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News from ALPA International |
June 9, 2011 |
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ALPA Expresses Concerns about UAS to DOT |
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ALPA president Capt. Lee
Moak has offered ALPA’s
assistance to the U.S.
Department of
Transportation as it
considers the future of
unmanned aircraft
systems (UAS) in the
national airspace system
(NAS). In a
letter to DOT Secretary
Ray LaHood, Moak
iterated ALPA’s concerns
about integrating UAS
into commercial airspace
before all necessary
research, testing, and
operational safeguards
are in place.
ALPA pledged to
collaborate with DOT and
FAA to ensure the safety
of the NAS, as some in
Congress are calling for
arbitrary deadlines that
threaten to put untested
and unregulated UAVs in
the same airspace as
airliners.
ALPA has initiated a
Call to Action to urge
Congress to oppose any
deadlines for UAS
integration until proper
safety regulations are
established.
Click here to
participate.
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ALPA Pilot Negotiators Train for Success |
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ALPA
president Capt. Lee Moak
welcomed negotiators to
the union’s annual
Negotiations Training
Seminar this week. He
encouraged them to look
for and seize windows of
opportunity to capture
gains whenever those
windows crack open. “We
should always be
prepared to take
advantage of an upward
economic cycle, solve
problems, and sign
agreements—whether we’re
in Section 6 or not,”
Moak said.
Moak went on to
describe the full range
of opportunities that we
should consider, from
the “big-inning”
approach that Section 6
provides to the more
modest “base-hit”
letter-of-agreement
approach that may be
available midcontract.
He also stressed the
importance of
establishing
constructive
relationships with
company and industry
participants. “The
skills you’re learning
here are personal
skills,” he said.
“Oftentimes it’s the
difference between
making one more phone
call. Negotiations are
personal.”
Guest speaker Linda
Puchala, current member
and soon-to-be chair of
the National Mediation
Board, echoed Moak’s
sentiments, saying
negotiators need a
supreme sense of timing
and to understand when
favorable circumstances
exist for concluding
agreements. “Great
negotiators are
opportunistic” she said.
“They’re always
listening and looking
for settlement
opportunities, and are
willing to adjust their
strategy to achieve
member goals.” Puchala
broke down the time
lines for contract
negotiations and urged
pilot negotiators to
calculate the time value
of one settlement versus
another.
Bruce York, director
of ALPA’s Representation
Department, joined
several seasoned
professional negotiators
on staff to lead
attendees through the
interactive four-day
training. York
emphasized strategic
planning and thinking
outside of the
traditional Section 6
box to make gains in
today’s ever-changing
environment. He
highlighted the
multidimensional nature
of negotiations and
contrasted different
types of bargaining.
The intensive
four-day Negotiations
Training Seminar is
helping to inform and
better prepare pilot
negotiators from 13 ALPA
pilot groups and Allied
Pilots Association
representatives, and
give them chances to
simulate difficult and
complex bargaining
situations. Look for
additional coverage in
the next issue of Air
Line Pilot.
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ALPA Pilots to Fatigue Symposium: Rest Rule Needed Now |
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ALPA’s
fatigue experts came in
full force to a leading
industry symposium this
week to press for the
swift issue of
standardized regulations
and to underscore that
success in managing
aviation fatigue depends
on true collaboration
among the regulators,
the airlines, and
employees.
ALPA pilots were
among the panelists at a
MITRE symposium titled
“Aviation Fatigue:
Building a Bridge
between Research and
Operational Needs.” The
symposium attracted
nearly 300 influential
policy makers and
researchers, and
explored how best to
apply current fatigue
research to military and
civilian flight
operations.
“For nearly 80 years,
ALPA has pushed to
schedule with safety,”
said Capt. Don Wykoff
(Delta), ALPA’s Flight
Time/Duty Time Committee
chairman, during one of
the breaks at the June
6–8 symposium held in
Tysons Corner, Va.
“Since 2009, ALPA has
worked side by side with
regulators and the
airlines in the latest
effort to develop modern
regulations that reflect
today’s flight
operations and
equipment. ALPA will
seize every opportunity
to make clear our
science-based position
that pilots’ bodies do
not feel fatigue
differently based on
whether they are flying
cargo or passengers and
that one standardized
rest regulation must
apply to pilots in all
airline operations.”
The MITRE sessions
covered fatigue in
scheduled operations as
well as on-demand,
military, and shift
work. Panel discussions
looked at the current
tools that are available
to measure and predict
fatigue, including
fatigue models and how
well they can accurately
predict human
performance.
Read more.
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ExpressJet Pilots Elect New Officers |
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Pictured L to R: Capt. Sam Landry,
Capt. Chris Belcastro, and Capt. Jay Cowieson. |
The ExpressJet MEC
this week elected a new
slate of officers to
two-year terms, which
will begin on September
1: Capt. Chris Belcastro
as chairman, Capt. Jay
Cowieson (re-elected) as
vice chairman, and Capt.
Sam Landry as
secretary-treasurer.
