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News from ALPA International |
April 5, 2012 |
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CAL Pilots Host Congressman Poe |
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From the left are Coffield, Poe, and Capt. Dave Lundy, Continental B-787 project manager. |
The Continental pilots,
represented by the Air
Line Pilots Association,
Int’l,
hosted Rep. Ted Poe
(R-Tex.) this week,
helping to arrange a
visit to legacy
Continental’s Training
Center at IAH and its
B-787 simulator. CAL MEC
Legislative Affairs
Committee chairman Capt.
Mike Coffield also
presented a plaque to
the congressman on
behalf of ALPA, in
recognition of his
efforts in the House.
Poe has supported
ALPA with his opposition
to changes in foreign
ownership and control
rules and other
pro-pilot issues,
particularly those
related to the
outsourcing of jobs. The
congressman has also
recently become engaged
with an emerging issue
involving Houston-area
airports that is of
importance to
Continental pilots.
“Efforts like this
are important to helping
ensure that the pilot
agenda is advanced in
Congress,” said Coffield.
“It’s just one of many
ways that the CAL MEC
Legislative Affairs
Committee and ALPA are
working together for
Continental pilots and
for all ALPA pilots.”
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New York Elected Officials Criticize Pinnacle Management |
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The
Pinnacle Airlines pilots
have gained some new
allies in their newest
fight against management
and its inability to
accurately process
employee payroll.
Western New York
District Representatives
Senators Charles E.
Schumer and Kirsten
Gillibrand and
Representatives Kathy
Hochul (NY-26), Brian
Higgins (NY-27), and
Louise Slaughter (NY-28)
sent a
letter to Mr. John
Spanjers Wednesday
strongly criticizing
Pinnacle management for
taking raises while
failing to properly
compensate the Pinnacle
pilots. To quote the
letter, “It is
reprehensible and
unconscionable that your
company would
shortchange its pilots,
who are critical to the
safety of the flying
public, while approving
hundreds of thousands of
dollars in extra payment
for its corporate
officers. On behalf of
our constituents, we ask
that Pinnacle
executives, including
yourself, reconsider the
propriety of accepting
generous raises while
pilots in your employ
are waiting to be paid.”
Since Pinnacle
Airlines Corp.
implemented a new
automated payroll
processing program,
pilot pay has regularly
been inaccurately
processed and Pinnacle
pilots have experienced
and continue to
experience unprecedented
pay discrepancies.
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Canadian Pilot Reps Tap into ALPA’s Communications Resources |
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Pilot
representatives from the
Canada Board and six
Canadian MECs converged
at ALPA’s Herndon
offices this week to
engage with ALPA’s
communications team in
enhancing strategies and
skills for communicating
with the news media.
“It’s imperative that
the Air Line Pilots
Association, Int’l,
maintains a strong
presence in the Canadian
news media,” said Capt.
Georges Dawood,
secretary-treasurer of
ALPA’s Canada Board.
“Whether it’s pursuing a
safety regulation,
calling to enforce an
existing labor law, or
advancing our pilots’
interests in contract
negotiations, our union
is dedicated to serving
as the voice of airline
pilots as part of an
overall strategy to
achieve our safety,
security, and labor
relations goals.”
The attendees, who
represent pilots at Air
Transat, Bearskin,
Canadian North, First
Air, Jazz, and Kelowna
Flightcraft took part in
an intensive workshop
designed to help
position them to
interact successfully
with leading journalists
who cover aviation
across Canada. The
pilots agreed that news
media outreach serves as
an essential element in
a comprehensive strategy
to deliver on ALPA’s
aviation policy goals,
including on issues such
as Canada’s Temporary
Foreign Worker program
and flight- and
duty-time regulations
and minimum rest
requirements for airline
pilots.
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ALPA Executive Board Concludes Business |
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Following
an extremely busy agenda
Tuesday, members of the
ALPA Executive Board
reconvened yesterday to
address resolutions from
delegate committees and
to receive a briefing
from ALPA’s Government
Affairs Department.
