Air Line Pilots Association, International
Full name | Air Line Pilots Association, International |
---|---|
Founded | 27 July 1931 |
Members | 57,000+ |
Affiliation | AFL-CIO, IFALPA, CLC |
Key people | Capt. Tim Canoll, President |
Office location | 1625 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C. |
Country | NADIAD, Canada |
Website | www.alpa.org |
The Air Line Pilots Association, International (ALPA) is the largest pilot union in the world,[1] representing more than 57,000 pilots[1] from 33 U.S. and Canadian airlines. ALPA was founded on 27 July 1931[2][3] and is a member of the AFL-CIO and the Canadian Labour Congress. Known internationally as U.S.-ALPA, ALPA is also a member of the IFALPA.
Current leadership
ALPA’s four national officers were elected by the union's Board of Directors on Oct. 22, 2014, and began their four-year terms on Jan. 1, 2015.[4]
President: Captain Tim Canoll
Captain Tim Canoll, Delta Air Lines, is ALPA’s tenth president.[4] Captain Canoll previously served as ALPA's executive administrator and held positions as Delta Local Executive Council (LEC) representative, Master Executive Council (MEC) Strike Committee member, MEC Security coordinator, MEC Strategic Planning chairman, MEC Negotiating Committee member, MEC vice chairman, MEC executive administrator, and as ALPA's representative to the Unsecured Creditors Committee during Delta Air Lines' 2005 bankruptcy.[4]
First Vice President: Captain Joe DePete
Captain Joe DePete, FedEx Express, serves as ALPA's first vice president.[4] He also holds the position of National Safety Coordinator and is tasked with overseeing the Association's Safety, Security, and Pilot Assistance programs.[4] He has served as an ALPA executive vice president, FedEx Express MEC chairman, and LEC chairman.[4] He was an active member of the ALPA Organizing Committee for the merger with the Flying Tiger Line Pilots Association as well as for the merger with the FedEx Pilots Association.[4]
Vice President–Administration/Secretary: Captain Bill Couette
Captain William Russell “Bill” Couette, Envoy Air, is serving his third consecutive term as ALPA's vice president–administration/secretary.[4] Captain Couette is a five-time elected local council representative who served until the end of 2006 as the American Eagle Local Executive Council 133 chairman in Chicago.[4] He acted as Strike Oversight Board representative for the Atlantic Southeast and Skyway pilots, and also served as an ALPA negotiator, organizer, and merger representative.[4]
Vice President–Finance/Treasurer: Captain W. Randolph Helling
Captain W. Randolph Helling, Delta, is serving his third term as ALPA's vice president–finance/treasurer, having previously acted as executive administrator.[4] Captain Helling has served on the Northwest Airlines MEC's Professional Standards, Training, Legislative Affairs, and Finance Review committees.[4] He was elected MEC vice chairman in 2006 and served as secretary-treasurer and vice chairman of the Detroit Local Council.[4] He also participated as a member of ALPA's National Hearing Board from 2000 to 2006.[4]
Archives
The Walter P. Reuther Library is home to over 40 collections of archival material documenting the history of the Air Line Pilots Association. To access the collections' finding aids, please refer to the ALPA-related content at the Walter P. Reuther Library website.
Former Presidents
The following is a complete list of ALPA’s former presidents[5] since the Association’s founding in 1931:
- Donald Lee Moak (2011 – 2014)[6]
- John H. Prater (2007 – 2010)
- Duane E. Woerth (1999 – 2006)
- J. Randolph Babbitt (1991 – 1998)
- Henry A. Duffy (1983 – 1990)
- John J. O’Donnell (1971 – 1982)
- Charles H. Ruby (1962 – 1970)
- Clarence N. Sayen (1952 – 1962)
- David L. Behncke (1931 – 1952)
Member pilot groups
ALPA represents the following bargaining units:[7]
- Air Georgian
- Air Transat
- Air Transport International
- Air Wisconsin
- Alaska Airlines
- Atlantic Southeast Airlines
- Bearskin Airlines
- Calm Air
- Canadian North
- Commutair
- Compass Airlines
- Delta Air Lines
- Endeavor Air
- Envoy Air
- ExpressJet
- FedEx Express
- First Air
- Frontier Airlines
- Hawaiian Airlines
- Island Air
- Jazz
- JetBlue Airways
- Kelowna Flightcraft Ltd.
- Mesa Air Group
- Piedmont Airlines
- PSA Airlines
- Spirit Airlines
- Sun Country Airlines
- Trans States Airlines
- United Airlines
- Virgin America
- Wasaya
- Westjet
Other pilot groups
Notable major airline pilots that are not part of ALPA and have their own pilots union:
- American Airlines by Allied Pilots Association
- Air Canada by Air Canada Pilots Association
- Southwest Airlines by Southwest Airlines Pilot Association
- UPS Airlines by Independent Pilots Association[4]
USAir Flight 5050 controversy
In 1989, the pilot and co-pilot of USAir Flight 5050 were criticized for safety failures leading up to a crash on September 20, 1989, in which two passengers were killed. The acting chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board reported that following the crash, the captain of the aircraft "went to a Marriott hotel near La Guardia and called the Air Line Pilots Association" and "the pilots' union later negotiated with the NTSB about when and where Martin would submit to questioning."[8] The NTSB acting chairman strongly criticized the move, saying "for these two pilots to have been sequestered for more than 36 hours after an accident that took two lives and to do so with no explanation is highly questionable" and that the delay had "negated the opportunity for any meaningful toxicological testing, thereby denying us factual information as to whether drugs were or were not a factor."[8] In the aircraft incident report, the NTSB said:
The Safety Board is extremely concerned that no federal investigators were allowed to speak to the pilots of flight 5050 until almost 40 hours after the accident.... The Air Line Pilots Association representatives initially stated that they also did not know where the pilots were, then later stated that their location was being withheld so they could not be found by the media.... The sequestering of the pilots for such an extended period of time in many respects borders on interference with a federal investigation and is inexcusable.[9]
Notes
- 1 2 What We Do - ALPA
- ↑ Our History - ALPA
- ↑ Santiago, J. P., "The Early History of ALPA, the Air Line Pilots Association, and the First Airline Strike," avgeekery.com, February 2016.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 ALPA - Home
- ↑ "The ALPA Hall of Presidents"
- ↑ Reed, Ted. "How Lee Moak Changed the Airline Industry" The Street. December 11, 2012
- ↑ Our Pilot Groups - ALPA
- 1 2 Howard Kurtz, CO-PILOT USED WRONG CONTROLS, PROBE OF USAIR CRASH REVEALS, Washington Post (September 23, 1989).
- ↑ "Aircraft Accident Report: USAir Flight 5050" (PDF).
How ALPA Hosed Continental pilot to remain solvent