ALPA dues increase fails

SlumTodd_Millionaire

Most Hated Member
Good news to all the regional pilots out there that were opposed to this. The ALPA proposed change to the dues structure that would have included your 401k contributions into your income for dues calculation purposes has failed. A 2/3rds vote of the BOD was required, and these were the results:

55.56% FOR
44.44% AGAINST

The measure failed, and the dues structure will remain unchanged. I think the BOD did the right thing.
 
"They" sure did.

Now so long as ALPA national doesn't dare make another ridiculous attempt to steal our money like this, we might just be alright and it hopefully will show the true solidarity of the group.

Otherwise, if they need a dues increase - then just ask for a straight up dues increase, not some backdoor adventure.
 
I think Prater got spanked pretty hard on this one and realizes that the back-door shenanigans won't cut it. I don't know how they'll increase revenue now, but I doubt it will be a similar stealth measure.
 
Nevertheless, they better let this frigging blow over before sending out the

"We're going to ask the BOD to adjust the constitution and by-laws to indicate now a 2.95% dues increase" e-mail.

Otherwise it'll just be pretty friggin clear that our leadership is failing us. :banghead:
 
Prater is failing you. He was never qualified for that job in the first place. The light at the end of the tunnel is that he only has 2.4 years left in his term. Counting down the months....
 
I know how we can raise ALPA revenue.

Get a few non-union carriers on board, like Colgan and Skywest.

RAH, anyone?

Adding a few thousand pilots will kick a few coins into the collection plate.

Not enough? We all stand for a NATIONWIDE BASE PAY RATE for 121 Air Carrier Pilots.
 
Adding carriers like CJC and RAH won't help, because they increase expenses more than revenue. You need major airlines to join in order to increase revenue more than expenses.
 
I still say make the magazine an on-line publication. If you want a paper copy mailed to your house, fine, but it costs extra. I'm betting that would be a decent chunk of savings.
 
Sorry, but I still say that's a horrible idea. I could go for making the magazine cheaper by cutting down on the color pics and such, but eliminating it wouldn't be good. A union needs to communicate with the membership, and the magazine is a good way to do that.
 
Agreed - yet an option for the membership at large to say "Please don't send it to me, rather provide it online" perhaps would be a good compromise.
 
Honest questions for the ALPA guys (and PCL, I'm not trying to argue, just curious).

1. How many employees does ALPA have working for them?

2. How much did losing US Air/America West hurt the bottom line?

3. PCl, you said ALPA needs to concentrate on majors instead of regionals, which ones left could they get?
 
Honest questions for the ALPA guys (and PCL, I'm not trying to argue, just curious).

1. How many employees does ALPA have working for them?

To be honest, I'm not sure. You could call Herndon and ask them if you're really curious. The Herndon and DC offices aren't exactly luxurious and overstaffed, though, if that's what you're interested in. ALPA is struggling to handle its duties with it's reduced staff now. Tons of positions have been cut over the past few years, with about 50 just cut in the past few months.

2. How much did losing US Air/America West hurt the bottom line?

Don't have the exact numbers in front of me, but somewhere in the neighborhood of $11 million in annual dues revenue disappeared overnight. The corresponding expenses to represent AAA and AWA were also eliminated, but those expenses probably didn't exceed $7 million per year. AAA and AWA were two of the carriers that produced enough revenue to subsidize the expenses of the regionals and other B-group carriers.

3. PCl, you said ALPA needs to concentrate on majors instead of regionals, which ones left could they get?

Well, my carrier for one. JetBlue is another possibility in the future. Working with the JBPA to build a relationship should be a priority. If Virgin America gets bigger, then that should be a target. There are possibilities. And honestly, I think we'll see AAA return to ALPA within five years. They're learning just how much of a mess they created for themselves.
 
PCL, I honestly don't know if I've ever seen you agree with someone's suggestion.

Why is that?

He has agreed with me about harsh sentences for animal abusers as well as whether or not Joe Hill was framed or not.

He has disagreed with me about shooting Johns as a means of discouraging the use of sex-slaves, how much ALPA should publicize their point of view to the public and whether or not Danica McKellar is hot.

His only disagreement that is unreasonable is the Danica McKellar thing.

danica_McKellar_l1.jpg
 
Back
Top