NWA320pilot

It would be interesting to see what the actual cost is for the legal support if needed. So far I have paid almost $60K to ALPA during my career and I still have almost another 20 years left. This means I will pay another $60k+ for dues alone. Now $120K plus the interest this money could have earned buys a pretty good defense.......

schone

Just what does national ALPA do these days except take our money away?

I'll tell you in my company all i hear is - "we don't have the resources incase the company files a bargaining in bad faith law suit".

Every major airline ALPA has ever touched has either been or is in Chapter 11. Now days with an expired contract and pilots working in anything less than desirable working conditions. I'm not even going into the regionals that are represented (or I should say misrepresented) by ALPA. That one is an absolute joke. Can you say boy scouts.

That whole 60s cool by association because we bare the name ALPA has long gone and done. It's time people wakeup to understand that blindly following an organization that provides nothing but a blanket to it's officers to do whatever they want with no need to report back the numbers is really not the way to go. It is def not the union of the future that takes care of it's members and more so, not the kind of union that looks out for the better interests of its member.

As someone else said here, leveraging your sheer size to get a couple good health insruance programs and medical legal team is really no big deal. We could all buy that with the amount of money this union turns over in a year. Any union the size and financial ability of ALPA can provide that.

tsquare

The motivation evident in both your case and freightdawgs' is the same... the want the dues.

TheDashRocks

[quote=Low & Slow;550571]Yes, Years worth

I have no reason to doubt or accept your word at face value. Please elaborate on your efforts to assist ALPA's communication.

Agreed , IT is nimble except when deployed by ALPA. The point of my post is ALPA is leadership delusional if they honestly think that ALPA communications are a.) leading edge, and b.) Democratic in nature c.) effective.

I receive 2-3 emails a week from National and at least that many from my MEC. The MEC info is always current and informative about TA implementation issues.

Dues payers have earned the right to gripe in any way they see fit. They are not required to do one little thing more than that. My personal opinion is that unions are non-profit organizations established to benefit us. If I have ideas that will aid in this effort I will communicate them to my union leaders and offer my assistance. There is no law that requires this, but I will often ask, "what have you done besides gripe?"

How many earn 6 figures? Hopefully every single one that is worth it. Perhaps you should get one of these candy jobs for yourself.

In a non-union world, maybe you would have earned a lot less.

[quote=schone;551182]Just what does national ALPA do these days except take our money away?

At my company, we have a new contract that improves pay and time off.

Every major airline ALPA has ever touched has either been or is in Chapter 11.

Plenty of non-ALPA carriers too.

Now days with an expired contract and pilots working in anything less than desirable working conditions. I'm not even going into the regionals that are represented (or I should say misrepresented) by ALPA. That one is an absolute joke.

The laws in this country, especially the RLA hamper unions. Too many say, "if a union cannot achieve perfect results and instantly solve all of my problems, what is the point of joining?"

Low & Slow

Do you want to discuss the message, or kill the messenger?

Deny, redirect, counter-accuse is a familiar refrain for those who can't or won't debate a point. It's a common knee-jerk reply to hear those who blindly chant "what have you done besides gripe?", who in the same breath refuse to engage in healthy debate a point. The singular point in this thread is the state of the ALPA communications effort, and the ALPA president's assessment of that effort.

How about it, do you want to talk about ALPA communications?

acl65pilot

Yes, they stink. If you have the expertise to help get involved.

Low & Slow

Well, this is the first step. Making rank and file pilots aware of the issue, problem, and potential solutions.

The crux of my argument is that ALPA's web-based communication effort is wholly inadequate. I've outlined a few solutions, it's not a complete list of solutions, but I am a fan of outsourcing the communications arm of the Herndon IT department.

I've worked within the system for years, and I realize that nothing will change without the mandate of the membership.

After everyone gets over the recoil of me "calling the baby ugly" (hey, it's my baby too), maybe we can get on with the dialog of improving resources and reducing costs. It's our dues money at stake, and expect those at the helm to be good stewards of the dues dollars.

So the solution is this, and it couldn't be easier.

1.) Take a look at a few of the links to ECM SaaS companies and see if there are features that you feel are better than what ALPA currently offers. Don't trust me, do your own homework.

2.) Demand more from your union. This where the resolution process comes in. It's not a quick fix and will take at least 18 months to be heard at the next BOD.

If you want change, and the ALPA president has committed to that - now is the time to define what that change will look like. It's time for the membership to define what the specifications are for the new system. No matter how much any of us whine on a web board; a resolution at the local level is what will prompt change.

A potential solution can include the SaaS (outsourced) platform, although I'm in favor of keeping IT inhouse. I don't want to see anyone lose a job, but I also demand that ALPA provides the most bang for the buck, on all fronts.

acl65pilot

I know that they are working on a new web board server. It had some initial issues but it should be up sooner rather than later.

Funny thing is even with these 1980's style info bursts, I can log on and get all the info I need. They have my e-mail address and I get every publication that they send out. I consider myself to be well informed. Are there better ways, yes, but they cost money, and that is something pilots do not want to hear.
I for one would love to quit wasting union dollars on printing up the same stuff I get in an e-mail. Problem is that 40% of pilots probably do not know what their log in is to the ALPA site. I know I have flown with a few.

Low & Slow

The webboard 3.0, as with the dotnet nuke 4 platform that ALPA runs is completely inadequate. Neither are enterprise level solutions, unless you're talking about the starship Enterprise AKIVA - Demos

Both platforms currently in use are hobbyist platforms - ALPA can and should have a professional and enterprise level IT platforms.

ALPA could adopt the SaaS model for $140K per year and shed up to 4 $100K+ jobs in the process. This move would save ALPA a quarter million dollars a year while significantly improving the quality of ALPA media outlet.

40% of pilots not online is not relevant to the decision as we're not talking about print or web. ALPA has already killed the Herndon printshop and the web is the only media outlet that exsists. My argument is that the online media outlet should and can be more robust while saving dues dollars in the process.

NWA320pilot

Maybe but maybe not...... Don't get me wrong I feel a union is a necessary evil for the airlines. But that being said I feel that ALPA national has not acted to best benefit the pilot group.