A Decade of Sound Stewardship
By Capt. Randy Helling, ALPA Vice President–Finance/Treasurer
Since first being elected to this position 10 years ago, I’ve operated under one overarching goal: sound, conservative stewardship of our pilots’ money. And I constantly refer to it as just that: our pilots’ money.
In 2008, it was easy to refrain from spending too much money—because we didn’t have any. Some ALPA members will well remember how the twin recessions of the mid-2000s affected the aviation industry as a whole and our pilot groups individually. It was a painful era of bankruptcies, and our contracts reflected that as we struggled to help keep our airlines afloat. We had to make hard decisions, learn to be frugal, to be responsible, to be conservative.
Today, it’s a different story. The industry is perhaps at a high point. And even as we’ve seen year after year of income far above what we’ve budgeted, I’ve still advocated the same message of sound, conservative stewardship of our pilots’ money. As you’re well aware, this industry is cyclical, and there’s always a downturn or at least a leveling off on the horizon. Lately, my job has been to keep one eye on the future to help prepare for these situations.
I’ve said it often, and it bears repeating: It’s hard enough to spend money wisely when you don’t have any—but it’s even harder to spend money wisely when you do. So while the challenges have changed from 2008 to 2018, the solution remains the same.
I’m extremely proud of what we’ve been able to accomplish with this stewardship over the past few years. The table below is a summary of various important accounts and their totals in 2012 and this year (as of August 31).
As you can see, both the MEC cumulative surplus and ALPA’s consolidated operating surplus are exponentially higher. Not only are more funds coming in than before, but we’ve been smart in allocating them—from the national level on down to the MECs and local executive councils. Because of this, our average monthly cash balance has almost quadrupled. This is a testament to ALPA volunteers; their hard work for you is paying off.
We’ve also been able to recapitalize two important assets, the OCF and the MCF. The OCF is an account with surpluses that are carried forward year over year and is used to provide supplemental funds to MECs when needed. We’ve been able to grow the OCF from $5.3 million to $21.1 million—even with a $7 million transfer in 2017 to the MCF.
And the MCF—our war chest—is one of our most visible strategic assets, providing backing to pilot groups in the end stages of negotiations and letting their companies know that the full might of ALPA stands behind each and every pilot group. Increasing the MCF by more than $22 million in six short years demonstrates our priorities and provides a much-needed boost to the fund.
This is my final time writing to you as your vice president–finance/treasurer. At the October Board of Directors meeting, Capt. Joseph Genovese (United) was elected to succeed me, and I wish him well in the position.
On December 31, I will step down from my position as steward of our pilots’ hard-earned dues dollars and step back into one just as important, if not more so—one of 61,000-plus pilots providing the dues dollars that fuel our Association. I look forward to watching our leaders use those funds strategically and continuing our organization’s ascent in the coming years.
In closing, I’d like to thank my fellow national officers from this last term: Capt. Tim Canoll, Capt. Joe DePete, and Capt. Bill Couette. It’s been a privilege to serve with you all. And I’d like to wish fair skies to the new slate of ALPA’s elected officers. For 10 years, ALPA’s democratic process put me in this position of trust and allowed me the honor of representing all of ALPA’s members. Thank you, and go Cardinals.
