Release #: Vol. 84, No. 4
May 01, 2015

Our Union: Pilots in Command

By Capt. Tim Canoll, ALPA President

On paper, it seems like the system works. Once every four years, Congress takes a hard look at our aviation system and alters course as necessary. Stakeholders are polled to find consensus. Programs that are working are reinforced, and initiatives that are out of date are revised or discontinued. On paper, it’s a great system. However, the reality is that the process of reauthorizing the FAA is complicated, contentious, and unnecessarily messy.

Within Congress alone, 535 representatives and senators have their own opinions on the best course for the FAA’s future. Layered within and on top of those opinions are the positions of the dozens of interest groups lobbying to protect and advance their individual issues. And while this issue of Air Line Pilot extensively covers ALPA’s concerns with the FAA reauthorization bill (see page 18) regarding unmanned aircraft systems, maintaining the minimum first officer requirements and fatigue rules, and secondary cockpit barriers, it’s equally important for everyone to understand the volume of voices in the room, the percentage of friends vs. foes, and that winning is only possible if our voice is the strongest and most credible.

Airlines, airports, aircraft manufacturers, small communities, general aviation, airline pilots, and many others live by the words that are included in the FAA bill. On some issues, the Air Line Pilots Association, International—your union—is the only voice focused on ensuring the safe operation of our airspace. As the individuals responsible for operating the airplanes, we have a unique point of view on the need to ensure that our airspace remains the safest in the world. Other voices will call for shorter time lines, reduced oversight, and fewer redundancies in an effort to streamline costs. ALPA’s efforts are in the name of safety and will only support solutions that are appropriately focused.

In this fourth edition of Air Line Pilot’s pilot-partisan agenda, we also highlight other legislative priorities for our profession, including our collective fight against subsidies to state-owned Persian Gulf airlines that are in violation of our Open Skies agreements (see page 23), our push to curb the Affordable Care Act’s excise tax (see page 23), and our continued call to prevent the flags-of-convenience model from destroying our careers in North America (see page 21). With the pending national elections in Canada, we remain nimble to adapt to the political environment as we continue our efforts on labour reporting standards, flight- and duty-time regulations, and keeping a watchful eye on the budget process.

Our pilot-partisan agenda continues to be robust, as every aspect of our profession in North America is regulated by our governments, and it’s imperative that we remain fully engaged. We can’t allow ourselves to be distracted; we must push our priorities that are pending before Congress through to completion.

As I mentioned earlier, we aren’t the only voice in the room. And the only way we’ll be successful is by engaging every member of our union. Our collective voice of 51,000 members gives us an edge that will help turn the paper solutions on Capitol Hill and Parliament Hill into a safe and secure reality.

ALPA members make all of our successes possible. Your engagement is certainly commendable. ALPA-PAC now boasts more than 8,000 members and continues to set new records. In June of this year, 200 dedicated pilot advocates will volunteer their time to travel to Washington, D.C., to advance our issues before their elected representatives. I encourage all who are interested to register for and attend this year’s Legislative Summit. More info is available at alpa.org/legislativesummit.

In Canada, we’re on the verge of releasing ALPA’s newest white paper, which addresses many of our Canadian members’ challenges. We present reasonable, thoughtful solutions to these challenges, which include our ongoing battle with wet-leasing, foreign license validations, and the Temporary Foreign Worker Program. The release of the white paper adds to our already healthy relationship with Canadian decision-makers and is a part of our long-term strategy to advance our pilot-partisan agenda on Parliament Hill.

We all know that the important issues facing airline pilots and the North American airline industry require real, lasting solutions. It’s our continued resolve to step up, lead the way, and ensure that our pilot-partisan goals leave the paper and become pilot-partisan realities.

This article is from the May 2015 issue of Air Line Pilot magazine, the Official Journal of the Air Line Pilots Association, International—a monthly publication for all ALPA members.

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