Weighing In: The Importance of Solid Financial Footing
By Capt. Randy Helling, ALPA Vice President/Finance–Treasurer
It may not be obvious on the face of things, but at ALPA sound finances and our ongoing motto of “Schedule with Safety” go hand in hand. Simply put, without sound finances we wouldn’t be able to push for the necessary safety, security, and pilot assistance advances that ALPA and the Association’s Air Safety Organization have achieved over the years. Safety is one of the most important things we do, but we can’t be effective unless we have significant resources to dedicate to this priority.
Elsewhere in this issue, you’ll read about a few of our recent training events—Basic Safety School, the Security Training Course, and Airport Safety Liaison training. These, and our many other courses, wouldn’t be possible without the Association’s solid financial footing. In late March, we held a one-day conference on aviation security; it’s one of many one-day conferences that ALPA has hosted over the past few years that educate the public and news media on issues of concern to ALPA members. These events wouldn’t have been possible without solid financial footing. Our Pilot Assistance Forum will take place in late May, and the Air Safety Forum, our crown jewel, will be held in July. These events—which showcase ALPA’s progress on safety, security, and pilot assistance issues and help the Association maintain our status within the industry and within government circles—would, again, not be possible without solid financial footing.
The Accident Investigation Contingency Fund is another prime example of how our strong finances allow us to do the things we need to do. This fund finances our trained volunteers’ participation in NTSB or Transportation Safety Board of Canada accident investigations plus the participation of volunteers under the Critical Incident Response Program. These funds don’t come out of a master executive council’s (MEC) budget; they’re direct support from the national level to ensure that the highest standards of safety are met.
This isn’t just a side function of our Association, an “oh, by the way.” Safety, security, and pilot assistance combine to form one of three strategic goals in ALPA’s strategic plan developed by our Board of Directors. Our efforts in this arena are prioritized, all the way up to the Board of Directors. Roughly 8–10 percent of our annual budget goes toward safety. It’s a top priority, but you have to have the resources available to fund it.
ALPA is currently on very sound financial footing, and we didn’t get here by accident. We got here because we managed our pilots’ dues money well. And we need to keep doing that so that we can accomplish all the goals we’ve set. Each year, I reiterate this message at our annual Secretary-Treasurers Conference in Herndon, Va. Originally scheduled for mid-March, the conference was postponed due to winter storm Stella in the northeast. Once rescheduled, secretary-treasurers from most of our MECs will meet to discuss the ongoing need for fiscal discipline, their responsibilities to the pilots, and the importance of the work that they do. These volunteer leaders are the first line of defense in making sure we spend our pilots’ money wisely, and they continue to do an amazing job.
Capt. Tim Canoll, ALPA’s president, regularly points out that many of our industry’s regulations have been “written in blood.” In other words, it took the accidental death of one or more of our colleagues to force a needed change. The more we’re able to fund a robust Air Safety Organization, the more likely it is that we’re able to set future safety, security, and pilot assistance regulations in place without the loss of lives. And that’s a goal well worth working for.
