Union Incompetence- ALPA

[AFIRS]

With regards to the latest developments concerning our profession and the Temporary Foreign Worker Program. I'm personally left speechless with our unions visible absence. I have been an ALPA member for nearly five years and in those five years I have seen two moments with ALPA addressing our foreign pilot issue. One being a video distributed via the ALPA web site....
In the last 8-12 months I have seen more movement and major progress made by pilots, a good percentage of them being ALPA members (one in particular). National television coverage yesterday- nothing from ALPA. I'm told that ALPA is working the front line concerning this issue but cannot give details or show us what... How come? We're not in negotiations concerning this. All I get are 2-3 e.mails a week (ALPA spam) and 99 percent of the contents are always U.S.

We have a contract and in consideration of its obligations to us, I see nothing but incompetence. We pay substantial dues out of every pay cheque ($2000+ last year, multiply by 4.5 for total from DOH). So, we pay the union for its services, yet it visibly appears to have failed to provide us with major essential services.

Deeply disturbing...

Do your JOB ALPA!



Article I - ALPA Constitution and By-Laws

SECTION 6 - SCOPE OF AUTHORITY AND OBJECTIVES:

B. OBJECTIVES

(1) To provide representation for all members of the airline piloting profession; to promote the interests of that profession; and to safeguard the rights, individually and collectively, of its members.
(2) To safeguard, with ceaseless vigilance, the safety of scheduled air transportation in recognition of the high degree of public trust, confidence, and responsibility placed on the members.
(3) To further scheduling with safety in any practical manner.
(4) To advance and promote the professional image of the airline pilot in the business and educational communities, and with the public at large.
(5) To establish and exercise the right of collective bargaining for the purposes of making and maintaining employment agreements covering rates of pay, rules, and working conditions for the members of the Association, and to settle promptly disputes and grievances which may arise between such members and their employers.
(6) To establish fair rates of compensation, maximum hours of employment, and uniform principles of seniority for members of the Association, and to seek the adoption and perpetuation thereof.
(7) To obtain suitable health, retirement, and disability benefits for all members of the Association through legislation, collective bargaining, and other means.
(8) To disseminate news in any manner to keep Association members alert and well informed in all matters relating to their profession.
(9) To provide a means for participation by members of the Association in resolution of issues that affect the piloting profession.
(10) To urge, support, and sponsor the passage of legislation and regulations affecting members of the Association which will improve, protect, and increase the safety of their working conditions or otherwise advance their professional interests.
(11) To develop, administer, and make available to members of the Association services that will provide protection and/or assistance in unforeseen circumstances which may jeopardize their continued employment in the piloting profession.
(12) To develop, administer and make available to members of the Association benefit programs designed to satisfy specific needs not adequately provided for by their respective employers.
(13) To participate in or sponsor research in aviation-related matters that will contribute to the advancement of the airline piloting profession.
(14) To participate in appropriate efforts to preserve, document, and memorialize noteworthy events and achievements in aviation history.
(15) To provide suitable and effective support services to the Association's officers, representatives, and staff, and to its governing bodies and technical committees.
(16) To foster an environment that encourages respect for the dignity, the rights, and the human concerns of all members and employees of the Association, and to provide motivation for those individuals to strive for the best of which they are capable.

[rudder]

Lack of ALPA face time in the media this week = pathetic

[BE20 Driver]

It's interesting to note that Westjet and several other companies have an official HR presenence on these boards. It would be good to see ALPA create a user profile and spend some meaningful time on here. It pays dividends for companies that do.

If they're not going to do anything meaningful on this topic (secrecy to me is meaningless), at the very least use some of your resources to help the rest of us fight the good fight. I'd suggest giving some council to Gilles and company. Perhaps hiring a PR firm to help get the word out and maybe coach Gilles or someone on how to improve the delivery of our message on TV or to reporters.

Gilles has been absolutely transparent in his efforts to the point of annoying some people on this board. ALPA should follow suite. I'm not saying that we need transcripts of what is said between the president and any minister he speaks with. Just an update on what they are doing would go along way.

Help us out ALPA!!!

PS - maybe some of you ALPA members can forward some of these posts to your reps and prod them into action.

[BE20 Driver]

That goes for the CAW too. They represent the Sunwing guys don't they?

