Our Union: A Good Example Is Followed

By Capt. Tim Canoll, ALPA President

Following the U.S. presidential election—one of many such transitions that have occurred over ALPA’s more than eight decades—our union is evaluating new opportunities to advance our pilots’ interests in ways that track with our ALPA pilot-driven strategic plan and realize our goals of representing our members, keeping aviation safe and secure, and ensuring the future of the airline piloting profession.

In the context of an evolving political and economic climate that includes the U.S. election but also other factors such as Great Britain’s decision to exit the European Union, ALPA maintains that aviation infrastructure must be a priority across North America. In addition, we will partner with the new U.S. administration and Congress on moving forward with a trade agenda that advances U.S. airline workers’ ability to compete internationally.

Just as ALPA did following Canada’s election in 2015, we will continue to press for our union’s priorities in both countries. As Canada’s relatively new government begins to forge policy and put it into practice, ALPA will focus on setting out examples of the change we seek, such as our solution to safely integrate unmanned aircraft systems and our call to apply science-based flight- and duty-time regulations to all airlines in Canada (see page 16).

We’re creating good examples in labor relations as well. At its recent meeting, ALPA’s Board of Directors took important action on our union’s strategic plan goal of advancing our members’ careers (see pages 25–30). The board passed several resolutions, including one that directs the Association’s pilot groups to press for contractual provisions and other programs to provide preferential hiring for ALPA members when ALPA fee-for-departure airlines compete directly with non-ALPA fee-for-departure carriers.

On the same labor theme, many ALPA pilot groups are at decisive points in their efforts to garner a contract that reflects their commitment and contribution to their companies. ALPA leaders who represent pilots flying for Air Wisconsin, Alaska, Canadian North, Delta, Hawaiian, JetBlue, Mesa, Spirit, Virgin America, and other carriers are all at key junctures. While the details and dates may be different, certain constants are common for every ALPA pilot group: the example they set in capitalizing on the democratic process to determine their direction, drawing on our union’s vast resources to realize the potential of their negotiations, and acting in unity throughout the process.

We continue to promote the future of our profession through many avenues, including our Education Committee. Our pilots’ work to inspire a new generation of aviators has exposed our beloved profession to thousands of interested students, as you’ll read about the joint effort among ExpressJet, Indiana State University, and the National Intercollegiate Flying Association (see page 12). With the 2016–17 academic year fully under way, ALPA pilots are also engaging with preschools and elementary, middle, and high schools to reach students of all ages with their stories of how a love of flying has translated into a lasting career (see page 33).

This holiday season, ALPA pilots are an example to follow, spending time with others to lift the spirits of those less fortunate. Across North America, our pilots are reaching out––from Anchorage, Alaska, where FedEx Pilots For Kids is planning hospital visits, to Washington, D.C., where Dulles Pilots For Kids is slated to visit the Children’s Inn at the National Institutes of Health—with the kind spirit of the season. And even when the holiday season is far behind us, ALPA members who support our pilots as elected representatives and our national committee structure on behalf of all of our 54,000 members in the U.S. and Canada work around the clock, 365 days a year.

I’m paraphrasing the iconic late journalist Gwen Ifill, who said, “Act right all the time, because someone’s always watching.” ALPA pilots set the example to follow—even when no one is watching.

This article was originally published in the December 2016 issue of Air Line Pilot.

Read the latest Air Line Pilot (PDF)