Low & Slow

Here's over a Million dollars in annual salary (based on salary data over 3 years old) for ALPA employees directly responsible for the ALPA IT and Communications effort.

This is a partial list.


I have no problem with paying staff a premium, but in return I'd expect for them to bring expertise to the table and deliver results. It appears that ALPA employs a highly compensated, and presumably qualified IT and communications staff.

10 years ago ALPA closed the union's Herndon print shop with promise of a nimble, responsive, and cost effective web-based communications strategy.
Based on the Feb. Pilot to Pilot column by Prater, he seems to think that mandate has been realized.

I'm afraid I don't share his assessment, and I seriously question the commitment to the stewardship of member dues dollars if the current communications effort is considered "industry leading".

acl65pilot

I will tell you this. ALPA is not just about contracts et al. When you need their legal or medical dept, they are worth every dues dollar you have ever paid. There people do this 24/7 for all of our membership. Part of the reason we pay what we pay is to keep the best in the industry working for us. Many careers and families have been saved by their work.

LeeFXDWG

While I agree the medical side functions well, I'll remind you it is not in-house and is contracted out to a third party.

Bottom line is ALPA is NOT a Union... it is an association that does a good job leveraging the numbers of the membership to provide the service above. They have not been a Union in a long time.

Lee

Low & Slow

Do you feel that ALPA employs the best IT and communications staff in the industry? Do you feel that the communications products offered by ALPA are adequate?

FWIW, I do know some of the staff and I think they are capable and personable individuals, I wish them the best, really. I don't dispute that ALPA has some benefit, but this post is about the communications effort and the ALPA president's assessment of ALPA's communications infrastructure.

I can't think of a more beneficial tool to a time-shifted, geographically diverse, tech savvy labor force that needs to unified at the grassroots level than an effective web-based comm platform.

In that regard, ALPA has dropped the ball, miserably.

Prater's February message reeks of another president who stood before his constituency and declared "Mission Accomplished", we all know how that turned out.

Low & Slow

Excellent point, and that's one reason why I'm puzzled with the overall ALPA communications/IT strategy (or lack of).

Outsourcing is vilified by most, but as you point out, ALPA already contracts (outsources) with third party providers to bring value to the membership.

There was a time when ALPA had staff doctors, now ALPA contracts with third party physicians. There was a time when ALPA had a full production print shop on site in Herndon, now they outsource the printing.

ALPA should be a good custodian of dues dollars by reducing expense while providing improved service to association membership.

On the topic of Communications/IT, there are many American providers that offer SaaS (software as a service) subscriptions that eliminate the need for in house IT infrastructure and staff while providing a superior product at dramatically reduced cost.

Here are a few "white label" providers that provide the IT back end while allowing the subscriber to brand every aspect of the outlet:

• Web Content Management System | CMS Software as A Service - CrownPeak
• Small World Labs | Social Media and Enterprise Social Networking Software for your Online Community
• Online Community and Social Networking | HiveLive
• The Leader in Social Media Marketing - Awareness Inc
• Context Optional: Social network application development and viral media strategy: Facebook applications, Google OpenSocial, iPhone, MySpace, Friendster, hi5, LinkedIn Main

One thing that's encouraging is the Prater states that "...I can tell you that, using all the communications tools that science and technology have to offer, ALPA will succeed in enhancing its communications capabilities...".

All the communications tools that science and technology have to offer? Time will tell.

YXnot

Unless you work(ed) for Midwest where the legal assistance rendered in constructing Section 1 scope language would have been better if it had been written by a monkey. Sorry

acl65pilot

I am not talking about contract administration. You guys are getting a screw job.
BTW if you know Scott Becker have him PM me or PM me so I Can get his contact info.

320ToBearz

Shhh......we are the red headed step child of ALPA.

A **** poor scope clause being exploited by a teamsters group and a nonunion group courted by ALPA.

As with any large organization, intertia is the dominant force. ALPA will not change IT functionality unless it economically benefits them. I don't expect those in the glass palace in herndon to understand with their clothing allowances, etc.

What is the status of the former 12 party TWA pilots lawsuit against ALPA?

jonnyjetprop

I guess the question is "what industry"? The teamsters don't even bother to communicate to the rank and file airline pilot they represent. In that respect, ALPA is industry leading.

acl65pilot

I think that one thing that people constantly fail to remember/realize is that each MEC negotiates their own contracts, National does not do that. Our Scope failures at DAL are our own fault, not national's.