Actually, it's not.
A captain at a mainline carrier that is affected by the change who makes $180k per year and contributes 10% to his 401k will see his dues go up by $10.88 per pay check (assuming two pay periods per month). Sorry, but I do consider that "a few." Now, with that said, I'm not thrilled with this change. I voted against the original resolution. I got behind the amended resolution because it is clear that the carriers who are currently already paying dues on their 401k contributions are quite unhappy with the fact that their dues are being calculated differently than pilots at other carriers in the same union. Now, I think their argument has some holes in it, but frankly, perception is reality. There was a divide in the union that was quite obvious at this BOD over this issue. And after some leadership from the ALPA President, we came out of this BOD with a nearly 80% vote on one of the most contentious issues in the recent history of this union. That's impressive, and I will give him and everyone who was involved in putting the compromise together some credit.