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News from ALPA International |
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March 5, 2010—In This Issue:
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Take Action Now: Urge Your Senators to Oppose Legislation to Monitor Cockpit Voice Recorders |
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 Help stop Sen. Jim DeMint’s bill (S. 3048) dead in its tracks by participating in ALPA’s
Call to Action.
Join the more than 4,600 ALPA pilots who’ve already told their senators that this bill will threaten aviation safety, compromise the accident investigation process, and squander financial resources that could make established and proven aviation safety programs even more effective.
This outrageous proposal endorses the use of CVR and FDR data to discipline or even terminate pilots, rather than restricting the use of the safety tools to use in safety programs. In a
USA Today “Opposing View”
opinion piece, ALPA president Capt. John Prater made it clear that monitoring conversations in the cockpit for any reason other than accident investigation would fail to produce accurate safety information.
ALPA Voices Adamant Opposition to Cockpit Voice Recorder Monitoring
After you contact your senators, consider making a secure online
ALPA-PAC donation to help fight the bill introduced by Sen. DeMint (R-S.C.). Only with a strong and fully funded political action committee will ALPA have the political clout to stop this misguided legislation. Your voluntary donation of any amount will be used
immediately to help defeat this latest assault on the piloting profession.
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ALPA Pilot Urges Tighter Lithium Battery Restrictions |
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 First Officer Mark Rogers (United), director of ALPA’s Dangerous Goods Program, presented the Association’s arguments for tighter restrictions on the shipment of lithium batteries at U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) headquarters in Washington, D.C., on March 5. His statement was in response to a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) published on January 11 by DOT’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), in coordination with the FAA, to assess the safety risks associated with the air transport of lithium cells and batteries.
“ALPA has long voiced concern that current provisions in the hazardous materials regulations governing the transport of lithium batteries by air are inadequate to protect crewmembers, passengers, cargo, and the public,” Rogers said in his remarks. “We applaud the Department of Transportation for this proposed rule-making and recommend that it be adopted largely intact, as it will have significant, positive impact on the safety of the air transportation system. (To continue reading this story, please click here.)
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ALPA Urges Additional Funding for FFDO Program |
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This week ALPA president Captain John Prater called on Congress to better fund the Federal Flight Deck Officer Program (FFDO). The FFDO program has been an important component of our nation’s layered aviation security system since its inception in 2003. Thousands of ALPA members have been deputized and make up the bulk of the FFDO force. Unfortunately, a stagnant TSA budget has limited the potential growth of the FFDO program. Captain Prater sent a letter to both the House and Senate Appropriations Committees with jurisdiction over TSA’s budget urging them to double the size of the program for FY2011.
Senate letter •
House of Representatives letter Return to top
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Evergreen Crewmembers Scrutinize Management Request for Help |
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The EIA MEC has demanded financial and operational information from the company to evaluate whether management’s recent request for contract concessions is appropriate. This action was prompted by management’s financial presentation to the MEC Negotiating Committee during the January bargaining session. The management team, for the first time in negotiations, stated plainly that it was seeking concessions from the crewmember group in order for the company to survive. The MEC’s decision to seek the information does not commit it to concessionary bargaining but allows the MEC to secure important information from its management to make data-based decisions regarding the company’s concessionary request.
In accordance with ALPA’s collective bargaining policies, the MEC has demanded confidential company finance data as well as short- and long-term recovery plans. Management has agreed to open its books to ALPA’s Economic and Financial Analysis Department. ALPA financial experts continue to review the data and will brief the MEC on their findings before the next round of bargaining. Mediation is scheduled to continue during the week of April 12 at the National Mediation Board offices in Washington, D.C. The EIA MEC will then provide direction to the Negotiating Committee about future bargaining.
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ALPA’s Training and Human Factors Pilot Reps Meet in Houston |
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 ALPA held a combined 19th Training Council and 4th Human Factors Working Group (TC/HFWG) meeting this week in Houston. The event was attended by approximately 37 training committee and human factors representatives from 14 ALPA MECs. Additionally, several industry representatives shared their expertise on the pilot training initiatives in which they are involved.
It was announced that Capt. Glen Finch (JAZ) would step down as Training Council chairman after serving for four years and that Capt. Frank Cheeseman (UAL) would become the new chair. Capt. Finch will continue to be involved in the Training Council as a member of his MEC Training Committee. In appreciation for Capt. Finch’s service, he was presented with a special plaque by Capt. Linda Orlady (UAL), Executive Air Safety vice chair, and Capt. Chuck Hogeman (UAL), HFT Group chairman.
(To continue reading this story, please click here.)
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FAA Publishes ALPA Petition for Exemption on Oxygen Mask Use |
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 ALPA’s Aeromedical Committee, in conjunction with FedEx Express, submitted a
petition for exemption to the Federal Aviation Administration on October 13, 2009, seeking relief from the requirement for one pilot to don an oxygen mask above FL250 whenever the other pilot leaves the flight deck. Subsequent to numerous discussions between ALPA and the FAA on this subject, the agency published a petition for exemption on March 4, 2010, in the
Federal Register. The exemption requests that the pilot at the controls place the mask in his or her lap while the other pilot is absent.
