Capt. Jason Ambrosi, ALPA’s president, welcomes attendees to the Association’s 50th regular Board of Directors meeting.

ALPA held the 50th regular Board of Directors (BOD) meeting on October 28–30 in Chicago, Ill., the same city in which the Association was founded. The attending local council status reps and their proxies for ALPA’s 41 member pilot groups gathered for this landmark event, together with the union’s national officers, ALPA Canada president, and executive vice presidents (EVPs). During the three-day assembly, the Association’s highest governing body heard numerous presentations, updated ALPA’s strategic plan, and conducted the business of the union.

In his opening remarks, Capt. Jason Ambrosi, ALPA’s president, reflected on the gathering of the 24 pilot delegates for ALPA’s first BOD meeting at the former Morrison Hotel on Oct. 17–19, 1932. “More than 90 years later, we’re back in Chicago, and ALPA has 225 delegates,” he noted, adding, “We’re the world’s largest airline pilots’ union, and we become stronger as more pilots join our ranks.” As of October 1, the union represented 78,430 pilots—the largest total ALPA has ever represented.

The meeting opened with national officer reports. Ambrosi provided a comprehensive look at the work achieved since his administration took office. “The accomplishments of our Association over the past two years can’t be overstated,” he said. “We’ve grown, defined policy decisions at the highest levels of government, fulfilled our role as international leaders in the labor movement and aviation safety, negotiated some of the strongest contracts in the history of our industry, and returned value to our members unlike ever before.”

ALPA’s president expressed his heartfelt gratitude to BOD members for their engagement and determination. “Thank you for all of your work to help lead this union and support our members,” he remarked. “Every late-night call, meeting, crew room visit, and e-mail is paying off in measurable ways for the success of your union. I commend each and every leader in this room for your unity and commitment to ALPA.”

Flickr slideshow of photos from the 2024 Board of Directors meeting.

“I’m incredibly proud to be part of a union that remains dedicated to the safety, security, and well-being of every member we represent,” remarked Capt. Wendy Morse, ALPA’s first vice president and national safety coordinator, commenting on the efforts of the Association’s Air Safety Organization (ASO). She acknowledged some of the recent projects and achievements of the Aviation Safety, Aviation Security, Pilot Assistance, and Aviation Jumpseat Groups and the tremendous work these ASO pillars continue to perform to keep North American skies and airports safe.

“As ALPA-PAC treasurer, I’m pleased to share that ALPA-PAC continues to set new records and achieve growth, a sign of our union’s strength,” Morse said, drawing special attention to the creation of the Behncke 1931 Club, “the first new PAC level in a decade.” She also discussed lobbying efforts in Canada, mentioning last year’s “first Parliament Hill advocacy day since before COVID, with another scheduled for early December.” Morse asserted, “Our advocacy in Canada is strong and growing.”

In his report, Capt. Sean Creed, ALPA’s vice president–administration/secretary, reviewed the administration’s efforts to bring ALPA policies and practices more in line with current lifestyles and technological developments. He observed that many of the policies in place were enacted decades ago. “This administration has also stressed the need to better support our pilot groups by making sure they have access to the resources they need and augmenting our national committee structure as a means of providing additional guidance and support,” he remarked.

Creed also discussed the importance of mentoring in facilitating member participation. “ALPA conducted its first Mentorship Seminar in June at the United MEC offices here in Chicago,” he observed, noting that some MECs have implemented mentoring programs to onboard new hires as well as committee volunteers. Creed reviewed the use of RealMagnet “drip” campaigns that feature automated e-mails—distributed over a 12- to 18-month period—to educate new members about the union based on an MEC’s onboarding schedule.

Capt. Wes Clapper, ALPA’s vice president–finance/treasurer, reported on the Association’s strong financial position, noting, “We updated our spending and reimbursement policies so they match today’s costs, and we created language that will allow future growth by tying them to the Consumer Price Index.” He recognized the union’s first-of-its-kind across-the-board offer to return dues, adding that ALPA also established financial benchmarks that, if met, would provide opportunities for future offers of dues return.

“Much of what we’re able to accomplish is in part due to ALPA’s tremendous growth over the past decade. Since 2014, when JetBlue pilots first joined ALPA, we’ve seen growth in both the number of our pilot groups we represent…and the number of our pilots,” said Clapper. “I want to add that many of the changes we’ve implemented came from our experiences as MEC members, officers, committee members, etc., and where we felt there needed to be change. Please don’t hesitate to reach out at any time if you find an issue with any financial policies.”

