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July 16, 2010—In This Issue:

Other Top News

 

This Week’s Press Releases

Capital Cargo Crewmembers Ratify Tentative Contract Agreement
The crewmembers of Capital Cargo International Airlines have ratified a tentative contract agreement that their Negotiating Committee recently reached with CCIA management. Read more.

Conciliation Commissioner to Oversee Air Transat Pilot Negotiations
The ALPA pilots of Air Transat announced that a conciliation commissioner was appointed to oversee their negotiations with management. Read more in English/Français.

Pilots Need Accurate Crosswind Information
Airline pilots’ long-time call for timely, accurate weather information in the cockpit was echoed during this week’s National Transportation Safety Board sunshine meeting to detail the findings of its investigation into a 2008 accident in which Continental Flight 1404 departed the left side of the runway at Denver International Airport. Read more.

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Senate Financial Overhaul Bill Passed
On Thursday, the Senate passed the Restoring American Financial Stability Act by a 60–39 vote to limit oil and other commodities speculation. Between 2007 and 2008, the price of oil fluctuated between $38 and $140 per barrel. Consequently, airlines lost millions of dollars, which led to decreased capacity, bankruptcy, and job losses.

The approved legislation is intended to increase transparency in the derivatives market while still allowing for commodity speculation by end users. ALPA has worked closely with Stop Oil Speculation Now and the AFL-CIO to ensure that airlines continue to be able to hedge fuel prices as a means of containing their costs.

“This is great news for our members and our airlines” said ALPA president Capt. John Prater. “This bill will protect the air transportation industry from short-sighted investors who gamble on oil futures and drive up the price of oil with no regard for the effect this could have on airline stability and employment.”

The House passed its version of the legislation on June 30, and the bill is expected to be signed by President Obama soon.

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ALPA Stages Mini Leadership Training Conference for Newly Elected Officers
Eight ALPA pilots from five pilot groups met at ALPA’s Herndon, Va., offices July 13 and 14 for a day-and-a-half mini Leadership Training Conference. This condensed leadership orientation and training was offered to MEC and LEC officers elected since the annual ALPA Leadership Training Conference, which took place in February.

“Making newly elected MEC and LEC leaders wait until the 2011 Leadership Conference would handicap their ability to provide the best of ALPA’s resources to their pilot groups,” said Capt. Bill Dressler, Leadership Committee chair and host of the mini Leadership Conference.

Attendees included pilots from AirTran, Air Transport Int’l, Atlantic Southeast, Compass, and North American.

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ALPA Addresses Educators on Professionalism of Airline Pilots
Capt. John Sluys, ALPA's Professional Development Group chairman, led an ALPA contingent to the Aviation Accreditation Board International’s (AABI) annual meeting held this week in Kent, Ohio. Sluys informed educators how airline pilots use a strong work ethic, character, and professionalism to ensure the safety of flight, and he emphasized that these characteristics should be taught to the next generation of airline pilots from their first day of training.

The theme of this meeting, hosted by Kent State University, was “Raising the Standards of Aviation.” The conference was attended by approximately 80 representatives of academia, airlines, regulators, labor organizations, general aviation, and other groups, and much of the event focused on what AABI and accredited institutions can do to better instill professionalism in their students. AABI serves as the official accrediting body for university and college aviation programs worldwide.

The next meeting is scheduled for February 2011 in Daytona Beach, Fla., to be hosted by Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.

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Two ALPA Family Members Awarded Union Plus Scholarships
Union Plus has awarded $150,000 in scholarships to 121 students representing 42 unions, including two children of Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) members:
  • John Atsalis of Exeter, NH, whose father is Capt. Konstantinos “Dino” Atsalis, a member of DAL Council 66, has been awarded a $500 scholarship.
  • Victoria Bledsoe of Eagle River, AK, whose father is F/O Craig Bledsoe, a member of FDX Council 79, has been awarded a $1,000 scholarship.

“During these challenging economic times, with college tuition rising and many working families struggling just to get by, we’re pleased to be helping some of the labor movement’s most promising students achieve their college dreams,” says Leslie Tolf, president of Union Privilege, the organization that provides an array of Union Plus benefit programs for union families, including the scholarship program.

This year more than 5,000 applications were received from students representing all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and Canada.

(For more information, please click here.)

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Don’t Miss ALPA’s 56th Air Safety Forum
This year’s premier safety event will be held August 30–31 at the Washington Hilton in Washington, D.C. The event’s public day begins at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday. This year’s Forum will include the following ALPA committees: Safety, Security, Pilot Assistance, Jumpseat, and President’s Committee for Cargo.

Need to register, and want more information?

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FastFact:
On July 12, 1949, ALPA signed its first contract with Caribair, which began operations as Caribbean Atlantic Airlines in 1939. Caribair merged with Eastern Airlines in 1971 and has no affiliation with the current-day, Dominican Republic–based Caribair.

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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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