[bmc]

The complete lack of silence or response to this thread by ALPA speaks volumes on their position and how much they care.

Aside from contract negotiations, Does aALPA do anything else? Organize golf tournaments? BBQ?

[slowstream]

My ALPA dues were money well wasted with out a doubt!

ALPA never did one single solid thing for me as a pilot with the airline I was with; the only thing they did was manage to get a better contract for the senior Captains and to hell with the Jr guys. As it was told to me by someone in the negotiating team we took care of the senior guys and the Jr guys got an okay deal. As I told him "you call that an Okay deal?, what the heck are you smoking?"

Anyhow I digress, yes it is plainly and sadly obvious ALPA and the other unions representation and media presence over this foreign pilot issue. I have been and will closely continue to watch just how long it will take them to speak up. Its little wonder there is so little Government caring when our unions don;t even want to speak up on the issue!

[augustus777]

Does anyone know if one can opt out of union dues?

[Squid]

Once u get em. U r stuck with em!

[toelessjoe]

Email them and ask them yourselves - I just did. Now you've got me all curious and such.

http://www.alpa.org/

- Toeless.

[True North]

Does anyone know if one can opt out of union dues?

Yes you can. You can elect to have your dues go to a charity instead of the union.

At least you could when I was a union member.

[Bajan Pilot]

You can't opt out of paying dues, as the previous poster said, you can re-direct your dues to a charity.

[AFIRS]

IS the charity, still of the unions choice?

Must be a legal way to stop payments.. Especially when they're not providing services. This feels like fraud!

Then I open my e.mail this morning and see message from ALPA- "Working Together"- FROM THE PRESIDENT-

What a bloody joke...

April 12, 2013

Fellow ALPA Pilots,

This week, our union took an extremely strong stand in opposition to the Administration’s FY14 budget proposal because it conflicts so clearly with ALPA’s commitment to enhancing aviation security and enabling U.S. airlines to secure a fair opportunity to compete in the global marketplace.

Incredibly, the Administration is proposing to entirely cut funding for the Federal Flight Deck Officer (FFDO) program, a proven and cost-effective tool to enhance risk-based security that has for more than a decade provided a critical additional layer of security for air transportation. As ALPA members well know, our union helped develop the FFDO program, and it is staffed by thousands of fully trained and deputized ALPA pilot volunteers who make great personal and professional sacrifices to secure U.S. airlines’ flight decks.

As I said in ALPA’s news statement, it is beyond belief that, at the same time the Administration’s budget proposal recognizes the value of risk-based aviation security, it proposes to eliminate funding for the FFDO program, which has become an essential component of transportation security and has often been praised by the Transportation Security Administration for the additional layer of protection it brings to our skies.

Immediately, ALPA launched a Call to Action to let our elected federal representatives know exactly how committed our union is to pursuing risk-based security and how vital the FFDO program is to achieving that goal. When the Administration proposed to cut FFDO funding in half in FY 2013, ALPA led the fight on Capitol Hill and ultimately Congress rightly rejected this ill-judged idea. ALPA strongly urges Congress to again reject this idea in the FY 2014 budget proposal and to fully and appropriately fund the FFDO program.

As if jeopardizing proven aviation security programs weren’t enough, this budget proposal would also allow the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to accept third-party reimbursements to begin or expand services at facilities outside the United States, including preclearance facilities. As a result, the flawed Administration proposal to establish a preclearance facility at Abu Dhabi International Airport could go forward, giving one foreign state-backed airline, Etihad Airways, a tremendous advantage over U.S. airlines in winning passengers’ business.

In addition, the proposal would also raise the Aviation Passenger Security Tax and proposes a $100 per flight tax, both of which would also harm U.S. airlines’ ability to compete against state-backed foreign airlines in the global marketplace. For myriad reasons, Congress must immediately reject this very harmful budget proposal. I hope you will take time right now to join ALPA’s Call to Action. We need every ALPA member to make their opposition heard and there’s no time to lose.

On a different and decidedly more positive subject, ALPA continues to create opportunities for coordination and collaboration among our members and all airline pilots as we pursue our shared commitment to advance the Association’s strategic priorities.

