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Air Line Pilots Association, International

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The Air Line Pilots Association, International ( ALPA ) is the largest pilot union in the world, representing more than 77,000 pilots from 43 US and Canadian airlines. ALPA was founded on 27 July 1931 and is a member of the AFL-CIO and the Canadian Labour Congress . Known internationally as US-ALPA, ALPA is also a member of the IFALPA .

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53-501: The association has been a staunch proponent of the "1,500-hour rule", which requires pilots for commercial airlines to log 1,500 hours of flying before they can obtain their license, which is vastly higher than the rules in other countries and has substantially increased the costs and time for prospective pilots to obtain certification. ALPA was founded by David L. Behncke and 23 other key figures in Chicago, Illinois, on July 27, 1931. In

106-543: A dispute over pilot wages, is the longest walkout in the union's history. For years, ALPA had lobbied hard for the creation of an independent government agency that would investigate accidents, and in 1967, the National Transportation Safety Board was established to conduct such investigations. In 1972, ALPA began an anti-skyjacking lobby offensive, among other efforts to fight air terrorism. Also in 1972, after decades of campaigning by ALPA,

159-450: A firestorm of discontent among business owners, who began an anti-Wagner campaign. Johnson was forced to issue a statement denying that the NRA or the administration was seeking to stamp out company unions. His statement also rejected the concept of exclusive representation. The NLB's interpretation of Section 7(a), however, increasing diverged from that espoused by the NRA. On March 1, 1934,

212-584: A key aide, Leon Keyserling , Wagner conceived of a "labor court" to hear cases involving labor disputes and fashion enforceable resolutions. Roosevelt evinced no interest in such a bill, so Wagner proceeded without him. Labor leaders were consulted in January 1934, and a bill was drafted in February. The "Labor Disputes Act" was introduced in the Senate on March 1, 1934. The bill provided statutory authority for

265-568: A nationwide strike. At a White House conference on June 12, 1934, Roosevelt called together Wagner, Walsh, U.S. Department of Labor secretary Frances Perkins , Senate majority leader Joseph T. Robinson , Representative Joseph W. Byrns and several aides. After discussion, Roosevelt himself dictated Public Resolution No. 44. The resolution authorized the president to create one or more new labor boards to enforce Section 7(a) by conducting investigations, subpoenaing evidence and witnesses, holding elections and issuing orders. Public Resolution No. 44

318-419: A new labor deal was struck for United Airlines pilots, valued at $ 10 billion over the contract life. The pilots are expected to receive up to a 40% raise. In September 2024, a strike was averted with Air Canada pilots after a new labor deal was struck which was valued at $ 1.9 billion over a four-year contract life. The pilots are to receive up to a 46% raise. ALPA's four international officers were elected by

371-485: A runway, to balance airport capacity and system efficiency with safety. Its use is voluntary: if a pilot denies LAHSO clearance the Air Traffic Controller must revector the aircraft to ensure adequate separation from other aircraft landing or departing an intersecting runway or crossing down field. Due to the inherent risk of simultaneous runway operations, a heightened level of situational awareness

424-401: A showing by a substantial number of employees, representational elections to determine majority status. The order appeared to give the winning organization exclusive representation for employees in the bargaining unit, but this interpretation was widely contested. Worse, Roosevelt made the off-hand public comment that the government was seeking to check the growth of company unions. This caused

477-529: A union had issued a demand for recognition and bargaining. More often than not, an employer's refusal to bargain was the issue. Holding representation elections, much less establishing bargaining units or determining majority status, was not even considered by the Board. Employers, however, quickly established company unions and announced that these were the only proper representatives of the workers. Unions responded by holding strikes, demanding to be recognized as

530-584: Is ALPA's first vice president and national safety coordinator. At United, Morse served as Master Executive Council chair and held many other positions of leadership. Tyler Hawkins Frontier Airlines , is ALPA's vice president–administration/secretary. At Frontier, Hawkins previously represented ALPA on the Master Executive Council, and was the chair of the Strategic Preparedness and Strike Committee. Wes Clapper, JetBlue ,

583-521: Is ALPA's vice president–finance/treasurer. Clapper previously served in several leadership roles at JetBlue, and recently was the Group A executive vice president for the union. The following is a complete list of ALPA's former presidents since the Association's founding in 1931: The Walter P. Reuther Library at Wayne State University is home to over 50 collections of archival material documenting

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636-518: Is necessary, and student pilots or pilots not familiar with LAHSO should not participate in the program. Although used in the US, many countries do not permit LAHSO clearances, and some airlines' operating procedures do not allow their acceptance in countries that do permit them. LAHSO was previously called SOIR (Simultaneous Operations on Intersecting Runways), and incorporates and expands all SOIR definitions. There are three main types, to land and hold on

689-616: The Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America and chairman of the Labor Advisory Board of the NRA. Three members represented industry: General Electric president Gerard Swope ; Louis Kirstein , the vice president of Filene's of Boston (a department store); and Walter C. Teagle , president of Standard Oil of New Jersey . The chairman of the NLB was United States Senator Robert F. Wagner . Although

742-646: The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) established an airport certification program, which required airport operators to prove they are following safety standards. In 1976, the union's dedicated work resulted in NASA creating the Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS), a database of confidential incident reports. During the 1980s, ALPA accomplished much in the way of safety. In 1981, among other achievements,

