Join the Delta Pilots Association

I have been a frustrated and dissatisfied ALPA member. Despite attempts to promote transparency, a collaborative approach with the membership and more satisfying union responsiveness to pilot input, I have seen inadequate change within ALPA. Therefore, I have made the decision to support the Delta Pilots Association’s (DPA’s) effort in bringing an independent pilot union to Delta Air Lines.

This has not been an easy decision. I have been a committed ALPA volunteer. Since our bankruptcy in 2005, I have served as a Pilot-to-Pilot member, Vice Chairman of MEC Communications and Chairman of Pilot-to-Pilot (P2P). From within the union I had hoped to encourage greater input from line pilots, an approach to communication that sought greater understanding between pilots and union leaders and a leadership that was more open to using technology as a bridge to improved communications. Results show these were not priorities of our union leaders.

For the past year I have worked from outside of the Union structure to foster transformation in a couple of ways; one of which was by sponsoring LEC Council Resolutions. Two of these resolutions were passed unanimously by our two largest councils only to be “Received” and largely ignored by the union leadership. (Since March, the MEC has stated an intent to not “Receive” Council resolutions, yet when I asked my Council Chairman to have the exact same MEC re-visit these 2 resolutions he said that they would have to be brought before the Council and voted on again!) I have also created a blog and email list to circumvent the tight control ALPA maintains (with management help) over the Delta Pilots ability to communicate more openly with one another (i.e. line pilots have no right to access to pilot mail boxes or bulletin boards for the purpose of working together, not even on Council resolutions.) ALPA has recently made cosmetic changes that provide an appearance of changing their approach to communication with the membership, but in my opinion falls far short of what is possible.

What have I wanted to see from ALPA?

•Transparency – Show us where our money goes. Tell us when and what we are negotiating with management. Provide the membership with access to the same detailed (non-confidential) information about our company and industry that the MEC sees. Use technology to bring greater real-time union participation to pilots residing and working in all parts of the globe.
•Collaboration – Why is ALPA so reluctant to create ways to better harness and utilize the experience and ideas of those closest to the operation; the Line Pilots? No one is suggesting pure democracy. But there is a better way to use the resources of 12,000 highly educated pilots with a vast diversity of experience.
•Improved Communication – How does a union seek a return of losses in Bankruptcy without listing losses goals for its members and management to see? Leaders should be more interested (not defensive and combative) in listening member input.
•End Conflicts of Interest – how can a National Union fairly represent competing interests? Our lawyers, financial analysts, and others represent both Delta Pilots and the regional carriers that want our flying. Sharing ALPA employees in negotiations is a conflict of interest. Working collaboratively with other carriers on safety and legislative affairs is a good idea but we need a go-it-alone approach in other areas.

Sadly ALPA has not been able to provide these things, which is why I believe it is time to support a new, independent union, the Delta Pilots Association. DPA is a work in progress. Is it the organization to make vast improvements worthy of replacing ALPA? It is certainly possible and time will tell. I know it will only happen with Delta Pilot involvement and support. Join the dialogue, spread the word, sign up new members, join a committee, discuss and help craft by-laws. Our futures can be in our hands.

By joining DPA you can help create a union that better serves you and your fellow Delta Pilots.

Resolution Course Correction

The Atlanta Council Meeting is one week away (click here for the meeting notice).  We have new Reps taking office March 1st who have pledged to try and improve communication and accessibility.  Having met with them this past week I am encouraged and hopeful about their leadership of our council.  This same possibility exists with new officers at our Detroit and Salt Lake City councils as well.  I think we all wish them well as they embark on new terms in office, I know I do!

My goal in proposing resolutions was to speak to the frustrations and dissatisfaction I experience, hear from copilots I fly with and in listened to in conversations in my previous role on the Communication Committee.  In trying to put those frustrations into doable actions, my overriding goal was to find common ground, take a positive approach and suggest solutions most Delta Pilots would agree with.

Collaboration is rewarding, time consuming, at times messy, and fraught with the possibilities of not reaching agreement.  Collaborators come and go depending on their interests, available time, ability to tolerate frustration, and degree of feeling listened to and included.  With that in mind, I have made some changes to my resolutions.

Communication and Transparency.  I made some minor adjustments here.  No big changes.  Our council officers need guidance on how often the council wants to hear from them.

Pay.  The original resolution was very similar to one passed by Council 44 more than 2 years ago.  Since it was the basis of a resolution at the MEC level, the concern was expressed that it may be ignored as a repeat.  Instead I have written the kind of wording I think pilots would like our LEC and MEC use to confront our management on the circumstances of our harsh contractual cuts, our expression of the intent to restore our losses and the expectations on our union leaders.  A possible second pay resolution is in the works by another C44 member.  It may use some of this wording, may end up as a substitute resolution or may stand alone.  The goal is to collaborate and prevent the meeting from being a two day affair.