EVP Elections

As directed by ALPA’s Constitution & By-Laws, the Association’s BOD conducted EVP elections on the third day of this year’s meeting. Status reps for Election Groups A, B, and C held caucuses the morning of October 30 to select individuals who’ll serve as members of the union’s Executive Council for the next two years, beginning Jan. 1, 2025.

For ALPA’s Group A pilots, Capt. Jeff Schroeder (Alaska), Capt. Reed Donoghue (Delta), and Capt. Jason Graves (JetBlue) were elected EVPs. Current Group A EVPs who were reelected include Capt. Stu Jones (Air Canada), Capt. Bill Secord (FedEx Express), Capt. Andy Nelson (Spirit), and Capt. Christopher Jones (United). Pilot groups in this category have at least 4,000 active members in good standing or have projected annualized dues incomes of at least $10,000,000.

Election Group B is divided among three subgroups: B1, B2, and B3. Capt. Jade Schiewe (Endeavor Air) and Capt. Doug Grant (Hawaiian) were reelected Group B EVPs. Schiewe will represent B1 pilots with Air Transport International, Amerijet International, Endeavor Air, Frontier, Piedmont, and Ravn Alaska. Grant will represent B2 pilot groups who fly for Air Wisconsin, Breeze Airways, Envoy Air, Hawaiian, and Mesa. Capt. Ray Burton (PSA) was elected EVP to represent B3 pilots flying for CommuteAir, Kalitta Air, PSA, Sun Country, and Western Global. Pilot groups in this category have fewer than 4,000 active members in good standing and have projected annualized dues incomes of less than $10,000,000.

Capt. James Harding (Wasaya Airways) was elected Group C EVP, representing all ALPA Canadian pilot groups except Air Canada. These include Air Inuit, Air Transat, Calm Air, Canadian North, Cargojet, Flair, Jazz Aviation, Keewatin Air, Kelowna Flightcraft, Morningstar Air Express, PAL Aerospace, PAL Airlines, Pascan Aviation, Perimeter Aviation, Pivot, Wasaya Airways, WestJet, and WestJet Encore.

In addition, Capt. Gilles Boissonneault (Air Canada) was chosen to serve on the ALPA Canada Board as vice president and International Federation of Air Line Pilots’ Associations director, replacing Capt. Rod Lypchuk (Jazz Aviation), who announced that he’d be retiring on December 31 after more than three decades of flying and dedicated ALPA service. Addressing Lypchuk’s forthcoming retirement, Ambrosi remarked, “We wish him nothing but blue skies and tailwinds.”

Plenary Highlights

The BOD plenary featured a variety of presentations including a report from Capt. Tim Perry, ALPA Canada president, about the Association’s triumphs and initiatives in Canada. “What’s transpired north of the border since we last gathered for BOD 2022 in Las Vegas, has been nothing short of extraordinary,” he asserted. “We’ve managed massive growth in our membership by onboarding several new pilot groups.” These include Air Canada, Air Inuit, Keewatin Air, and Pascan Aviation.

Perry noted that ALPA Canada had undertaken exciting new projects, altering the way it conducts its daily business to better manage government-outreach efforts, communications strategies, and the way it engages in long-term strategic planning.

As part of the plenary, BOD members passed resolutions granting honorary ALPA membership to two long-serving Association staff members—former Engineering & Air Safety Department Director Keith Hagy and former Representation Department Director Bruce York. “Because of their dedication and experience, ALPA has been able to achieve many successes and enduring accomplishments over their almost four decades with our union,” Ambrosi said.

Hagy’s unwavering dedication to pilot safety and security advocacy throughout his distinguished career helped protect countless Association members, and York’s strategic skills helped guide the union through some of its most challenging negotiations and contract-enforcement efforts. In addition to this special recognition and a place in ALPA’s history, both Hagy and York received gold ALPA honorary membership cards.

Ambrosi gave a special presentation drawing attention to ALPA’s efforts to combat single-pilot, extended minimum crew, and reduced-crew operations. The presentation, titled “One Isn’t Enough—Cutting Pilots Air Safety,” acknowledged that while advances in technology have brought all kinds of new automation to the flight deck, two experienced, well-trained, and well-rested pilots remain the most important safety feature on every flight.

ALPA’s president commented that the Association has long been the conscience of the aviation industry because, as a pilot organization, its members have firsthand knowledge of what can go wrong during a flight. “The first step to combatting this threat is making sure we all understand what’s happening and how we can stop it,” observed Ambrosi. In the past two years, ALPA has gained momentum on this issue, building an international coalition, lobbying governments, and launching public-awareness efforts.

