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September 17, 2010—In This Issue:

Top News

Pinnacle Corp. MECs Meet, Develop Negotiating Strategy for Merged Contract

Pilot leaders from Colgan, Mesaba, and Pinnacle, the three airlines owned by Pinnacle Airlines Corp., held their first joint meeting in Minneapolis this week and emerged with a strategy to take full advantage of the fast-track negotiations that the parties have contemplated in a nearly completed Process Agreement.

At this week’s meeting, 31 MEC status representatives and officers from the three carriers, seven negotiating team members, and ALPA staff and advisors met to discuss negotiations, and direct the Joint Negotiating Committee that has already begun work on the new Joint Collective Bargaining Agreement to achieve important contract gains for the pilots. The MEC’s representatives were briefed on ALPA’s Merger Policy and heard case studies on mergers that worked, like Delta and Northwest, and cautionary tales about those that didn’t, the most recent case being US Airways.

As always, ALPA leaders stressed unity, fairness, and strong leadership as the keys to successfully joining the three pilot groups.

“I know any of us could get into a cockpit together and fly safely – can we do the same in the ‘cockpit’ of our union hall?” challenged ALPA president Capt. John Prater. “Find your strengths, work in solidarity, and show the industry how unified you are. That unified approach will produce value for your pilots.”

(For more information, please click here.)

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US Airways Express Carriers Work Together to Protect Pilot Jobs
The US Airways Express Joint Standing Committee, established to allow ALPA pilots from different US Airways Express carriers to collaborate on issues, met in Phoenix September 15–16. This is the third meeting with the pilot leaders from Air Wisconsin, Colgan, Mesa Air Group, Piedmont, PSA, and Trans States, and the professional ALPA staff.

Discussion led by ALPA president Capt. John Prater highlighted the need for a formalized alliance to standardize the pilot group goals for the US Airways Express system. Specifically, the pilot leaders are jointly developing methods to protect and enhance job security while implementing means to improve contract standards. The committee intends to further its coordinated bargaining strategy through the establishment of a joint negotiating group that will complement each MEC’s negotiating committee by sharing information and ensuring implementation of group goals.

A key committee goal focuses on providing the highest level of safety, training, and professionalism by coordinating ASAP, FOQA, pilot training, and other operational considerations among the ALPA express carriers. MEC representatives will continue these discussions and meet at the upcoming ALPA Board of Directors meeting to finalize the alliance and determine their next steps.

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ALPA Urges Congress to Pass FAA Bill
As Congress returned to work, ALPA president Capt. John Prater urged the Senate to pass a comprehensive FAA reauthorization bill as its first order of business. Click here to review a copy of his letter.

The FAA has been operating under a series of short-term "extensions" since the last reauthorization legislation expired in 2007. There are many important operational and safety priorities in the current legislation and all ALPA members are urged to make their voices heard on Capitol Hill about why this bill is critical to our profession and to the future of air travel.

Participate in our Call to Action today!

Check out the AFL-CIO blog where other union members are joining our efforts at http://blog.aflcio.org/2010/09/14/time-to-clear-aviation-bill-for-take-off/. ALPA also worked with other aviation industry groups this week to send a strong coordinated message that the FAA bill is must-pass legislation.

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Education Committee Unveils Improved Website
This week, the Education Committee unveiled the makeover of its public website, clearedtodream.org. Designed to educate students looking to the sky for a challenging and rewarding career, the site provides a wealth of information about what it takes to be an airline pilot. For years, ALPA has cultivated a relationship with the education community to become the true source for students who want to know more.

The newest featured section of the site is the ALPA ACE Club. By joining the club and becoming an ALPA ACE, aviation aficionados will be privy to exclusive information on the piloting profession crafted for the youngest generations to college-age students to aviation educators. The club provides aviation students and educators with the opportunity to learn more about the piloting profession through ALPA pilots who welcome the opportunity to share real-life experiences from flying the line and their path to the cockpit.

ACE Club members can access:
  • ALPA airlines’ pay rates and hiring requirements,
  • networking opportunities with ALPA pilots that can help them prepare for—and land—the job of their dreams, and
  • select Air Line Pilot articles, usually only available to ALPA members.

Aviation educators can also join to gain access to ALPA’s professional pilots, all-things-aviation subject matter experts, and other educational resources that will set their curriculum apart from other programs. For more information about the Education Committee and how you can help, please send an e-mail to education@alpa.org.

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House Subcommittee Weighs In on Bankruptcy
The House Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on Administrative and Commercial Law reported favorably Wednesday on H.R. 4677, the Protecting Employees and Retirees in Business Bankruptcy Act of 2010. This legislation will give all workers the help that has been sorely missing if an employer files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Too many U.S. workers in all industries have experienced the inequality and unfairness of the current bankruptcy laws. ALPA and other AFL-CIO affiliates used our unfortunate experience with these injustices to provide valuable input to Capitol Hill as they drafted H.R. 4677.

H.R. 4677 would increase the wage priority from $10,000 to $20,000 and separate other benefits such as health-care costs from this number. It would increase the priority for claims made by employees, seek to curb the rampant executive bonuses that have recently been given while workers have made severe sacrifices in bankruptcies, and undertake a significant overhaul of the Section 1113 process, by which collective bargaining agreements can be modified in the bankruptcy process, to provide bankruptcy courts with the tools they need to restore balance and fairness in the bankruptcy process.

(For more information, please click here.)

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This Week’s Press Releases/Web Coverage

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FastFact

On August 27, FastFact noted that Emily Howell Warner in 1974 became the first woman pilot permanently employed by a commercial airline. A Jazz pilot wrote to us to suggest that Warner’s achievement was specific to the United States, and that Rosella Bjornson was hired as a first officer by Transair, Canada’s fourth-largest airline at the time, in 1973. We stand corrected. Bjornson holds the distinction of being the first female to be hired by a commercial airline in Canada and the first female member of the Canadian Air Line Pilots Association. We salute both of these accomplished women.

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Feedback & E-mail Address Changes
Questions or comments on this FastRead? Give us your feedback at communications@alpa.org.

If you have moved or changed your ISP or e-mail address, please update your ALPA records. If you don’t, you will no longer receive the ALPA FastRead and other e-mail bulletins and notices, and once your postal forwarding order expires, you’ll no longer receive the magazine and other ALPA mail. You can do it yourself by going to www.alpa.org and logging in. Go to “My ALPA” in the menu at the top of the page, and from there, you’ll be instructed how to make the necessary changes.

If you don’t have access to the members-only section of www.alpa.org, you can e-mail your requests by sending them to membership@alpa.org. Be sure to include your member number or enough other information so that we can identify you in the membership database, and tell us what information needs to be updated.

Please note that it is not sufficient just to notify your LEC or MEC of these changes—you should register them with the ALPA Membership Department in Herndon.

Can’t remember your member number or how to log in? Need information about your ALPA insurance programs? These and other questions about ALPA services can be answered by contacting membership@alpa.org.

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Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l
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