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News from ALPA International

August 2, 2012

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In This Issue:

Known Crewmember Expands to Four More Airports


View a photo slideshow of the additional KCM sites.

The word is getting around about Known Crewmember (KCM), the fastest way for airline pilots to clear security at a growing number of U.S. airports. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) opened KCM lanes at four additional airports this week—LAS, LGA, DTW, and MDW. Pilots who went through the new checkpoints were overwhelmingly positive, whether they had gone through a KCM checkpoint before or were doing it for the first time.

“This is the greatest thing since sliced bread,” said one Delta captain as he walked up to the new KCM lane at DTW, had his ID checked, and was cleared to enter the McNamara Terminal—all in less than 60 seconds. Other pilots who went through checkpoints in New York, Chicago, and Las Vegas had the same positive reaction.

Pilots traveling through these airports can find KCM checkpoints in the following terminals:

• LGA: Central, C, and D
• LAS: 1 and 3
• DTW: McNamara and North
• MDW: Main Terminal

The KCM network is expected to expand to 31 major U.S. airports by the end of November. ALPA pilots and staff have been conducting site surveys—the most recent at HNL yesterday—and working with Airlines for America (A4A) and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to roll out the program in airports across the country as soon as possible.

For a complete list of KCM airports and the locations of checkpoints, download the ALPA smartphone application and select the “KCM” tab, or visit knowncrewmember.org.

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PDT Pilots Open Strike Authorization Vote
On July 23, after more than three years of negotiations, Piedmont pilots initiated a strike authorization vote to arm themselves and strengthen their pursuit of a fair and equitable contract. The vote will close on August 10, with the results posted shortly thereafter.

“Our goal is not a strike,” commented PDT MEC chair Capt. Bruce Freedman. “It has been, and remains, a fair contract that recognizes and rewards this pilot group for their commitment and sacrifices to this airline.”

In May 2009, the pilot group opened negotiations with management optimistic that they could come to a quick resolution. However, management was unwilling to have meaningful talks about key issues until Piedmont pilots filed for mediation. Over the last two years, the National Mediation Board helped the parties narrow the open issues to just a handful of remaining items, but so far has been unable to help reach a comprehensive agreement.

The Piedmont Negotiating Committee held its last scheduled session with the company in May 2012. No further talks are scheduled at this time.

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FFDO September Classes Filled Due to Overwhelming Response
ALPA Aviation Security chair Captain Fred Eissler has been informed by FAMS leadership that there has been an overwhelming response to the request sent out two days ago for members to indicate their interest in joining the FFDO program. They also informed us that the application window for September 2012 classes is now closed, as they have more than enough applicants to fill all September training slots.

We have been advised that as the Federal Air Marshal Dashboard is updated, the FFDO program will likely seek more program participants sometime in fiscal year 2013. Many of you who have already submitted requests to join the FFDO program will be contacted by FAMS as they conduct their background checks and interviews in preparation for the FFDO training slots.

Please do not contact ALPA Security team members with questions about your status, as they do not know the particulars of any individual applicant’s status and are not involved in the screening and selection process. We have been informed that this will be a fairly compressed process, and your timely response to FAMs will enhance your interview success.

Thank you to all who have expressed an interest in serving as an FFDO.

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Air Safety Forum to Take on Safety, Security, Pilot Assistance Issues

The Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l, will hold its 58th Air Safety Forum on Wednesday, August 8, and Thursday, August 9, at the Hilton Washington in Washington, D.C.

The world’s largest independent aviation safety organization, ALPA will gather the industry’s leading experts to discuss challenges in aviation safety, security, and human performance, and the action required to ensure that air transportation in North America achieves the highest possible standards.

Read more.

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ALPA Daily
The aviation industry is changing faster than ever before. The new “ALPA Daily” feature at www.alpa.org will keep you informed of the latest industry developments and analysis from around the globe. Check it out each day to stay up-to-date on the news that affects pilots and the piloting profession.

• According to Dow Jones, United Continental Holdings Inc. said it is dropping a controversial deal that saw Aer Lingus Group PLC operate a transatlantic flight on behalf of the U.S. airline, riling pilots who have been protesting about the outsourcing of flying. Read more.

USA Today reports that a Senate panel voted Tuesday to support Michael Huerta as head of the Federal Aviation Administration. The Transportation Committee voted without debate to support the acting administrator, whose nomination now moves to the full Senate for a confirmation vote. Read more.

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You Spoke, We Listened!
We are excited today to announce the launch of a brand new Member Insurance website, bringing our online content into the 21st century and providing clearer navigation in a more visually appealing environment.

The ALPA National R&I Committee, together with ALPA’s Member Insurance Department, conducted a very important member survey to find out what you know about (and how you thought we could improve) the insurance products offered by ALPA and the communication methods used to promote those products.

Based on your feedback, we discovered that 70 percent of ALPA pilots did not even know that there is an insurance website . . . but ALPA Insurance has been online since 1998! In response, the National R&I Committee and the VEBA Board allocated resources to take steps to educate our members on the available products and to improve their online experience.

When you visit ALPA’s home page at www.alpa.org, you will notice a new link in the header for “ALPA Insurance.” Click on that link to visit our brand new page, read about the plans currently available, review plans in which you are already enrolled, and use the online form to request more information about all of our great products.

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Stay Connected
Stay connected with your union, your profession, and your industry by reading Air Line Pilot magazine and watching monthly episodes of The FlightDeck.

Read about ALPA’s conference to address pilot training issues on page 21 of the August issue of Air Line Pilot magazine.

On the 17th installment of The FlightDeck, join Capt. Moak and the pilots of First Air on a journey to the far northern reaches of Canada.

Remember that both Air Line Pilot and The FlightDeck can also be accessed from the members-only portion of the ALPA website at www.alpa.org.

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FastFact

On August 10, 1931, the American Federation of Labor issued a charter of affiliation to ALPA.

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Feedback & E-mail Address Changes
Questions or comments on this FastRead? Give us your feedback at communications@alpa.org.

If you have moved or changed your ISP or e-mail address, please update your ALPA records. If you don’t, you will no longer receive the ALPA FastRead and other e-mail bulletins and notices, and once your postal forwarding order expires, you’ll no longer receive the magazine and other ALPA mail. You can do it yourself by going to www.alpa.org and logging in. Go to “My ALPA” in the menu at the top of the page, and from there, you’ll be instructed how to make the necessary changes.

If you don’t have access to the members-only section of www.alpa.org, you can e-mail your requests by sending them to membership@alpa.org. Be sure to include your member number or enough other information so that we can identify you in the membership database, and tell us what information needs to be updated.

Please note that it is not sufficient just to notify your LEC or MEC of these changes—you should register them with the ALPA Membership Department in Herndon.

Can’t remember your member number or how to log in? Need information about your ALPA insurance programs? These and other questions about ALPA services can be answered by contacting membership@alpa.org.

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Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l
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