I have heard of ALPA but I have never seen or heard them organize a distinct plan of forced action that will make an airline reconsider its terms if they want to keep operating.
Of course you always want to keep a fine line - no use in becoming a "parasite or virus" and kill your host i.e. the hand that feeds you. But that is for them to evaluate and see what measures would prove effective - that is what they are there for. Do they have the power ?
The example I brought up with Vereinigung Cockpit is another extreme on the the other side of the spectrum - a union almost too powerful to the point of them becoming extremely greedy but it seems to work for them amazingly well - which is why the planes WILL confidently stay on the ground if they call for a strike. They have managed to avert any measures that would diminish their members lifestyle. Of course when times are bad they would also agree as a collective to abstain a pay-raise in order to help the company - common sense. It promotes a sane give and take and reading this and other threads shows that there is a lack of real counterbalance to the situation many colleagues are experiencing in S.A.
Edit: Which would actually raise the question - how many pilots of 1time are actually active members of ALPA ? If everybody would join for the common cause I am sure that they could use ALPA as a forum to push for their interests in a responsible manner. A union is only as powerful as the solidarity of its members.
Last edited by Propellerpilot; 19th Nov 2010 at 14:09.