Hawaiian Pilots Extend a Helping Hand over the Holidays

November 30, 2009 - The Aloha spirit of ALPA’s Hawaiian Airlines pilot group is being demonstrated again this month as the pilots reach out to help those less fortunate during the holiday season.

Even as the Hawaiian pilots are deeply involved in the endgame of their three-year battle for a new contract, they also remain intently focused on giving back to their community. A number of pilots have been working with local homeless shelters, the American Red Cross, and Toys for Tots to improve the lives of their neighbors.

On Thanksgiving, Hawaiian pilots served holiday dinner at the River of Life mission in downtown Honolulu. Earlier in the month, they donated $15,000 to the Red Cross during the “Kokua for the Pacific” charity concert to benefit victims of natural disasters in American Samoa, Indonesia, and the Philippines, a donation that won the group a salute from the AFL-CIO.

The HAL pilots’ next charitable project is a joint effort with HAL flight attendants to buy gifts for the children at Shriners Hospital and Kapiolani Children’s Hospital who are too ill to be home for the holidays.

HAL negotiators return to the bargaining table December 7 for what could be the last round of NMB mediation. The HAL MEC has asked to be released from mediation, but the NMB has said it will delay its decision until after the December 7 session is completed.