Ardacre & Maat,
If less than 50% join BALPA then it's a non-starter. Also, I'm not convinced that BALPA want us because they have easier wars to win. They are at a geographical disadvantage too - dragging a reluctant BALPA official up to our Northern bases regularly may be difficult.
The T&G is cheap, therefore there's little to lose. We should hope to get well above 50%. If it's a disaster, BALPA is still there. Even if it isn't a disaster, BALPA is still there if we want to move, and at the very least we would have the basis of an organised and communicating group to make the change.
A CC with no union seems to be what Maat is suggesting. If this is a staff association, historically they have been disastrous in aviation. I don't think that NO union is an option, even to start with.
The T&G union man may be unused to airlines but I think this is comparatively unimportant at first. The expertise and knowledge of the industry will lie with our hard-working CC. The union man is there only to help us with generic union procedures and to bring in the heavies when we need some muscle, and that's a fair way down the road. Simple communication is our first challenge.
A "few decades" ago BALPA brought in as General Secretary an ex miners' union leader, Mark Young. He was a bit of a cultural shock, but he was brilliant and kicked the airlines as never before. It was easier to teach aviation to a born union man than teach unions to an aviation expert. Perhaps we can educate a T&G heavyweight into our ways?
Pilot Pete,
You did hit a raw nerve, but no offence taken! In a previous company, BALPA had 51% membership and management colluded at starving the other 49% of information. It's poor when you receive absolutely zero first-hand communication about pay awards, hotel changes, FREA, etc.
If Government operated like BALPA, then only Labour voters would ever get to hear about anything at all, good or bad. I feel whichever union is "in power", it has an obligation to communicate, or at least encourage the company to do so. It can be good
PR, along the lines of "See what we've done for you, why don't you join?". "We aren't talking to you because you aren't paying" is pretty negative.