It is ALPA’s goal to increase the transparency of the Export-Import Bank’s aircraft financing, which makes up approximately half of the bank’s lending capacity. ALPA believes economic impact studies should be done on every proposed aircraft financing deal beforehand to ensure that the impact on U.S. jobs is actually a positive and not just assumed so. Our concern is that some of the transactions the bank is undertaking related to aircraft financing are costing U.S. pilots jobs in the international marketplace.

Giving foreign airline competitors a financial advantage over U.S. airlines with favored-bank financing is allowing foreign competitors to serve the same routes as our carriers, but at lower costs. The effect on U.S. pilot jobs has been significant and increasing the bank’s lending cap and allowing it to engage in further financing, without any increased transparency or economic impact studies, could result in further loss of U.S. airline jobs.

Please help ALPA stand up to this problem and show Congress that we will not sit idly as our jobs are outsourced. Support ALPA-PAC today.

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For the second year, Alaska Airlines pilots, other employees from Alaska and Horizon, and their family members worked with local community groups to support this annual effort. The Clark County Santa’s Posse, a partnership between the county’s Rotary Clubs and the Clark County Sheriff’s Office, collects and distributes toys and food to make Christmas special for less fortunate families.

Alaska pilots based in Portland became involved a year ago when Alaska Capt. Jay Haldeman was approached after speaking at a Rotary Club function. The club wanted to know if he and his fellow Alaska employees would help with the event. It went so well, Haldeman said, that the decision to come back a second year was an easy one to make.

Read more.

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Canuck Place Children’s Hospice provides specialized palliative care for children with life-threatening illnesses and support for their families throughout British Columbia.

Jazz pilots Capt. Mike Gatey and his wife, F/O Jane Etzkorn, piloted one of this year’s flights.

“Jane and I have been blessed with a wonderful life together, a son we are proud of, and great careers,” said Gatey. “We were very pleased to be able to give a little back. The smiles on the faces of the children who rode with us was something that money can’t buy.”

Read more.

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Voting by phone continues to be available but, because of the new vendor, your voting credentials will need to be updated. Contact ALPA’s balloting staff to receive a 10-digit activation code to create your phone-voting PIN, as well as directions and the phone number to call. Your ALPA member number is your voter ID for phone voting and, with the 10-digit activation code, you will need to choose a 4- to 8-digit password.

When a vote is cast, the ballot vendor will send an e-mail to the address we provide confirming that the vote was received. If you have any questions about these changes, please e-mail balloting@alpa.org.

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• The Hill reports that Congress is expected to discuss the FAA’s funding woes early next year as the Jan. 31 deadline of the temporary extension nears. Read more.

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On December 20, 1983, Ozark Air Lines Flight 650 struck a snow plow on the runway while landing at Sioux Falls Regional Airport. The sole fatality from the accident was the snow plow driver, and the DC-9 was later returned to service.

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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
1625 Massachusetts Avenue NW | Washington, DC 20036 | 703-689-2270