ALPA Volunteering

BigZ

BigZ

Well-Known Member
Currently enjoying the life of an underutilized reserve, so the recent MEC letter soliciting volunteers in a number of different fields got me thinking about picking up something that's not overly time consuming (I do enjoy my time with kids, plus who knows how long the current workload will last), but would serve the cause of bettering the place.

The list went somewhere along these lines:

Hotel Committee (fairly self explanatory)
Membership Committee (mentoring, VA)
P2P Info
Contract Compliance (that'd be fun, no vacancies in my base though)
FOQA Gatekeeper (which reminds me I need to renew my subscription for the monthly fruit basket to be sent to those dudes)
Fatigue Review
ASAP Review

I'm sure many of you guys held similar positions over the years, what was you experience with those?
 
I started out volunteering with our CIRP committee, pairing analysis/scheduling chairman (resigned), and now I'm central air safety chair and on the ASAP ERC. I greatly enjoy the ASAP/safety work and if you have a crack at it, would highly recommend it. It makes you a better pilot because you'll be flying along and you'll remember reading that ASAP covering this exact scenario and can make sure you avoid their mistake...
 
Everybody wants to do accident investigation (until they actually have to work an accident) or something in central air safety. Lots of other committees out there too.

I would get started with something like the hotel committee. You're at a regional so I'm guessing there's a ton of turn over and you'll move up the totem pool of the committee very quickly. Get a handle on if you like alpa work or not and then try a related committe.

I started off doing website stuff for communications and then got stuck with the comm committe chair when everybody else resigned. Moved to the grievance committee when an mec change occurred and then from there to the negotiating committee. Switched properties, started helping out a very new comm chair and then was seconded back to the NC where I've stayed for about 3 years, although I handle some grievance stuff too (it happens when you write the language in question). Overall it's great to give back to the pilot group and a nice addition to straight line flying. Despite what some people say it is not a way to make extra money or have a better schedule. The biggest downside is that your work often times comes home with you (emails phone calls, data work etc), which the lack of having that happen is one of the biggest benefits of 121 line flying.

Good for you for wanting to get involved though.
 
Volunteering was the best thing I did. I would caution anyone doing it theres good reasons and bad reasons to get into volunteering. So do whatever you can but don't get into it because you think it might be a good gig. Quite frankly there's too much of that stuff and then real volunteers have to deal with them.

Secondly theres popularity contests and real work. If you end up doing real work like i did understand some of the people winning the popularity contest are gonna be great leaders and help you do your job. Some are idjits and dumb as posts and it will harm what you're doing. Do what you can.
 
That's great that you want to go above and beyond to help. My advice is to apply to any committee you're interested in. When interviewing, make sure to ask how much of a time commitment you should expect and how much travel is involved. Don't expect much flight pay loss - the vast majority of ALPA volunteering is done on your own time. That said, it WILL be rewarding.
 
How about P2P? Aside from people assuming you know eeevvvveeeerrrryyythiiiing. I feel like I'm almost doing it as is in my pilot subgroup.
 
BigZ said:
How about P2P? Aside from people assuming you know eeevvvveeeerrrryyythiiiing. I feel like I'm almost doing it as is in my pilot subgroup.
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Its a good way to get on message and pass rumors up chain and get good rebuttals. Its an ok gig.
 
Hard to give advice on where to volunteer without knowing you well. Different people enjoy different things. Some people absolutely live and breathe safety work, but it definitely had no appeal to me. I loved bargaining, contract enforcement, mediation, etc. Some people find that stuff mind numbing. It really comes down to what stuff interests you.
 
ATN_Pilot said:
Hard to give advice on where to volunteer without knowing you well. Different people enjoy different things. Some people absolutely live and breathe safety work, but it definitely had no appeal to me. I loved bargaining, contract enforcement, mediation, etc. Some people find that stuff mind numbing. It really comes down to what stuff interests you.
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The question was more along the lines of who did what off of that list in the first post and whether they enjoyed it or not.
I enjoy negotiating, but that's not on the list and I haven't been here long enough to knows the ins and the outs of who is who and wants what just yet.
Leaning towards the P2P, because some issues with the information flows are evident now.
 
BigZ said:
The question was more along the lines of who did what off of that list in the first post and whether they enjoyed it or not.
I enjoy negotiating, but that's not on the list and I haven't been here long enough to knows the ins and the outs of who is who and wants what just yet.
Leaning towards the P2P, because some issues with the information flows are evident now.
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Understand though that in most cases, those more "high end" positions like CASC, NC and GC will never get advertised as being open, and instead, will be offered to volunteers that have a history of volunteering and the the specific MEC at the time feels like they can trust. If you want to end up on the NC some day, first off, let that be know, but don't be pushy about it. Then, join something like the hotel committee or a scheduling committee and start getting in to the enforcement end of things related to that committee. Work with the grievance guys. Start understanding the language you have in your CBA (and arbitration settlements) and more so, understanding the history of it. Sooner or later you'll get pulled to testify at an arbitration of grievance hearing and you'll learn all about the system board. You'll start to get to know your Contract Administrator (if you are at an ALPA property) and sooner or later you'll start getting sent to training seminars and conferences.
 
Maximillian_Jenius said:
What is P2P & FOQA?
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Pilot to pilot, think "go to guy" for latest news, info, help with contract stuff, etc.

FOQA = Flight ops quality assurance, each airplane has a little database that tracks every flight. Within that they monitor parameters or each phase, big ones are unstable approaches. The data gets taken off the plane and the only people who see the identified data are the ALPA FOQA reps called "gate keepers". They deidentify the data then the company looks for trends and areas where they can improve things. If you fly out side of the parameters set then you will most likely get a call from the ALPA FOQA dudes asking for an explanation, with th possibility they can send you to the sim for more training (non disciplinary) that's the short version....
 
ClarkGriswold said:
Been asked, won’t do it again... any time soon atleast. I am half tempted for R and I though, which I have that option. I’ve been a little bit passionate on that subject lately...
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While I'm in the same boat as you and Monkey Boy, retired and happy about it, don't discount how much good you did at Hockey Air. The work you did was impactful and you did good work with limited resources.

Getting you involved again would be a huge benefit to your pilot group.
 
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