Building Critical Mass
By Kevin Cuddihy, Contributing Writer
Building ALPA’s critical mass is a necessary component to effect positive change. Through the years, ALPA’s reputation as the preeminent voice of airline pilots has brought about progress in all aspects of an airline pilot’s career. And ALPA’s goal as a union, as stated in the 2000 Board of Directors Pilot Unity Resolution, is to provide representation for all members of the airline piloting profession in the United States and Canada.
Typically, unions grow through organizing campaigns—but a majority of U.S. and Canadian airline pilots are already represented (and ALPA’s recent organizing campaigns—2,600 JetBlue Airways pilots in 2014 and 600 Virgin America pilots in 2015—added to that statistic). Mergers—independent pilot unions joining with ALPA—are another step toward representing all airline pilots in the United States and Canada. And with the Association’s recent merger with the Frontier Airlines Pilots Association, ALPA is one step closer to fulfilling the directive of the Board of Directors.
As we celebrate ALPA’s 85th anniversary, the following article highlights just a few of the mergers since 1931 that have helped ALPA’s pilots build critical mass and strengthen their voice.
Frontier Airlines Pilots Association (FAPA)
Number of Airlines: 1
Number of Pilots: 1,000
On May 18, 2016, ALPA’s Executive Board enthusiastically approved a resolution that finalized the union’s merger with the Frontier Airlines Pilots Association. This came after a landslide vote by FAPA pilots to merge with ALPA: 93 percent of all Frontier pilots voted, with 93 percent of those pilots voting in favor of the merger.
Union of Professional Airmen (UPA)
Number of Airlines: 8
Number of Pilots: 450
If you’re an Air Wisconsin pilot, your airline is the only surviving airline of the 1982 merger with the Union of Professional Airmen, when ALPA welcomed 450 pilots from eight airlines to its ranks. The other seven airlines included AeroMech Airlines, Air North, Altair Airlines, Aspen Airways, Pocono Airlines, Ross Aviation, and Suburban Airlines.
UPA was formed in 1969 as an ALPA affiliate, but the merger dissolved that affiliation. The June 1982 issue of Air Line Pilot noted, “One aftermath of deregulation has been a blurring of the distinction between the large and small airlines, making a delineation for membership in the two pilot organizations difficult to rationalize.”
Canadian Air Line Pilots Association (CALPA)
Number of Airlines: 10
Number of Pilots: 2,700
“Five decades of affiliation, friendship, and cooperation between the Canadian Air Line Pilots Association and ALPA has culminated in a historic merger between the two pilot unions,” reported the February 1997 issue of Air Line Pilot.
In January 1994, ALPA’s Executive Council authorized the creation of an ALPA/CALPA Joint Study Committee, composed of representatives from both organizations, to pursue development of an ALPA/CALPA Administrative Services Agreement. Over the next few years, this evolved into merger talks. The October 1996 Board of Directors meeting (along with the November 1996 CALPA Convention Assembly) started the official merger process, with a unanimous vote for the merger between CALPA and ALPA. On Jan. 10, 1997, 89 percent of CALPA pilots voted in favor of the merger, more than enough to set the merger in motion.
The merger agreement brought 10 new pilot groups (Air Alliance, Air BC, Air Nova, Air Ontario, Bearskin Airlines, Calm Air International, Canadian Airlines International, Canadian Regional Airlines, Kelowna Flightcraft, and Northwest Territory Airways) and 2,700 Canadian pilots to ALPA.
A decade later, Capt. Dan Adamus (Jazz Aviation), ALPA’s Canada Board president, reflected on the merger. “Being a part of ALPA means that pilots, when they negotiate with managements, have access to the deepest resources and most talented negotiations staff on the planet,” he said. “And while they have all the support they need, the MECs [master executive councils] still control the direction of their negotiations, and the pilots vote on all agreements.”
Independent Association of Continental Pilots (IACP)
Number of Airlines: 1
Number of Pilots and Flight Instructors: 7,000
May 22, 2001, was a day of celebration for ALPA, as the Independent Association of Continental Pilots merger received the final stamp of approval from the Association’s Executive Board, bringing Continental Airlines pilots back to ALPA after nearly two decades away.
The union added roughly 7,000 pilots and flight instructors from Continental and Continental Express—a victory for ALPA’s “One Union, One Voice” campaign, which was underscored by the Board of Directors Pilot Unity Resolution in 2000.
In comments to the Executive Board, Capt. Duane Woerth, then ALPA’s president, said, “I have no new vision to offer you.… The only vision I have is that of ALPA’s founders—the original vision…unvarnished, old-fashioned, low-tech, but tremendously effective: One Union, One Voice.”
FedEx Pilots Association (FPA)
Number of Airlines: 1
Number of Pilots: 4,200
A year after ALPA welcomed back Continental pilots, a second merger brought back another group of pilots, as the FedEx Pilots Association merged with ALPA in May 2002, adding 4,200 pilots to the Association’s membership.
In what Woerth termed “astounding,” 95 percent of FPA pilots participated in the merger ballot, and 90.5 percent of those voted in favor of the merger.
