Are Delta pilots required to join/pay dues to a union? I saw something that said that they are required to pay dues to ALPA (it said they can opt to not be a part of the union but would still have to pay dues anyway). But I have also seen things about Delta being very anti-union. Is this just Delta trying to get rid of the union?
If the pilots are required to pay dues to the union that’s really shitty of the union. How good is the union really if they are forcing people to pay dues?
Any union that you’re a member of has membership fees. I’m not sure what you mean by your question?
Robert,
The vast majority of airlines in the US are “union shops” and ALL pilots who work for that airline are governed by the PWA (Pilot Working Agreement). No one has to join but ALL have to pay dues (so it’s foolish not to). The reason for all having to pay the dues is again because all pilots operate under the benefits and protection of the PWA which was negotiated by the union.
At my airline’s the last contract took 2 yrs and hundreds of thousands of dollars to negotiate. In the end the pilots received an almost 30% pay increase. Would it be right if pilots could choose to not pay dues but then benefit from the hard work paid for by the pilots that did?
As for Delta being anti-union I don’t believe they’re any more so than any other airline. No airline mgmt likes the union. We ask them for higher wages, hold them accountable when they try and violate work rules and protect the pilots they want to discipline.
To be perfectly honest I was never a fan of the unions but I’ve learned they’re a necessity in this industry. Your handle is Deltawannabepilot, why do you want to fly fit Delta? Pay? Work rules? You think they’d have those if there was no union? They wouldn’t. Further the guy’s who’ll be staring at you across the table if you ever interview for Delta will ALL be card carrying union members so you may want to rethink your opinion 
Adam
Robert,
Delta has been rather adversarial towards their unions, I believe the pilots are the only work group there that is unionized.
It is absolutely standard practice for the unions to require all workers to pay dues. And thank goodness they do. The unions negotiate contracts that apply to all pilots, so everybody should have to contribute to the cost of such.
I would encourage you to change tour mindset on this. I think you will find that most pilots are very supportive of the union and that your attitude will not be well received.
Chris
You don’t have to join ALPA but you will pay an agency shop fee, which you can basically consider as dues. Even as a non-member you still get the same pay and benefits as the other ALPA members of Delta. Why should you pay $0 in dues and still enjoy the same pay, benefits, and other negotiated benefits that were obtained by the union?
I’ve worked for a non-union airline and a union (ALPA) carrier, I’ll take ALPA any day. You get a voice, legal representation, and a legal say in your career and its future.