ALPA made this request in light of the potential spread of communicable diseases by use of these masks, given that the equipment is not cleaned in accordance with U.S. Health & Human Services Department mask-sanitation standards. Pilots wanting to don the masks anytime above FL250 in accordance with current federal aviation regulations would not be restricted from doing so.
The FAA is asking for information regarding a number of issues raised by this petition. The Aeromedical Committee is in the process of developing a response to the petition to meet the FAA’s comment deadline of March 24, 2010.
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ALPA’s Newest MEC: Compass |
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 On March 1, the pilots of Compass Air officially became ALPA’s 38th pilot group, operating as a single-council MEC. Since the company’s inception in May 2007, Compass pilots have maintained representation through the Northwest and, more recently, Delta pilot groups. The current Compass group consists of 384 members.
ALPA’s Executive Council sanctioned a new Compass Local Council 19 at its October 2009 meeting. In January, the council appointed Capt. Eric Cowan as interim chairman, F/O Rendell Schmidt as interim vice chair, and F/O Ryan Breznau as interim secretary-treasurer. They will continue to serve as temporary status reps until the pilot group nominates and elects permanent representatives in May.
The Compass MEC will operate under the seniority block representation system with three status representatives—one for each third of the pilot group’s seniority list. Compass will be represented on a national level by executive vice-president Capt. Thomas Maxwell in Group B2.
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Continental Pilots Support Application for Flying to Tokyo’s Haneda Airport |
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ALPA’s Continental Airlines pilots are offering their full support of Continental’s application to the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) for new service between the U.S. and Tokyo’s close-in airport, Haneda. The DOT is allocating four slot pairs to U.S. airlines, with service beginning in late fall 2010. Continental is applying for daily nonstop New York/Newark–Haneda service and Continental Micronesia is applying for daily nonstop Guam–Haneda service. Current Tokyo Narita service from Newark Liberty, Houston, and Guam will continue.
“We are encouraging our pilots to send letters to the DOT in support of Continental’s application,” says Capt. Jay Pierce, CAL MEC chairman. “The service to Haneda offers a growth opportunity for Continental and for our pilots. We fully support the application and hope that our efforts will encourage the DOT to award the two slots to Continental.”
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ALPA Attends ICAO Symposium on Next Generation of Aviation Professionals |
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Capt. John Sluys (ALA), chairman of ALPA’s Professional Development Group, headed an ALPA contingent that attended a four-day symposium on the next generation of airline pilots and other aviation professions. The event, sponsored by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), was held in Montreal, Quebec, and was attended by several hundred representatives of government, industry, pilot organizations—including ALPA and IFALPA—educators, and students. The stated purpose of this event was to update and modify the regulatory environment to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of training and education, and to mobilize the aviation community to revitalize the image of aviation professions. Information gained at this forum will help facilitate numerous pilot training- and profession-related initiatives in which ALPA is engaged. Return to top
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 You’ll see them popping up in your union publications with everything from “Did you know?” tidbits on aviation and ALPA history to instructions on how to fill out online surveys and how to find information on ALPA’s website.
Have questions for the team? Send them to gurus@alpa.org. Return to top
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Runway Safety Newsletter – March Issue |
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Click here to read more about reducing the risks of runway excursions, taxiway excursions, and ensuring safe landing distances in the March issue of
Runway Risks. Return to top |
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Need Help with Your Taxes? |
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 Tax time just got less taxing and less expensive, thanks to your union membership. The
Union Plus TurboTax Discount saves you 10–15 percent off regular prices. Plus, union members with qualifying adjusted gross income can get free filing of federal tax returns and a discounted filing fee for state returns.
Watch Program Manager Keith Ervin talk about the Union Plus TurboTax Discount.
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Pilots Needed for Washington, D.C., Area Study |
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 Sixteen pilots are needed to participate in an experiment at George Mason University, Fairfax, Va., campus. Sessions are being scheduled starting March 5 and last three to four hours. Participants will be compensated $100 for their time.
Pilots should have a commercial pilot’s license, airline experience within the last two years, and experience flying 737s, 747s, and/or 777s.
Please contact Sara Gee at sgee1@gmu.edu if you are interested or would like more information. This research project is funded by the FAA.
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 The March 1965 issue of The Air Line Pilot magazine featured a story introducing the brand new Douglas DC-9, which would be available for short- to medium-range transport the following year. “The sleek twin-jet airliner is designed . . . to provide economic, reliable service to larger cities 100 to 1500 miles apart,” the magazine reported.Return to top
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Feedback & E-mail Address Changes |
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| Questions or comments on this FastRead? Give us your feedback at
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
https://crewroom.alpa.orgrg and logging
in. Go to “My ALPA” on the left side of the page, and from there, you’ll be
instructed how to make the necessary changes. If you don’t have access to
https://crewroom.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. Return to top
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Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l
1625 Massachusetts Avenue NW
| Washington, DC 20036 | 703-689-2270 |
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