There’s no more clear proof of member collaboration than the monthly conference calls held by the pilot leaders and staff from ALPA’s pilot groups who fly for express carriers. Begun several years ago to enhance coordination among these pilots groups, these calls are crucial communication opportunities. Participants learn the latest news on ALPA’s national and international initiatives, critical issues, and bargaining developments, and also hear from guest speakers from ALPA’s departments and outside the union. Pilot group representatives also share what’s happening on their properties, discuss best practices and lessons learned, and look for opportunities to help each other. These monthly “fee-for-departure MEC” coordinating calls are very effective. The group continuously seeks ways to improve coordination and I’m proud they are just one example of how our union’s members work together.

ALPA pilots also collaborate with pilots outside of our union, as we work to overcome shared challenges and endeavor to make the most of opportunities at an international level. The latest example of our efforts is ALPA’s participation in the third annual Global Pilots’ Symposium, held this week. Hosted by the International Federation of Air Line Pilots’ Associations, along with the global pilot group alliances of the Associations of Star Alliance Pilots, the Oneworld Cockpit Crew Coalition, and the SkyTeam Pilots Association, this year’s symposium created opportunities for pilots from across the globe to learn how to effect change in government to advance a pilot partisan agenda, strategically plan and successfully negotiate favorable bargaining patterns, and communicate a targeted message to both internal and external audiences. This year’s event was a tremendous success.

On one important safety note, ALPA advanced our union’s long-held position that lithium battery shipments by air should fall under hazardous materials regulations that require special packaging, handling, and pilot notification, by attending the National Transportation Safety Board’s (NTSB) public forum titled “Lithium Ion Batteries in Transportation,” held in Washington, D.C., this week. We submitted written comments, advocated our position to the news media through a news statement, and made available ALPA’s primer on this important safety issue, titled “Safety of Transporting Lithium Batteries by Air.”

While I’m proud and encouraged by the clear and certain trend toward increased collaboration among airline pilots the world over, this Administration’s budget shows that this renewed unity could not come at better time. The time is now, and I ask each and every ALPA member to join in our absolute opposition to the Administration’s proposed budget by participating in the Call to Action today.

Respectfully,


Capt. Lee Moak

[coast2coast]

I am an ALPA Canada represented pilot and have been with three airlines now. In the last year I have been more than disappointed about ALPA's lack of OPEN presence ESPECIALLY on the foreign pilot issue here in Canada. This simply is NOT acceptable. If this were happening in the US there would be open rallies in Washington and wide open political discourse.

Some very strong and determined individuals in our profession have very proudly taken the fight on themselves and made more headway and created more awareness than I have EVER seen from ALPA. ALPA should be ashamed.

As for an individual pilot or group of pilots feeling any future loyalty to APLA I offer this. No matter how large or small your pilot group is you as a COLLECTIVE have a choice -- DECERTIFY!!! Like every other corporate entity hit them where it hurts the most -- $$$$. What does this mean? Find other representation OR create a self contained association. Work with your pilot group and your employer and there is is a way to maintain a solid bargaining position during the tough times. One Canadian pilot group in the west has seemingly found a collective formula outside of a traditional union.

Remember the key ideal of a union is simply UNITY!!

[Bede]

To my ALPA represented colleagues,
Why don't you approach your management and tell them you are considering decertifying and wonder what management would be willing to bring to the table if that happens. It's not like management is intentionally confrontational at your companies, its that they have a legal obligation to be adversarial (read up on the Rand formula). I work for WJ and it's not like WJ management are the way they are because of the goodness of their hearts, its because it makes good business sense. If we ever certified that would change immediately.

Best of luck.

[Mig29]

just like many pilots today, union officials/reps are forgetting how we got to where we are today.

The lack of interest and involvement in union business has produced on many occasion union reps that care just as little for their fellow member, but more about their perks (and ability to fly couple of times a month).

I speak here in general terms not attacking ANY specific union, but it seems that more or less all of them are following the same "flight plan"...

[Gilles Hudicourt]

It seems that just about everyone noticed how silent all the pilot unions have been about the Temporary Foreign Workers.

250 + foreign pilots in Canada on questionable reciprocity agreements, on questionable claims about pilots shortages and flying Canadian Aircraft on illegal Foreign Licence Validation Certificates, and no one wants to make a statement to the press ?

[slowstream]

It seems that just about everyone noticed how silent all the pilot unions have been about the Temporary Foreign Workers.

