If anything, by initiating and continuing with expensive legal action with wall-to-wall silk against a 'competing' pilot union, the AIPA has soured relations with the one other big pilot union in this country, and put the 'one pilot union' concept back several steps.
Strewth, talk about 'slant'.
If this was about giving people the option of what union to join then why was the AFAP so against AIPA being part of that choice? If I understand this correctly the AFAP was part of the case going against AIPA that they be able to represent all group pilots. If AFAP is so crash hot at representing their members then surely those QF group members who didn't like the AIPA representation would vote with their feet and go to AFAP anyway.....and that means that the 'choice' between AFAP and AIPA would have no reason to be opposed by the AFAP.
The reality is that AFAP also lined up some silks and are as much a part of the problem of 'one pilot union' as AIPA- although at least AIPA is working towards an initial starting point that all those who are employed in the same group have the option of being represented by the same association irrespective of what part of the group they work for.
I have no idea if this is just the first step of a wider uber-association that has coverage of GA and so on but I do know that it's a heck of a good start for
[i]all[/] QF group pilots. What I find disappointing is that if I decided to go to DJ that I could no longer be a part of AIPA.
As a solution to ITCZ's second last paragraph, perhaps you should be talking to your AFAP reps and telling them to talk to AIPA. I sent an email to an AIPA VP last week about this very issue to find that the door has been effectively shut in our faces for the time being- due to AFAP's opposition to the AIPA submission to be able to represent the group pilots. My email to the VP will be a monthly affair to find out what AIPA is doing to ensure that we are working together- if not part of the one association, at least as members of associations that share information.
So, if you want the pilot groups in Australia to be one then you need to send the message to YOUR representatives that this is what YOU want. I made the mistake of not continuing to engage with a former AIPA President when he told me that AIPA would not be seeking coverage of Impulse and regional crew. I'll not make the same mistake again.
The ball on this is in OUR (pilots collectively) court.