Would be nice if AMC had a good union negotiator   

"Would be nice if AMC had a good union negotiator"

Hate to rain on your parade, but your AMC line pilots are not good union members.  I was part of the drive that organized AMC pilots- what?  12, 15 years ago?

Pilots unhappy with Denver's lack of interest in pilot opinion. Finally, a successful drive resulted in representation and a contract.  As soon as the contract was negotiated and became effective, most pilots lost interest and went back to being unhappy with management and union rules and dues.  Never mind that the contract resolved most of the personnel/management issues and everybody got a substantial raise in pay and bennies...

 Most of the bases in my group turned over 100 per cent of each base pilot staff before the pilots organized.  That '100 per cent' constituted half of the base' 4 pilots assigned, we were always orienting and training new hires.  After the contract, turnover was reduced by at least half, a substantial saving for the company.

Pretty much the same experience at PHI: unhappy pilots griping, wishing for a union a negotiated contract until they got exactly that, then the union became a target for both sides, management and members.

"Would be nice if AMC had a good union negotiator"  It would be nice if the membership took a union seriously, it's their union.

P.S. Yes, the union charges dues. Suppose the contract resulted in a 25 or 35 percent increase in pay.  It could happen, that's my recollection of the contracts I saw. Suppose your union dues were 1 percent of your gross.  That too, could happen.  One would think that 25-35 percent would be a fair charge for the benefits, the pilots would have egg in their beer and be happy.  Nope, the dues and rules would still chafe most pilots.