Other Business

In both delegate committees and the plenary session, BOD members acted on two dozen resolutions, including proposed amendments to the union’s Constitution & By-Laws. Among these resolutions, they deliberated on the available period of active member benefits for pilots on military and personal leaves of absence, extending them from 90 to 180 days.

The BOD amended policy allowing two- to three-status member councils to add an additional representative for each status if a multicouncil airline has more than 10,000 active members and the council represents more than 2,000 active members. The group also revised language governing any offered return of finances from ALPA’s Major Contingency Fund, the Association’s “war chest,” to better comply with IRS rules and union practices.

A vital component of every regular BOD meeting, the delegates updated the union’s strategic plan (alpa.org/strategicplan), outlining objectives ALPA will need to tackle during its next two years. Capt. Dana Dann-Messier (Delta), ALPA’s Strategic Planning Committee lead, explained the process BOD members would follow in their eight designated delegate committees to review the related material and discuss any changes to this living document, before voting whether to approve it in plenary.

Keynote speakers for this year’s meeting included AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler and Rep. Jack Bergman (R-MI). BOD members also heard a panel discussion moderated by Ambrosi addressing the North American labor movement’s progress and collective efforts. Panelists included Canadian Labour Congress President Bea Bruske, AFL-CIO Transportation Trades Department President Greg Regan, former NATCA President Paul Rinaldi, and Shuler.

In addition, ALPA’s national committee chairs briefed meeting attendees on their key achievements and milestones, which continue to drive the Association’s mission with tangible results.

A Glimpse into History

During an hour-long panel discussion moderated by Ambrosi, three of the Association’s former presidents—Capt. Randy Babbitt (1991–1998), Capt. Duane Woerth (1999–2006), and Capt. John Prater (2007–2010)—provided a behind-the-scenes look at ALPA decision-making. Discussions included personal observations about landmark events including the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the creation of the AFL-CIO’s Transportation Trades Department.

Setting the stage for the conversation, Ambrosi said, “As we talk, you’ll see that there are several connections between each of these past administrations and what’s happening today that also reinforces the three pillars of ALPA’s mission related to representation, safety, and advocacy.”

Babbitt recalled an experience with infamous airline CEO Frank Lorenzo after his carrier, Continental Airlines, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Lorenzo sent the pilots a letter noting that as of a particular Saturday at midnight, “‘You’re terminated, but you can come back on Monday. You’re going to keep your seniority order, but your pay will be 50 percent of what it was Friday. And that big, nice 200-page union contract you had, here’s a little pamphlet for you that says you can fly up to 85 hours a month—hard hours—and no rigs.’ And he did that because he could. The bankruptcy laws of those days allowed unilateral imposition or rejection of a contract.”

ALPA’s sixth president continued, “We fought for about three years against some pretty formidable people to get the bankruptcy laws changed so that you had to negotiate the changes you felt were needed to get out of bankruptcy.”

Woerth recalled the days before formalized land and hold short operations (LAHSO), an ATC clearance to land and hold short of an intersecting runway, taxiway, or some other designated point along the runway to address high-traffic volumes. Prior to LAHSO, pilots expressed safety concerns because of the lack of any formal guidance or consistent practices among airports and the harsh reality that pilots were held accountable for any mishaps. “That’s what changed things,” said Woerth. In short order, pilots universally refused to accept these special clearances.

“Sometimes you have to get the members involved directly,” Woerth asserted. Based on directions from the 1998 BOD, he remembered, “I was just the vehicle who sent out a message and the pilots took it from there.”

Addressing the importance of cabotage rules and the notion that the fight is never over, Prater recollected a line of questioning from a previous member of Congress. “Can your members buy a Mercedes? Can they buy a BMW? They are made in Germany. Why shouldn’t I be able to buy a ticket on Air India from New York to San Francisco?”

Prater asserted, “There are going to be plenty of people in Congress, running for office, trying to get that consumer on their side and the next thing you know, you might see your salary in a full-page newspaper ad,” he said, referencing a previous stunt Northwest Airlines conducted to pressure their pilots to take salary cuts.

Closing Remarks

“As we gathered this week, I was reminded of all that we’ve been able to accomplish in two short years,” said Ambrosi. “We’ve shifted our mentality—and resources—to prioritize how we can best support our members. We know that collaboration makes us stronger. We know that even if we disagree on some issues, we agree on so much more when it comes to our profession.

“It’s simple; when we work together, we move forward together,” Ambrosi concluded.