Release #: Vol. 84, No. 5
June 01, 2015

ALPA Pilots Seek Out Capitol Hill Policymakers

By John Perkinson, Staff Writer

More than 150 ALPA pilots took to Capitol Hill in early June to advocate for airline safety, a stronger U.S. airline industry, and other ALPA pilot-partisan priorities. A multitude of pilots lined the entrances of the Russell, Dirksen, and Hart Buildings on the Senate side while others traversed the Capitol grounds to reach the House’s Cannon, Longworth, and Rayburn Buildings. Throughout the day, small armies of pilots were seen emerging from one congressional building and then walking up Independence or Constitution Avenues to enter another.

ALPA pilots, meeting with their home-state members of Congress and legislative staff, discussed how the U.S. airline industry contributes nearly $1.5 trillion annually to the U.S. economy and provides millions of U.S. jobs. They also shared their concerns that the aviation-related legislation before the 114th Congress—if not carefully considered and acted upon—could jeopardize the future of the U.S. airline industry and the U.S. economy. 

The pilots talked about the importance of passing on time a properly funded, long-term FAA reauthorization bill and the need for mandatory secondary cockpit barriers and strict regulation of unmanned aircraft systems and the air transport of lithium batteries.

ALPA members stressed the need to uphold all the terms of U.S. Open Skies agreements and explained the need to repeal the excise tax on employer-provided health care. They also discussed pilot career challenges brought about by the severe pay shortage at several regional airlines.

These face-to-face meetings were the culmination of ALPA’s two-day, third annual Government Affairs Legislative Summit, an event designed to help ALPA members enhance their advocacy and personally effect pilot-partisan change in Washington, D.C.

Hill visits

Armed with talking points, schedules, and other materials, Colorado residents F/O Mark Bomber (United), F/O Brent Farrar (ExpressJet), F/O Coe Hargraves (Delta), and F/O Jolanda Witvliet (United) headed to the office of Sen. Michael Bennett (D-Colo.). There they spoke with staff about secondary cockpit barriers and how they’re an inexpensive way to provide an additional layer of aircraft security.

F/Os Ali Frohlich (Delta) and Sam Arieff (Delta) chatted with Rep. Gwen Graham (D-Fla.) at her office about the need to enforce the terms of U.S.-negotiated Open Skies agreements, particularly when dealing with the nations of Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. The north Florida residents explained how Emirates, Etihad Airways, and Qatar Airways are using unprecedented subsidies to exploit their open and unfettered access to the U.S. market.

Meanwhile, F/O Mike Lee (Delta), Capt. Johnnie Jones (United), Capt. Jim Villers (Delta), Capt. Horrace “Hop” Buffington (Delta), Capt. Darryl Wilson (United), Capt. Jim Easley (Delta), Capt. Carl Abelein (Delta), F/O Tim Heiple (Delta), and F/O Carlos Rodriguez (United) crowded into the staff room of Sen. David Perdue (R-Ga.). Using a tag-team approach, the Georgia residents briefed the senator’s legal advisor on the reasons to pass a fully funded, on-time FAA reauthorization bill.

ALPA pilots on Capitol Hill ALPA pilots on their way to the next Hill visit.


Reps talk

“There’s nothing more powerful than a pilot from an airline sitting down with a member of Congress saying, ‘This can be done,’” said Rep. Bill Shuster (R-Pa.), chairman of the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee during the legislative summit. The congressman thanked the pilots for their participation and engagement, and expressed frustration with government efforts to implement NextGen technologies. Shuster observed that over the past decade while airline industry stakeholders have talked about implementing NextGen, Verizon Communications has updated its operating systems four times.

Summit attendees heard from Rep. Joe Courtney (D-Conn.), who on April 29 introduced legislation to repeal the health-care excise tax under the Affordable Care Act. Courtney said that the tax would apply a 40 percent increase to health insurance expenditures over $10,200 per person and $27,500 per family—if it goes into effect. The excise tax is slated to begin in 2018 and would affect every ALPA member by 2022.

F/O John Boccieri (United), a former member of Congress from Ohio, brought an interesting perspective to the discussion. “The volume of information Washington, D.C., has to process is growing exponentially,” he noted, stressing the importance of cutting through the other distractions by “meeting congressman where they are.”

Spreading the word

“We have a vested interest in ensuring that our airlines are strong and competitive on the world stage,” said Capt. Tim Canoll, ALPA’s president, who met with participating pilots to talk about challenges that threaten the U.S. airline industry. Canoll reiterated that ALPA is the largest nongovernmental airline safety organization in the world, adding that “We are the champions of progress on all fronts, and often we are the only group able and willing to lead.”

Tell Congress to Reauthorize FAA Funding and Uphold Safety Standards

“It’s easy to be an advocate when you know what you’re speaking about and when you have right on your side, which we do in spades,” said Elizabeth Baker, director of ALPA’s Government Affairs Department. Baker served as the summit’s moderator and, together with Zack Mooneyham, manager of that department, coached the pilots on techniques for conducting effective congressional meetings.

As part of the summit, pilot advocates attended breakout sessions covering topics ranging from the use of social media in influencing political opinion to the art of storytelling as an effective mechanism for advocacy. They learned about the value of maintaining a well-funded ALPA-PAC (see “PAC Facts”) and how successful lobbying campaigns begin with grassroots efforts. In addition, they heard from influential lawmakers who understand what it takes to pass legislation in Washington, D.C.


FAA Reauthorization

In conjunction with these Capitol Hill visits, ALPA launched its “This Is Your Captain Speaking” campaign (see page 8), which sends a strong message that government must reauthorize the FAA on time without rolling back safety.

Attendees of ALPA’s Government Affairs Legislative Summit heard from a panel of U.S. airline industry leaders who discussed the FAA reauthorization bill that Congress needs to pass by September 30, before the current legislation expires. Panelists commented on problems associated with the previous budget sequestration and the proposed Air Traffic Organization reform.


PAC Facts

ALPA-PAC’s recent fundraising efforts have been enormously successful, and here are a few reasons why:

» Thanks to more than 8,000 contributors, ALPA-PAC raised more than $1.4 million in 2014.

» Sixty percent of the Mesa pilots were ALPA-PAC participants in 2014. Approximately 80 percent of Mesa’s new-hire pilots backed the PAC during this time.

» In 2014, Project Wingman generated more than $17,900 per month in PAC donations.

» F/O Jolanda Witvliet (United), ALPA’s National Membership chairman, has signed up an impressive 264 PAC recruits so far this year, totaling $1,972.08 in contributions.

This article is from the June-July 2015 issue of Air Line Pilot magazine, the Official Journal of the Air Line Pilots Association, International—a monthly publication for all ALPA members.

-###-