Having come up through the sponsored route, I was terribly pleased with myself and terribly grateful to my sponsor to whom I was happy to pledge the rest of my career. I felt that good management means that there is no need for a union. I can hear the howls now ; "Good Management ?" ! I was not a member of BALPA but was constantly urged to join. I thought my management team were doing a great job and I had no need to be part of a Union.BALPA sent funds to the Labour party as a registered union and I really objected to that as a staunch Conservative ! But the "Teamster" types started to pressure . Even the company stated to me that they were a BALPA company & that since BALPA negotiated my terms & agreements, I should join or, at least , send my potential BALPA subscriptions to my fave charity. I argued that I was capable of negotiating my own terms & conditions & would pay myself the subscription. There was general laughter but the Company admitted that I might wind up with better conditions than the members had negotiated.
I later joined a non-union company. The Management were a dream and actually told us that there would never be a need for union activity. Bad management leads to people feeling that they need to "unite". We were all , of course, free to join BAPLA but the Company decided that they would not negotiate terms & conditions with BALPA.
The Union has undoubtedly done very well in all sorts of areas and the feeling that one should have to unite in order to secure deals lies purely at the feet of the bad management companies. Of course, the rotters are there to make money rather than employ pilots & they will , with or without BALPA.
Like my colleague, catplaystation, I headed out of the UK as quick as I could get my hands on a useful rating & never returned,professionally , taking my career destiny within my own shaping. I think I did rather well. Never found the need to unite and dealt only with sensible management.
Is BALPA fit for purpose. I think they are, really, but there will always be areas where they have little, if any effect.
Good luck to all who face the awful spectre of unemployment, especially at this heady time of year