Balpa member - Impressed - for now...
Short term: Terms and conditions at my airline would be worse than they are currently were it not for the work of our CC. My subs have paid for themselves. The CC work hard on our behalf have been effective on several major issues. If only there were a way for the non-members in my company to have the decency to decline the benefits negotiated by a union who apparently aren't worth the money and be true to their convictions.
Who do you all think is going to bother fighting the new EASA FTL's if not BALPA?
Long term I'm not so sure Balpa's collegiate "professional organisation" style is going to work against current airline management trends (greedy yobbish thugs and spivs etc) and think the dinousaur/bonehead UNITE-type of bloody mindedness might be the only appropriate club left in the bag.