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News from ALPA International |
September 18, 2012 |
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ALPA, Others Ask President to Seek ICAO Help with EU ETS |
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The
Air Line Pilots
Association, Int’l, and
18 other airline
industry stakeholders on
September 17 sent a
joint letter to
President Barack Obama,
requesting that he
initiate an Article 84
proceeding with the
International Civil
Aviation Organization (ICAO).
The group is asking for
the president’s
assistance in addressing
complaints regarding the
European Union’s
emissions trading scheme
(ETS). The letter
explains, “An Article 84
proceeding under the
Chicago Convention is
the dispute mechanism to
which all 191 ICAO
Member States have
agreed by treaty.” By
initiating an Article 84
proceeding, President
Obama would be asking
ICAO’s Council to
intervene to address an
issue the United States
and the EU have not been
able to resolve
themselves.
Read more.
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Pilots Welcome KCM to IAH, JFK |
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The latest pilot
screening points for the
Known Crewmember (KCM)
program, developed
jointly by ALPA and
Airlines for America
(A4A), were activated
today at Bush
Intercontinental Airport
(IAH) in Houston and
John F. Kennedy
International Airport
(JFK) in New York.
Access points for IAH
are at Terminal E, entry
near Lane 6 of the
security checkpoint; and
at Terminal A, direct
access beside the
checkpoint exit lane.
“The XJT pilot group
has been waiting for a
solution like this,”
said F/O Drew Wilkens,
XJT Security Committee
chairman. “KCM has been
very much anticipated
and will be a very
welcome change in IAH.”
Noted Capt. Jay
Pierce, CAL MEC
chairman, “I’m glad to
see KCM being
implemented at more
airports, for use by
more ALPA pilots. The
program recognizes our
professionalism and
reflects the
responsibilities we hold
as trusted crewmembers.”
Pilots at JFK were
also able to transit
security via the new KCM
checkpoints at Terminals
3, 5, and 8.
Read more.
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PCL Pilots Respond to Section 1113 Bankruptcy Filing |
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Pinnacle MEC chairman
Capt. Tom Wychor
recently released the
following statement
regarding the Section
1113 filing by Pinnacle
Corporation:
“Late last (Thursday)
night Pinnacle filed a
motion
in the U.S. Bankruptcy
Court for the Southern
District of New York to
reject the pilots’
collective bargaining
agreement. While this
filing was expected, we
do not think that it was
necessary for Pinnacle
to take this step so
shortly after contract
negotiations resumed. We
believe the filing is an
ill-advised distraction
from the real work of
negotiating a consensual
agreement that maintains
industry standard pay,
work rules, and benefits
and can garner pilot
support to help Pinnacle
move through this
difficult period.
“We acknowledge that
concessions are
necessary to allow
Pinnacle to successfully
reorganize. The
extraordinary level of
concessions sought by
Pinnacle, however, would
set a new floor for
pilot contracts within
the regional airline
industry. The bottom
line is this: in the
five months since
company executives filed
for bankruptcy, they
have not been able to
justify the level of
concessions they are
seeking.
Read more.
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NTSB Chair Says Key to Aviation Safety is “Cooperation” |
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National
Transportation Safety
Board Chairman Deborah
Hersman spoke today at
the Aero Club of
Washington, D.C., on the
topic of “Improving
Aviation Safety:
Reactive, Predictive,
Preventive.” “As a
result of a lot of hard
work by people in this
room--including
operators, like the A4A
members here today;
labor, like NATCA and
ALPA; manufacturers,
like Boeing and Airbus;
regulators and
legislators--there's
been great progress in
improving commercial
aviation safety. The
result: no fatal air
carrier accidents since
2009,” she noted.
Read more.
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EGL MEC Starts TA Road Shows |
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The American Eagle
MEC and Negotiating
Committee this week
launched a three-week
series of road shows to
all domiciles to explain
the details of and
answer questions about
the Tentative Agreement
reached with management.
Pilot negotiators
reached the bankruptcy
deal in August, and
final language was
approved by the MEC last
week.
The road show
schedule kicked off in
EGL’s LaGuardia domicile
and will conclude in the
San Juan domicile
October 6.
Negotiating Committee
chairman Capt. Doug
Gibbs fielded many
questions about the pay
banding concept—designed
to reduce training
events—that is an
essential component of
the agreement.
Read more.
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PSA Pilots Announce $1 Million Grant for Strategic Preparedness |
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With US Airways recently
reporting its largest
single quarterly profit
in its history, the
pilots of PSA Airlines
will receive a $1
million grant from their
international union, the
Air Line Pilots
Association, Int’l, to
assist them as they near
completion of contract
negotiations with PSA
management. ALPA’s
Executive Board
unanimously approved the
$1 million grant from
its Major Contingency
Fund (MCF). The MCF is
ALPA’s “war chest,”
providing pilot groups
with the necessary
resources for strategic
preparedness—including
pilot communications,
family awareness
activities, and
preparation for a strike
should one become
necessary.