“My fellow officers
and I are honored to be
elected to serve this
pilot group during such
a critical time. I am
confident in our
abilities to navigate
the merger with Atlantic
Southeast Airlines and
accomplish the goals of
our pilot group—a joint
collective bargaining
agreement that benefits
all pilots and a fair
and equitable seniority
list integration,” said
Capt. Belcastro.
“We look forward to
building a premier
regional airline
together with a
management team that
respects and values its
employees. However, this
work starts at the
bargaining table. Our
pilots have made
countless sacrifices
over the years, and our
contributions must be
recognized in order for
the merger to reach a
successful conclusion.”
Read more.
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ALPA Joins Coalition to Save Our GPS |
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ALPA has been involved
in industry discussions
to evaluate the
potential impact of a
proposed nationwide
cellular telephone and
internet access system
developed by
LightSquared, a wireless
network company. Results
of a recent RTCA
technical report,
developed with ALPA
input, showed potential
for significant
interference with GPS
signals if the proposed
system is implemented as
intended.
A large number of
industry groups have
formed an advocacy group, the Coalition to Save Our GPS, to
ensure that regulators
and lawmakers are aware
of the:
• significant impact of
this system; and
• equally significant
opposition to
implementation without
modification.
ALPA is the first
pilot organization to
join the coalition and
has made it clear that
the degraded-navigation
capability that could
result from this
interference must be
considered by the
government in
determining how to
regulate LightSquared’s
system.
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FedEx MEC Election Results In |
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Today, the FedEx Express
MEC elected new officers
to lead the pilot
group—Capt. Scott
Stratton, chairman;
Capt. Brad Mahoney, vice
chairman; and Capt. Sean
McDonald,
secretary-treasurer.
The new officer term
begins on July 1 and
runs for two years.
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Piedmont Pilots Want a Contract |
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Braving record heat,
Piedmont pilots
demonstrated at
LaGuardia and Charlotte
airports demanding an
end to management’s
stall tactics. The
pilots are currently
operating under a
contract dating back to
May 2000 and have been
in negotiations for more
than two years.
Despite coming to the
table, management has
been reluctant to
respond to pilot
proposals or to offer
reasonable provisions.
Piedmont, a wholly owned
subsidiary of US
Airways, flies
regionally in the
southeastern United
States and has
approximately 400
pilots.
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MITRE Corp. Seeks Airline Pilots for Studies |
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MITRE’s
Center for Advanced
Aviation System
Development occasionally
solicits the help of
pilots to assess new
technology and flight
deck procedures along
with crew roles and
responsibilities during
various research
simulations. The
research generally
involves concepts in the
early stages of
development. MITRE
recognizes the value of
active pilot
perspectives to help
fully develop these new
concepts.
MITRE has requested
ALPA assistance in
publicizing a
questionnaire to ensure
that it has current
information on
available, willing pilot
volunteers for such
studies. Any interested
ALPA pilots (including
furloughees who have
flown within the last 12
months) can fill out the
questionnaire by
clicking here.
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Pilots Needed for D.C.-Area Study |
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Pilots
are needed for research
to investigate the use
of data communications
between ATC and the
flight deck. Sessions
take place at the
Fairfax, Va., campus of
George Mason University
and last 4–6 hours.
Participating pilots
need to have flown
within the last two
years and have
experience with flight
management systems. For
their expenses,
participants will
receive a flat rate of
$100, plus $25 for every
hour over four hours.
Sessions are being
scheduled for dates in
June and July. If you
would like to
participate or would
like more information,
please contact Sara Gee
at
sgee1@gmu.edu. This
research project is
funded by the FAA. Return to top
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This Week’s Press Releases/Web Coverage |
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United, Continental
Pilots: Work Remains
Before UAL/CAL Merger
Considered a Success
As shareholders of
United Airlines gather
on June 8 for the annual
United Airlines
shareholders meeting, it
is incumbent upon United
CEO Jeff Smisek and his
management team to
thoroughly explain the
facts regarding the
progress of the
United/Continental
merger.
Read more.ALPA
Files Representation
Cards for JetBlue Pilots
On June 2, ALPA asked
the National Mediation
Board (NMB) to schedule
a vote to elect ALPA as
the legal representative
of JetBlue pilots.
ALPA’s filing was
supported by
authorization cards from
a strong majority of
JetBlue pilots.
Read more.
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• Delta CEO Richard
Anderson sent a letter
to Delta employees this
week outlining the
airline’s plans to
consolidate some of its
Minneapolis operations
and shift the work to
Atlanta. According to
news sources, affected
employees who are
willing to relocate will
be offered positions.
The consolidation is
being implemented to
help reduce costs.
• Former United CEO
Glenn Tilton has been
appointed chairman of
JPMorgan Chase’s Midwest
business, and is also a
member of the bank’s
executive committee.
Former Pinnacle CFO
Peter Hunt will become
Virgin America CFO and
senior vice president
effective July 11.
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Cockpit laser occurrences aren’t just a U.S. phenomenon. Global Winnipeg reports
182 laser pointing incidents across Canada in 2010. Under the Aeronautics Act,
offenders face up to $100,000 in fines or up to five years in jail.
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Feedback & E-mail Address Changes |
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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. Return to top
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