fosters

Those people that say ALPA can't help them or their carrier are way too short sighted. The association has a lot of positives in return for your 1.95%.

• If you are on medication a simple call to ALPA's medical office will let you know if you are legal or not.
• When the company wanted people to waive their Long Call pay here (4.5 hours) in order to pick up trips the union quickly moved in and put a stop to it (two days alone for me was worth $360, and I paid $280 in union dues all year).
• ALPA was instrumental in getting the ASAP program going and negotiated into a side letter (for those who don't know what ASAP is, it is basically a NASA ASARs form on steroids - get out of jail free card as long as you "self disclose" something even as bad as a runway incursion).

The thing with ALPA is you won't know how much you need them until you really need them. These are just a few points that I have DIRECTLY seen affect me (no I didn't have a runway incursion) in a positive way either monetary or career wise. There are MANY more.

UWpilot

Above all a union can bring pilot solidarity and thats every managements worse nightmare.

ghilis101

there it is. and remember how important that solidarity will be as we all eventually move on to a major.

RedeyeAV8r

Well said. People who bad mouth ALPA genrally have no clue. The whole reason Pilotling is a sought after job is because ALPA made it into a career.........dispite MGT's attempts to make it otherwise.

ALPA has it's faults, like any organization. Currently the US government has it's faults and many things going on in Wash DC (and GWB) is ******ed up in my opinion........but I can't think of a better place to live than the good ol USA.....faults and all.

Same goes for ALPA. There are a few things that are ******ed up within but I have been a member of other Pilot Unions and knowing what I know now, there is no better profesional organization that does more for the Piloting profession than ALPA BTW, all the other independant Pilot Unions dove tail off ALPA's efforts and successes. Nothing against the independants, it is just a fact that many of their successes are due to ALPA's past efforts.