120th ALPA Executive Board Considers Policy Changes

Receives Pilot Group Briefings, Reviews Strategic Plan

By John Perkinson, Senior Staff Writer
“These tools have made possible remarkable results in collective bargaining [and] aviation safety, security, and pilot assistance." —Capt. Tim Canoll, ALPA's President

ALPA’s national officers, executive vice presidents, and master executive council (MEC) chairs convened April 26–27 for the 120th regular meeting of the Association’s Executive Board. Gathering at the union’s Herndon, Va. Conference Center, the Executive Board reviewed proposed policy changes on topics such as Internet voting for local council elections, received updates from ALPA’s 32 pilot groups, and reviewed the union’s strategic plan. The meeting began with reports from the four national officers.

During his opening remarks, Capt. Tim Canoll, ALPA’s president, displayed a Halligan bar—a multipurpose device firefighters employ to perform their lifesaving duties—using it as a metaphor to suggest that selecting the right tools is paramount to achieving desired goals. He talked about ALPA’s extensive toolbox of programs and services, noting, “These tools have made possible remarkable results in collective bargaining; aviation safety, security, and pilot assistance; and in building a strong future for our profession.”

Canoll highlighted recent contract gains and ALPA’s efforts to advance pattern bargaining, pointing to Hawaiian Airlines pilots’ new five-year agreement, which contains 42 percent greater value than their previous contract. He observed, “While contract gains are important to the Hawaiian pilots, the agreement also strengthens a pattern that will benefit other pilot groups currently in contract talks. The continuation of this pattern means that Alaska and Virgin, Frontier, JetBlue, and Spirit are in stronger positions today than they were before the Hawaiian contract.”

Capt. Joe DePete, ALPA’s first vice president and national safety coordinator, reported on the Association’s Air Safety Organization (ASO), which encompasses ALPA’s safety, security, and pilot assistance efforts. Commenting on the work of the ASO and its 400-plus pilot representatives, DePete said, “The ASO, and indeed our very Association, exists because of the nature of our profession. Flying several tons of metal, now mostly composite, and fuel at thousands of feet above the earth carries with it risks. Our job as pilots is to manage those risks, whenever and wherever they arise.”

DePete also provided an update on ALPA-PAC, stating that this year’s goal is to raise $2.25 million. He noted that ALPA’s PAC is the most bipartisan of its kind, emphasizing that 52 percent of all 2016 donations went to Democratic Members of Congress while 48 percent went to Republicans.

Capt. Bill Couette, ALPA’s vice president–administration/secretary, underscored the important work of the Association’s Professional Development Group, observing, “One of ALPA’s strategic goals is to secure the future of our profession. We have an obligation to inspire, educate, and mentor the next generation of pilots.” He also acknowledged that “just as important, we need to keep these jobs in the United States and Canada. Only by attracting new candidates, in our countries, can we do this.”

In addition, Couette reviewed product improvements ALPA’s Information Technology Advisory Committee is currently overseeing, including an ALPA app upgrade, several website updates, the new My Proxy System, and Membership Call Center enhancements.

Capt. Randy Helling, ALPA’s vice president–finance/treasurer, addressed ALPA’s financial status, saying, “We’ve exhibited sound and practical financial planning—and combined with the economic conditions of the airline industry, we’ve been able to prosper.” Speaking directly to MEC chairs, he added, “I cannot emphasize enough the amount of trust that our pilots have put in each and every one of you by putting you in the seat you’re in today. Our job, then, is to reinforce that trust with our actions, our decisions, and our responsible planning.”

Helling also discussed how member dues are being allocated and noted that ALPA’s pilot-tailored insurance programs currently have 18,758 members enrolled.

Board business

During plenary sessions, the Executive Board deliberated on proposed changes to ALPA’s Constitution & By-Laws and the Administrative Manual, which serve as the union’s organizational framework. Delegate Committee IV examined ALPA’s use of Internet voting for local council elections and other general membership ballots, as well as recent guidance from the U.S. Department of Labor compelling the union to reexamine these procedures. The Executive Board, following the recommendation of Delegate Committee IV, voted to adopt the policy revisions and directed that the proposed changes to the Constitution & By-Laws be presented to the union’s highest governing body—the Board of Directors (BOD)—by mail ballot. Two-thirds of the BOD must vote in favor of the constitutional amendment.

During 2007 and 2008, the Executive Board transferred funds from the Association’s Major Contingency Fund (MCF), ALPA’s “War Chest,” to part of the organization’s Operating Contingency Fund (OCF-CF), a source of supplemental funding for pilot groups facing extraordinary financial circumstances that had been significantly underfunded.

Thanks to a healthier economy, improved airline performance, and ALPA’s concerted efforts to manage it finances, the OCF-CF is again on stable financial footing. Following the recommendation of Delegate Committee I, the Executive Board approved the transfer of $7 million from the account back to the MCF.

In other action, the Executive Board approved a policy amendment permitting an MEC to authorize dues refunds, beginning three years after receiving OCF or MCF funding—a change from recent practice. It also approved policy amendments providing guidance on the subject of human factors, encouraging U.S. and Canadian regulators to require both aircraft manufacturers and airlines to fully incorporate human factors principles into the design and operation of airliners.

The Executive Board spent the balance of the meeting providing activity and status briefings on each of the Association’s 32 member pilot groups and reviewing the goals, objectives, and initiatives of ALPA’s strategic plan, set in motion by ALPA’s BOD during its October 2016 meeting. ALPA members can review the Association’s strategic plan at www.alpa.org/strategicplan.


TTD President Addresses Needed Infrastructure Improvements

During plenary, guest speaker Ed Wytkind, president of the AFL-CIO Transportation Trades Department (TTD), spoke to the Executive Board about the challenges before the airline industry and the action that must be taken.

“We are a generation that has stopped investing in its transportation and infrastructure,” he said, pointing out that previous Republican and Democratic administrations decades ago approved tax increases for numerous transportation improvements. “President Richard Nixon signed the law that created Amtrak. President Clinton and former speaker Newt Gingrich signed a landmark surface transportation authorization bill,” he noted, providing other examples to support his point.

Wytkind concluded that it’s the responsibility of the 32 unions that make up the TTD to uphold important industry standards and press for system modernization. He asserted, “We have to stop calling it transportation ‘spending’ and start calling it ‘investment’ again.”

This article was originally published in the May 2017 issue of Air Line Pilot.

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