When FedEx first left ALPA in 1996, Capt. Richard D. “Rick” MacGibbon, then the FedEx pilots’ MEC vice chairman, closed his remarks to the Board of Directors saying, “…we will return.” Capt. David Webb, the new MEC chairman, proudly stated after the merger, “We have done that today.”
Kittyhawk Pilots Association (KPA)
Number of Airlines: 1
Number of Pilots: 132
In October 2003, ALPA’s Executive Board voted to approve a merger with the Kittyhawk Pilots Association, which represented the pilots of Kitty Hawk Aircargo, a cargo carrier one year out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Eighty-one percent of Kitty Hawk pilots voted in favor of the merger prior to the resolution being brought before ALPA’s Executive Board.
“Since 1998, Kitty Hawk pilots have sought to organize with ALPA. Now that the merger is complete, we anticipate taking advantage of ALPA’s vast resources and its highly specialized staff,” said Capt. Tom Gothard, then the new Kitty Hawk MEC chairman.
The pilot group signed a 10-year contract with management shortly after the merger, though the company entered Chapter 11 again in 2007 and flew west in January 2008.
Capital Cargo Crewmembers Association (CCCA)
Number of Airlines: 1
Number of Pilots: 98
ALPA welcomed another cargo carrier in May 2007, as a merger with the Capital Cargo Crewmembers Association brought the pilots of Capital Cargo International under the ALPA umbrella. The CCCA Executive Council endorsed the merger in early 2007; when the ballot was sent to the pilots, 82.6 percent weighed in, with an amazing 98.7 percent of the pilots voting yes.
“Today is a milestone for every pilot and flight engineer in our membership. Joining an international union gives our members access to immense resources that we could never realize, had we chose to remain independent,” said Capt. Christopher “CJ” Johnson, then the pilot group’s new MEC chairman. “Our members’ unity, hand-in-hand with ALPA representation, will be instrumental in achieving our negotiating goals.”
The pilot group took full advantage of those resources and signed a contract with management in July 2010 before merging with Air Transport International, its sister company, in 2013.
The Aviators Group (TAG)
Number of Airlines: 1
Number of Pilots: 250
In October 2007, ALPA’s Executive Board approved a merger with The Aviators Group, the independent union of Evergreen International Airlines crewmembers. “Having seen ALPA’s immense resources in action, I know that becoming a part of this strong international union is in the best interests of our pilots and flight engineers,” said Professional Flight Engineer William Fink, the group’s first MEC chairman.
Capt. John Prater, then ALPA’s president, said about the merger, “As the Evergreen crewmembers join our Association, we take another step closer to achieving our goal of bringing all pilot groups together so that professional pilots and crewmembers speak with a strong, single voice in contract negotiations, legislative affairs, and safety issues.”
First Air Pilots Association (FAPA)
Number of Airlines: 1
Number of Pilots: 140
Eight years before Frontier pilots joined ALPA, another FAPA—the First Air Pilots Association—voted to merge with the Association. Following a vote by ALPA’s Executive Board, the groups merged on June 1, 2008, bringing the Inuit-owned airline into ALPA’s ranks. “Uniting our unions will allow us to better serve our pilots and our industry in the turbulent times ahead,” commented Capt. Jamie Biggs, then the FAPA president. “Our Canadian brothers and sisters truly recognize that strength through unity is the bedrock of our union,” added Capt. John Prater, ALPA’s president at the time. “I welcome First Air pilots into ALPA and look forward to their involvement in our union’s work on the issues that matter most to our members.”
National Pilots Association (NPA)
Number of Airlines: 1
Number of Pilots: 1,700
In May 2009, the pilots of AirTran Airways became the latest addition to ALPA, as the Executive Board welcomed them with a unanimous vote and a standing ovation. Following four years of stalled negotiations and frustration with management, the independent National Pilots Association voted overwhelmingly to join ALPA and stand together with their fellow pilots.
F/O Linden Hillman, AirTran’s acting MEC chairman at the time, acknowledged the importance of brotherhood. “Today we find a new way forward,” he said, “after a long path cleared by thousands of airline pilots before us…. My ALPA brothers and sisters, the fight is joined on this brand-new day.”
Canadian North Pilots Association (CNPA)
Number of Airlines: 1
Number of Pilots: 106
Canadian North flightcrew members merged with ALPA in May 2011, becoming the ninth Canadian pilot group within ALPA. Capt. Chris Kampen, then the Canadian North pilots’ MEC chairman, acknowledged how the merger would benefit both the pilot group and ALPA. “We’re looking forward to working with ALPA and contributing to its success,” he said, “as well as to promoting the interests and needs of our Canadian North flightcrew members.”
ALPA’s influence was quickly felt as the MEC ratified a new contract mere months later in October 2011 after two years of negotiation. Capt. Lee Moak, then ALPA’s president, congratulated the pilot group, and asserted, “The pilots are well positioned to implement their newly ratified contract with the full support, resources, and voice of the world’s most powerful pilot union.”
On the Horizon
ALPA continues to talk with the leaders of the Aircrew Officers Association of Canada (AOA Canada), the independent union that represents Cathay Pacific’s Canada-based pilots, about a merger. A merger with AOA would add another Canadian pilot group and 150-plus members to ALPA ranks and take the Association one step closer to its goal of One Union, One Voice.
