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News from ALPA International |
August 2, 2012 |
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Known Crewmember Expands to Four More Airports |
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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 |
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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 |
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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 |
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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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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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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 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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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 |
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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. Return to top
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Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l 1625 Massachusetts Avenue NW
| Washington, DC 20036 | 703-689-2270 |
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