Conflict of Interest Resolution.  This resolution has created controversy for numerous reasons.  There are some misstatements of fact in the resolution.  Their are a wide variety of viewpoints among very knowledgeable line pilots, former reps and legal resources.  This one may take time to find more of a consensus.  There are two parts that there is general agreement with pilots have spoken to:

• Having one legal council for all of ALPA does not provide the innovation and airline specific solutions we seek.  We need our own Delta-Pilot-specific lawyers for negotiations. 
• We all want to know who is running for ALPA National President before our MEC supports a candidate.  This relates back to Communication and Transparency, "Tell us before you decide for us."

Since the second bullet point impacts us this fall, I will have a short resolution asking the MEC to only support declared candidates for National so that we can comment to them before they decide who to support.  The Atlanta Council intends to hold more frequent Council Meetings, the discussion of Scope, conflicts and strategy will continue in future meetings and between meetings.  Hopefully this will be true in other councils as well.

There are currently 9 Resolutions on the ATL Agenda.  Here is a link to 1, 2, 3 and a Proxy.  Here's the link to 5-9 and a Proxy.  My attached proxy (revised) is good for any of the 9.  Please find someone who plans to attend to carry it for you.  They can carry up to 3 proxies.

My hope is that this effort initiates more involvement in our Union.  If any of these resolutions speak to you, please take your own "personalized" version to your council meeting.  Our union only listens when they hear the call for better communication loud and clear from through out our membership.

Thanksgiving, Sidewiki and Progress ...

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving, either at home or on a layover. Thanksgiving is such a simple holiday. No presents, no huge buildup; just a day for gratitude, friends, family and football. I am thankful for your support and participation in improving our union.

Sidewiki

Google has a free product, Sidewiki, that lets anyone post comments in the “margin” of any website. It is pretty cool. You can read about Sidewiki and download it here (http://www.google.com/support/toolbar/bin/topic.py?topic=24314&hl=en). It is on the Google Toolbar and can be used without the toolbar as a bookmark on Mac’s and PC’s.

Sidewiki is a great way to post comments on any website. For example, you can comment on a DALPA home page entry (http://dal.alpa.org/Default.aspx?tabid=76). Or you can post a comment next to a Webboard post by highlighting the text (http://dalforums.alpa.org/Forum/tabid/708/aff/10/aft/5178/afv/topic/Default.aspx). This is especially helpful if you read a great/informative post and want to comment alongside it rather than at the bottom of the thread creep (and below the inevitable thread creep that shows up below good posts). (Hopefully these links work properly, the ALPA website has not been very user-friendly lately.) There may be downsides to Sidewiki as well. Since Sidewiki is a separate website the determination of what is inappropriate falls on Google's shoulders. Technology marches forward and innovators make the best of what is available.

Transform ALPA Progress

There as been some good feedback and discussions this past week. I have had positive, candid conversations with candidates and elected members of the MEC. Transparency, more union involvement and better collaboration through readily available communication technology is drawing broad support.

I think it is time to start crafting resolutions calling for these broad concepts and specifics to help implement them. Please send or post your comments on possible Council Resolutions calling for these concepts, including ideas on how to broaden support for passing these resolutions.

Join A Grassroots Transformation of Delta ALPA - Handout

Join A Grassroots Transformation of Delta ALPA

Please help form a grassroots movement to transform Delta ALPA. We need to find better ways to unite behind the vast talents of our members. We can exponentially multiply our strengths by modernizing and updating the way we communicate.

Communication is a two-way street. If given equal access to relevant, non-proprietary information, pilots will provide innovative and insightful ideas. Yet this information is frequently withheld; decisions are made without the broad, intelligent input readily available from the membership. Admittedly it is difficult to collect, manage and utilize pilot input when the issues are numerous, contentious and complex. Fortunately, the Internet age has provided a wealth of communication and collaborative tools that are revolutionizing organizations. ALPA needs to lead in this new paradigm.

I propose we work together to start a grass roots effort to:

· Web based meeting software to video-cast LEC, MEC and Committee Meetings. Organizational changes must be made to facilitate this reform.

· Secrecy - Review and modify with the goal of making available all non-proprietary information to the membership.

· Use of communication tools such as SMS, Twitter, and other cutting edge networking software to keep interested members well informed.

· Use of wiki type software to facilitate collaboration between the paid volunteers and members in all areas including Safety, Scheduling, Contract Negotiations and Communication.

· Complete the above in a cost neutral way while operating within US law and the guidelines of Fair Representation.

This effort is non-partisan. This is not about personalities (Master Chairman M. vs. former Master Chairman M.) or politics (Red Book vs. Green Book).

If you are interested in joining this effort, please let me know along with your thoughts. Please pass this on to your friends. Let's get the conversation started to transform our union.

Jeff Joslin

transformalpa@gmail.com