“As the PSA pilots
head into endgame
negotiations, they have
the unwavering support
of their union and their
fellow ALPA pilots,”
said Capt. Lee Moak,
ALPA’s president. “PSA
pilots are committed to
achieving a consensual
agreement. But they
demand a fair, improved
contract that recognizes
the vital role PSA
pilots play in their
airline’s continued
success. ALPA is fully
committed to helping
them achieve that goal.”
Read more.
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Catch the Latest Aviation News! Read ALPA Daily |
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The
aviation industry is changing faster than ever before. The new
“ALPA Daily”
feature at www.alpa.org will keep you informed
of the latest industry developments and analysis from around the globe. Check it
out each day to stay up-to-date on the news that affects pilots and the piloting
profession.
ALPA Daily continues to grow in popularity, and members have contacted us
asking if this information can be e-mailed to their Macs and PCs. ALPA’s
Communications and IT Departments are working toward that end. If you want to
receive the electronic version of ALPA Daily, e-mail your name, ALPA number, and
preferred e-mail address to
communications@alpa.org. We’ll let you know when you can expect “home”
delivery.
• According to Forbes, Congress and opinion leaders who shape national
policy are disappointingly shortsighted regarding NextGen, the omnibus program
to upgrade the Air Traffic Control (ATC) system.
Read more.
• The Miami Herald reports that the number of long delays in July
involving planes stuck on airport tarmacs was more than the previous eight
months combined.
Read more.
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OMB Report: Sequestration Will Jeopardize Aviation Programs |
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On Friday, the White
House Office of
Management and Budget
(OMB) released a
394-page report which
outlines the impact of
automatic budget cuts
(“sequestration”)
required if Congress
can’t agree on a deficit
reduction plan. This
report confirms what
ALPA has been predicting
over the summer, that
should sequestration
take effect on January
1, 2013, federal
programs critical to
airline pilots and the
aviation system will be
in jeopardy.
Read the full report.
Under a sequestration
scenario, mandatory
spending cuts will be
implemented to reduce
the federal deficit by
$1.2 trillion through FY
2021. According to the
sequestration report,
$109 billion in cuts
will be required each
year (half from cuts to
defense programs and
half in non-defense,
such as aviation and
homeland security).
Read more.
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Welcome Back, Parliament! |
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The 2nd session of the
41st Parliament resumed
on Monday, September 17,
when the members of
parliament (MPs)
returned from their
ridings after a
two-and-a-half-month
summer break on the
barbecue circuit. They
will be ready to pick up
where they left off as
the unfinished business
will be reassigned
position on the Order
Paper in the House of
Commons. Among the
issues ALPA will be
actively engaged in is
working to defeat Bill
C-377, an Act to Amend
the Income Tax Act for
Labour Organizations.
This bill, supported by
MPs from the
Conservative Party,
would place unwarranted,
onerous monetary
reporting requirements
on labour organizations
such as ALPA. The bill
had passed Second
Reading prior to recess
and was referred to the
Finance Committee, which
will begin deliberations
on it this fall. ALPA
will be coordinating its
efforts in opposition to
C-377 with the Canadian
Labour Congress (CLC).
The current Conservative
government holds a
comfortable majority in
both the House and the
Senate, which virtually
ensures passage of
legislation that they
introduce or support.
Read more.
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Last month, pilots
from around the country
took part in ALPA’s
newest grassroots
program—“August
Advocates.” ALPA
volunteers set up and
attended meetings with
congressmen and senators
in their local district
offices during the
August district work
period to discuss the
Safe Skies Act and
ALPA’s
“Leveling the Playing
Field” agenda.
“Meeting with
Congressman (John)
Yarmuth (D-Ky.) in his
home district offered a
convenient way for me to
be involved in politics
without traveling far
from home,” XJT pilot
and legislative
coordinator Leah
Morgenthau said of her
experience. “Setting up
the meeting was easy,
and I felt like both the
member and his staff
were concerned about all
the issues we touched
on. I was proud to be
able to voice the
concerns of other ALPA
pilots directly to my
representative.”
ALPA pilots
interested in doing
advocacy work with
federal representatives
in their state should
contact Carly Hepola at
Carly.Hepola@alpa.org.
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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
significant improvements
to ALPA’s members-only
insurance plans on page
30 of the
September issue of Air Line Pilot magazine.
On the 18th
installment
of
The
FlightDeck,
watch a segment on the
new pilot bill of
rights. 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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In the Executive Board
coverage from Tuesday’s
FastRead, we
misrepresented Capt.
Erik Jensen’s
presentation at the
plenary. We sincerely
apologize to Capt.
Jensen.
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Do you know about the Air Line Pilots Association Federal Credit Union? This
institution offers savings and trust accounts, individual retirement accounts,
loans, credit cards, and a host of other services. Join ALPA FCU today! To find
out more, go to alpafcu.org. 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
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
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