go up with no vote. That's something that can't happen in ALPA today. This is all from the DPA constitution and something that automatically goes into place on day one. I've emailed Caplinger with these questions and he hasn't answered but to say that nothing is set in stone. The constitution starts day one. Good luck going back to change that.

1. The dues rate shall be 1.75% upon initial certification by the National Mediation Board. On January 1st of the second full fiscal year following initial certification, the dues rate shall drop annually by 0.25% every year until reaching a minimum dues rate of 1%. Special Circumstance Exception: Six (6) months prior to the amendable date of the Pilot Working Agreement, or upon early opening of negotiations if greater than six (6) months prior to the amendable date, or upon notification of a possible bankruptcy or merger initiated by the Company, the dues rate will temporarily increase by 0.5% until the new contract is ratified, or bankruptcy proceedings or merger integration is complete.

Section 6 or a merger are going to happen for us sooner rather than later. That mean dues go to an automatic 2.25% and stay there until "the new contract is ratified" Even in the future, they go up on their own. If we went USAPA/APA on a Section 6 then we'd be looking at years of 2.25% and still working under the same CBA and still waiting for the NMB. We'd be paying more for what we have now. There is no plan on getting us out of our existing CBA because you can't. The dues increase requires no vote like it does today. That's a fact and it's a problem.

Flight pay loss is going up. It's okay though because they'll have more money they say. This is another red flag in the constitution.

1. In addition, the Association will pay a salary of one half (1/2) of the ALV of the Category bid plus a premium of thirty percent (30%) of the ALV for the President and twenty-five percent (25%) of the ALV for all other Officers, Representatives and Committee Chairpersons.

Caplinger as interim president is looking at pay as high as 109 hours per month and the reps at 105. The 105 also applies to committee chairman. The DPA just published the pay of a handful of ALPA pilots as an example of being paid too much and none of those received more than 92 hours of pay. The flight pay loss going up is another issue for me. Interim president and self volunteered committee chairman are all getting a massive pay bump and one that is higher than our reps today.

Keep in mind this is just pay. If any of you have seen our treasurer speak you'll know that ALPA pays an override of 37.5% to Delta for benefits on top of flight pay loss. That won't go away. So, it's another 37.5% on top the 109 hours of pay! You'll also have read that the DPA is planning on getting rid of Delta reimbursed flight pay loss. That's millions in flight pay loss and override over what we pay today.

We all know the ALV fluctuates so if you use the same numbers that the DPA used for the their calculations (average 87 hours of pay per month) interim president FO Caplinger will get paid $289K or more than than they claim Captain Roberts gets today using the DPA's own numbers. Hello? The new guys have set themselves up to get paid more than the current guys they are upset with.

That's just dues and flight pay loss. The constitution has many other issues. New hires and military pilots returning from leave can't be reps. New hires get charged a monthly service fee (free today). Quorum is 3/4 of the members. A resolution needs a minimum of 25% of the members in a block to move it forward.

If you don't know or haven't spent time with anyone at USAPA, you need to. The promises and goals there were for a "cost neutral" contract in 45-90 days. Regardless of the reason for the split, they haven't been able to achieve anything and pay more for it. Their labor lawyer told the USAPA pilots he would get management on board with the contract on it being cost neutral. Our management talked about cost neutral, ALPA did not. Why would the labor attorney be pushing for a cost neutral solution???

How about this?

The contract should be "beneficial to both parties" how the H E double hockey sticks is that a freaking goal? Beneficial to both sides? That's double speak for protacktive engagement. Don't even get me started on the iron clad 200 page contract...

Gentleman, it's time to do the same due diligence on this organization that we do on our own today. I could go on but pick up is in 15. Did I mention I asked for my card back and it hasn't been returned yet?

Meet the new boss
Same as the old boss

Bucking Bar

Frankly, if the DPA had any cogent understanding of representation they would take this Pinnacle Bridge Agreement and run it down field to a touch down. The fact the DPA has not even unwrapped this gift from whatever god they pray to tells me that they aren't capable.

I read this article, outraged again that MEC Chairmen sang kum by yah and signed a letter stating they would commit not to do what one of their rank just did. How many of these letters have the express MEC Chairmen signed now? None of these MEC Chairmen called an Executive Board when it mattered.

I've never been sure what an "ALPA Career" is ... apparently it involves a lot of Sunday morning repentance.

Bucking Bar

Great post ... you should write more often.

hoserpilot

God save the Queen!!! ...she ain't no human being, there is no future, in England's dreaming....

Ahh, the Sex Pistols. My first real CD put out by our friend Sir Richard at Virgin Records. Retired all my vinyl shortly thereafter.



Canada has less population than California. Even with so few they seem to screw up socialized medicine. Canadian nurses are recruited by U.S. medical facilities for higher paying contract work which soon leads to full employment and a green card/permanent resident status. No one up there really has anything great to say about the system. You wait months or years for surgery. If you really want it now many head south across the border. There are even "medical vacation packages" to doctors in Mexico!! Good luck to us all. We're gonna be stuck with a huge $hit sandwich.

johnso29

Just to mess with you!!!

JK. Didn't like the tone of my post. So I changed it.

johnso29

It would all work if SWA had not screwed it up!

forgot to bid

Speaking of the return of college concussion ball, cough cough, enjoy while it lasts, I'm going to direct a post to the Auburn dudes and dudettes...

Cam on campus this winter finishing his degree.



And, since it's not Shiz and I shooting an approach I don't know what this is all about...



but I bet some smart ass will figure a caption for it.

shiznit

No kidding, they don't look nearly frightened enough to see us flying nearby!

I'm thinking they put up the Miley Twerk on the Jumbotron...