250 + foreign pilots in Canada on questionable reciprocity agreements, on questionable claims about pilots shortages and flying Canadian Aircraft on illegal Foreign Licence Validation Certificates, and no one wants to make a statement to the press ?

Gilles,

Absolutely everyone has noticed the painful quietness of of our unions. I strongly suspect that they're all sitting back now months after the fact wondering how they will make a statement on the issue without looking like they completely missed the party! How can they come out now so late in the game? I am certain that they're saying how can we make a meaningful contribution to STOP this injustice to our brothers who pay such a handsome fee to us for our services or should I say lack of service? Are they all sitting quietly in back-rooms wondering how they can come out this without egg on their faces.

Well boys, YOU CAN'T!!

ITS BEEN DUELY NOTED AND ADDED TO THE FREAKING MINUTES OF THE MEETING THAT YOU MISSED THE FUCKING FIGHT!!

YOU SHOULD ALL BE ASHAMED OF YOURSELVES!! YOU OWE YOUR MEMBERSHIP A HUGE APOLOGY!!

SO MAN THE HELL UP AND COME OUT AND SAY IT!!

HELP AND GET INVOLVED IN THIS FIGHT ALREADY!!

DO THE RIGHT THING, WHATS EXPECTED AND DEMANDED FROM THE MEMBERS WHO PAID THEIR DUES FOR YOUR SERVICES!!

[Cleared to FL370]

I would suggest to Union Members that view this site, to bring forth this issue to your Reps in a big way instead of just posting on Avcanada...GET INVOLVED!!! In the end a pilots Union survives on being united. As a Rep we look to our membership for direction. While we try and "prod" them in the right direction at times, in the end we must respond to the majority. If I send an email out to the membership asking for direction on an issue and don't get a response what do you think that possibly says to me? Apathy within a Union is just as much as a problem as Foreign Pilots flying in this country.

This is why I admire Gilles work. He's a Union Member, he recognizes that Temporary Foreign Pilots is a HUGE issue....and he's bringing it forth to be addressed in a very big way, if we all stand together we can't be silenced.

He's an activist and he's got my total support, and as a Union Rep, your darn right I'm involved....

[BE20 Driver]

ALPA is focused on far more important things. Just check out the gripping 2 page article on Lyme disease in the latest magazine. I'm glad my money isn't going to waste.

[slowstream]

ALPA is focused on far more important things. Just check out the gripping 2 page article on Lyme disease in the latest magazine. I'm glad my money isn't going to waste.

BE20,

Are they involved in big issues? Yes Probably, but I don't think they have much clout and I really think that they're missing out this issue and its equally as big as anything else out there!

They should be pressuring the Government and be in front of the media in my humble opinion

[Cleared to FL370]

I would agree, a two page article on Lyme disease does seem just a bit out of touch. Can't say I ever put out anything like that, Heat Stroke, Hypothermia etc. etc. I leave that for the members to figure out. They are adults after all.

However, if my leadership didn't "get it" as far as the Foreign Pilot Issue goes, I'd make sure they did. My next letter would indeed be to my Local Rep or Union President telling him what I thought of his article versus what he should be doing about it. As a Union Rep, I expect my members to hold me accountable, if I don't "Get the issue" they better step up and make sure I do.

A Union Reps job isn't living in the lap of luxury as some have posted earlier on this thread. I come from a Union family I remember how hard my parents worked. They had a full-time job, and they did the Union's work as well.

Same for me, I'm the busiest guy on the schedule. I work full-time and do Union work on the side. In fact I wish I hard more time to do, MORE Union work. I miss plenty of meetings our Union organizes sadly.

[slowstream]

You know my comments were NOT directed at the individual members, I know they work hard and have a thankless job in many respects.

My comments are directed towards ALPA Canada, CAW & ACPA as a whole, as one single identity!

[vref]

...And you guys think Executives are ripping you off.


http://www.unionfacts.com/local/employees/179/ALPA/0/
Anyone vetted those numbers? I have a tough time believing anything from a website that spells simple words wrong.

As for ALPA, they have made it clear that they think if you pay your dues in Canadian dollars, you don't count. It's definitely time to split off the Canadian unions into their own entity.

[slowstream]

...And you guys think Executives are ripping you off.


http://www.unionfacts.com/local/employees/179/ALPA/0/

vref,

Thanks for sharing that and getting my blood pressure up again, arrrgh

[oh yeah baby]

.