Anyone have any thoughts on which is the better union to be in?
I'm not sure how anyone can make that decision for you since I would have thought it depends who you work for.
I'm in BALPA. I don't always agree with some of the things the reps do, but they are the officially recognised Union at the company where I work and, to quote JliderPilot, the BALPA Reps have always been there
Whenever I needed advice or help they responded quickly.
In those circumstance IMHO it wouldn't make sense at all to switch to the IPA.