ALPA national officers and leaders of the Frontier Airline Pilots Association formalized the merger of the two organizations in 2016.

Of the Air Line Pilots Association’s many accomplishments in recent years, the growth of the Association is one of remarkable note. During a period when total union numbers are dropping, more than 10,000 airline pilots have joined ALPA since May 2014.

In fact, just before this issue of Air Line Pilot went to press, the Canada Industrial Relations Board certified the Sky Regional pilots as ALPA’s newest airline (see page 11). Sky Regional becomes the eighth pilot group during the same timeframe to join the union following the lead of JetBlue, Virgin America, Frontier, Air Georgian, WestJet, WestJet Encore, and Kalitta Air.

ALPA continues discussions with other pilot groups, too, with the possibility of others joining the ranks through mergers on the horizon. Growing the union is a specific goal in ALPA’s strategic plan: preserve and grow ALPA’s membership. Gaining critical mass gives ALPA members the strength of one booming voice to defend the profession.

In 2000, ALPA’s Board of Directors approved the Pilot Unity Resolution; at that meeting, delegates affirmed the goal of uniting all U.S. and Canadian pilots under ALPA to advance the profession. “Just about 98 percent of pilots in the United States belong to a union—not just ALPA, any union,” explains Capt. Tim Canoll, ALPA’s president. “And that goes for about 94 percent of Canadian pilots. But the more pilots who join ALPA, the louder our voice becomes and the louder their voice will be. That’s the importance of the Pilot Unity Resolution. One voice, stronger together than we are apart.”

That’s the why of these pilot groups joining ALPA; what about the how? That’s the job facing ALPA’s Organizing Task Force.

The task force

The Organizing Task Force is chaired by ALPA’s president and composed of the national officers plus a pilot leader from a “like” pilot group (e.g., a Canadian pilot group when discussing Canadian pilots). ALPA staff supports the task force and carries out its directives, overseen by David Krieger, ALPA’s managing director, and guided by Ron “Rino” Rindfleisch, the Association’s lead organizer.

The task force meets quarterly to discuss potential new pilot groups—unrepresented pilot groups that have reached out to the Association, plus pilot groups with an in-house union looking to merge. “Anyone who contacts the task force gets an overview,” explains Canoll. But it takes more to move past the initial review.

“The first thing we always look at,” says Canoll, “is if we currently have the resources to add this pilot group. We’ll never add a pilot group if it would result in providing lesser service to our current members; we have a duty to our members first and foremost.”

These conversations can sometimes last months or even years as ALPA evaluates a potential new pilot group or waits for the group to be in a position to take the next step. “The organizing process has to be their pilots talking to their pilots about the benefits of ALPA,” says Canoll. “It can’t be ALPA talking us up; it has to be their own pilots.”

Digging deeper

The next step is for the pilot group’s organizing committee to evaluate the pilot group’s issues and the overall interest in joining ALPA.

Throughout the entire process, ALPA staff provides support wherever possible—and across multiple departments. While the organizing campaign is run by the pilots, the process provides a first look at the “ALPA toolbox” that will be available to the pilots should they eventually join the Association. Rindfleisch primarily works directly with the pilots, while Krieger, guided by ALPA’s president, oversees and coordinates the background support and resources as they move through the process.

“Ron is like your best friend you call when you have an important decision to make,” describes Capt. Joe Youngerman, the current Virgin America Master Executive Council (MEC) chair and a leader of the pilot group’s Organizing Committee. “You call Rino and it saves you a lot of learning on the job.… There were a lot of mistakes we didn’t have to make—but we still got to decide what was best for us after hearing ALPA’s thoughts and suggestions.”

Almost every ALPA department has a role in the process, explains Krieger. “Representation, of course, is the one that’s most closely connected. But Economic & Financial Analysis delivers important information. Engineering & Air Safety really highlights our safety initiatives. We introduce them to our team in Legal, and Communications, IT, and Strategic Member Development & Resources provide support in many areas.”

“The breadth and amount of resources that ALPA devoted over a really lengthy process was amazing,” says Capt. Ronan O’Donoghue (Virgin America). “Having ALPA’s Legal Department available to us was huge as well. And everyone from ALPA who came to events had face time with our pilots and answered questions directly from our pilots. There didn’t seem to be anything they wouldn’t do to get the job done.”

Capt. Rob McFadyen, a former WestJet MEC chair and member of the pilot group’s Organizing Committee, explains how the support increased as the pilots’ interest level grew. “Rino was always there helping us out,” he says, “and as we got closer to the end, we received more and more support—including financial support. Once we started to prove that our interest was there, and our pilots were ready for ALPA, the support grew exponentially after that.”

That level of support, McFadyen says, was what sold the pilots on ALPA—especially after an earlier drive to establish an in-house union fell short. “It became apparent that in order to support our pilots properly, we’d need to go with ALPA,” he explains. “The resources and experience level at ALPA are second to none.”

The next step

Once interest on both sides has been established, the next step—the card campaign—differs slightly for unrepresented pilot groups depending on whether the pilots are in the United States or Canada. In the United States, the organizing committee collects signed cards from its pilots stating that they wish to bring ALPA onto the property. Per the governing law, once the committee has cards from 51 percent of its pilot group, it can submit those cards to the National Mediation Board (NMB) to call for a vote.

The NMB conducts a secret ballot, and—if the numbers come in as expected—ALPA has a new pilot group. “At this point in the process, we want a unified and excited pilot group submitting cards,” explains Canoll. “When we have that, we can be confident in what the result of the vote will be.”

Canadian pilot groups must also collect cards, but they also are required to collect $5 from pilots with each card. However, Canadian law doesn’t require a vote after the collection of a majority of cards. Once cards are submitted, the Canada Industrial Relations Board takes approximately 30 days to review and spot-check the cards and—assuming all are cleared—certifies ALPA as the pilot group’s new representative without a vote. (Note: prior to June 2017, the Canadian system was more similar to the U.S. system and also required a vote after the card collection phase. The passage of Bill C-4 last year repealed the previous law, enacted in 2014, that mandated the voting procedure.)

Mergers

The process is also different when the interested pilots are part of an independent union rather than unorganized. The first meeting between the two groups can set a positive tone going forward. “Overall, we were impressed by our first meeting with ALPA leadership, especially the open discussion and sense of patience,” explains Capt. Brian Ketchum, the president of the Frontier Airline Pilots Association (FAPA) before it merged with ALPA and its first MEC chair post-merger. “ALPA possessed a long-term picture, and we felt no pressure from the leadership—but rather we understood that ALPA would be there if and when we chose to make a move. At that meeting I personally came to the conclusion that joining ALPA would likely be the best move for Frontier pilots.”

If a union’s leaders have an interest in moving forward with a merger, the next step is to determine the interest level of the full pilot group—much like the process discussed earlier. A unified pilot group tends to be a more successful one. At the same time, ALPA continues its own discussions to ensure that a merger makes sense for the Association and its members—along with providing support and assistance to the prospective new members, just as in the organizing process.

“We were very impressed with the high level of service and commitment ALPA provided to FAPA as nonmembers of the Association,” says Ketchum. “Throughout the merger process, we were impressed with everyone we encountered at ALPA.”

Once both sides have agreed to pursue a merger, negotiations begin on a merger agreement, with ALPA’s Executive Council overseeing the process. And once a merger agreement has been created, it’s time for the two-step approval process:

1. The independent union pilot group approves the merger.

2. ALPA’s Executive Board approves and finalizes the merger.

At that point, ALPA serves notice to the NMB and adds another pilot group to its roll call. And the Association’s voice grows ever stronger.