During the morning
plenary session, the
Executive Board members
voted to receive a
report from the Special
Committee for Finance,
Structure, and Services;
authorized an initial
allocation from the
Association’s Major
Contingency Fund to
assist Pinnacle pilots
with strategic
preparedness in light of
their airline’s recently
announced bankruptcy;
voted to modify the
Association’s
Administrative Manual to
fine-tune ALPA risk
management policy; and
acted on other
resolutions to address
overall productivity.
ALPA Government
Affairs Director Michael
Robbins spoke about the
influence that uniformed
ALPA members have when
meeting face-to-face
with legislators, and
the power of grassroots
efforts like the
Association’s Call to
Action campaigns. He
stressed that lawmakers
take note when they
receive messages from 50
pilots advocating a
single position on an
aviation-related matter.
ALPA-PAC Coordinator
Zack “PAC-Man” Mooneyham
noted that PAC funds,
raised solely from U.S.
member donations, are
distributed to members
of Congress who support
pro-pilot issues,
regardless of party. He
talked about the growing
influence of foreign
airlines and other
entities on U.S. and
Canadian government
decision making and the
need for all ALPA
members to get involved.
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Stay connected with your
union, your profession,
and your industry by
reading Air Line
Pilot magazine and
watching monthly
episodes of The
FlightDeck.
Read about the Pilot
Partisan movement on
page 17 of the
April issue of Air Line Pilot magazine.
On the 14th
installment
of
The
FlightDeck,
learn how one pilot made
this Christmas one to
remember for Zach Drew.
Remember that both Air Line Pilot
and The FlightDeck
can also be accessed
from the members-only
portion of the ALPA
website at
www.alpa.org.
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We Want Photos from the Line |
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The ALPA Facebook page
is getting a facelift
using your photos. Send
your best pictures—taken
in accordance with FARs,
CARs, and company
policy—from the airport
or in the sky, and you
could see them posted on
the
We Are ALPA Facebook
page and
on The FlightDeck.
Submit your quality
images to
photos@alpa.org.
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Help the Flight Safety Foundation |
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The
Flight Safety Foundation (FSF) is requesting pilot input in a study under way to
explore the relationship between unstable approaches and go-arounds. Recent
studies have reaffirmed that more than 30 percent of all aviation accidents are
runway excursions. Many of these excursions result from unstable approaches.
Although some unstable approaches result in “go-arounds,” for a variety of
reasons others continue to land.
To find strategies to reduce the associated runway excursion rate, FSF has
launched a project to research and analyze issues associated with unstable
approach and go-around decision making. The survey should take approximately 25
minutes and will assist the Flight Safety Foundation in better understanding
decision making during unstable approaches at or below stable approach height.
FSF plans to publish the results of the project in several public forums,
which you will be able to review in the future. Please understand that no
personally identifying information is collected—survey respondents are
completely anonymous. Please also note that you cannot save your progress during
this survey; you must complete the survey in one sitting.
Take the survey.
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• According to Bloomberg, American and American Eagle canceled nearly 460
flights into and out of Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport on Tuesday as
tornadoes, hail, and thunderstorms moved through the area.
Read more.
• The New York Times interviewed an Alaska Airlines pilot to report on a
satellite system that could “end circling above the airport.”
Read more.
• Travel Pulse says passenger traffic on U.S. and foreign airlines serving the
U.S. rose 1.7 percent in 2011, according to the U.S. Department of
Transportation.
Read more.
• CNN Travel reports that the U.S. airline industry is enjoying one of the
safest periods in its history.
Read more.
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On April 7, 1948, pilot organizations from 16 countries met in London to sign an
agreement to establish the International Federation of Air Line Pilots’
Associations (IFALPA). ALPA signed the document as the representative for U.S.
pilots. The Federation was established to give airline pilots from around the
globe a formal mechanism to interact with the newly formed International Civil
Aviation Organization. IFALPA’s 67th annual conference will be held May 4–7 in
Paris.
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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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Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l 1625 Massachusetts Avenue NW
| Washington, DC 20036 | 703-689-2270 |
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