795-543: The University of Wisconsin Law School , was its chairman; Harry A. Millis , professor of economics at the University of Chicago , and Edwin S. Smith , Commissioner of Labor and Industry for the state of Massachusetts, were its members. The new law encouraged the proliferation of labor boards to cover various segments of industry. Roosevelt duly complied with business demands for these boards. Each board interpreted

848-611: The Weirton Steel Company held a private election rather than submit to one ran and monitored by the NLB. The Budd Manufacturing Company established a company union, then refused to bargain with the AFL affiliate in the plant. To strengthen the NLB's powers vis-a-vis employers, President Roosevelt issued Executive Order 6511 on December 16, 1933. The order ratified the Board's prior activities, including its decisions and representational elections. The order also authorized

901-539: The 1930s, flying was a perilous occupation; thus, from the time of its formation, one of ALPA's main goals was to improve air safety. In 1933, the decision by the National Labor Board to limit the flight time for pilots and co-pilots to 85 hours a month was the result of the union's first major lobbying campaign to make the skies safer. By the end of the 1930s, the association had persuaded numerous airlines to form air traffic control centers and had started

954-491: The 1960s, jet transport of people and goods became commonplace, with ALPA addressing the new safety issues that came with this type of travel. In 1961, ALPA's second president, Clarence N. Sayen, directly asked new US President John F. Kennedy to make hijacking a federal crime, which subsequently became the law of the land in September of that year. The Southern Airways strike of 1960–62, a conflict that ALPA winningly took on in

1007-555: The 1994 crash of USAir Flight 427 , in which all 132 people on board were killed, the National Transportation Safety Board ruled that pilot error was the cause. But ALPA fought that decision, and in the end, it was found that a malfunction in the rudder control system of the B-737 plane was likely the cause. Subsequently, a redesign of all B-737s—the most commonly flown commercial airplane—was ordered by

1060-623: The Airworthiness and Performance Committee, the first ALPA technical committee dedicated to improving flight safety. In the 1940s, numerous ALPA pilots enlisted in the military to help the United States battle the Axis powers during World War II. In this decade, ALPA created additional air safety committees, and the newly established International Federation of Air Line Pilots' Associations (IFALPA) worked to improve flight safety around

1113-534: The Association convinced the FAA that “fasten seatbelt” signs were needed, and in 1987, the FAA again heeded calls from the union, requiring the installation of a traffic collision avoidance system (TCAS) in every airplane. On March 4, 1989, ALPA pilots at Eastern Airlines went on strike in support of the International Association of Machinists. The pilots stood their ground for 285 days. Following

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1166-478: The Board issued its decision in Denver Tramway Corporation . The Board held that, where a union had obtained a majority of the votes cast in a government-sponsored representational election, any collective bargaining agreement would have to cover all employees in the bargaining unit. Until Denver Tramway , unions had bargained only for their own members. A union which represented only half

1219-497: The Board to "settle by mediation, conciliation or arbitration all controversies between employers and employees which tend to impede the purpose of the National Industrial Recovery Act." But E.O. 6511 said nothing about elections, and did not address the Board's enforcement powers. Roosevelt issued a new order, E.O. 6580, on February 1, 1934. The order gave the Board explicit power to authorize, upon

1272-408: The Board's powers, duties or procedures, but he did assert that the board should 'consider, adjust, and settle differences and controversies' arising in labor disputes. The NLB had seven members. Three members represented labor: American Federation of Labor (AFL) president William Green ; United Mine Workers of America president John L. Lewis ; and Leo Wolman , formerly director of research for

1325-669: The Democratic leadership in Congress understood the need for action. A wave of large strikes swept the country in April and May, and a significant number of them were over the recognition issue. Senator David I. Walsh , Democrat from Massachusetts and chair of the Senate Committee on Education and Labor, quickly wrote a substitute bill, the "National Industrial Adjustment Bill". The Walsh bill significantly altered many of

1378-543: The FAA. After another tragic 1994 crash, of American Eagle Flight 4184 , a study of icing issues with the ATR 72 commenced, an inquiry ALPA was closely involved with. The outcomes were alterations in the design of the ATR 72 and improved pilot training. ALPA's chief accomplishment of the 1990s was the 1995 enactment of the “One Level of Safety” program by the FAA, resulting in stricter safety rules for smaller airplanes. ALPA came up with

1431-410: The NLB of its jurisdiction over the auto industry. Worse, the agreement provided no authority for holding elections, and thus no means of determining which organizations truly represented workers. Senator Wagner, convinced by the fall of 1933 that the NLB needed replacement, began work on legislation which would establish a new statutory regime for labor relations in the United States. Consulting with

1484-447: The NLB to determine whether to apply the rule, given the facts of each case. Wagner's bill received a hostile reception in Congress. The business community fought the bill ferociously, arguing that it contravened Roosevelt's own policies in the automobile case. The press, too, was adamantly opposed to the legislation. Administration spokespersons were ambivalent about the bill, when they mentioned it at all. Nevertheless, Roosevelt and

1537-534: The NLB's mandate was vague, its procedures undefined and its enforcement powers nonexistent, Sen. Wagner—who had been one of the primary authors of the NIRA—was determined to make the board work along the self-policing lines previously announced by Gen. Johnson. Initially, the NLB attempted to merely be a mediator in labor disputes. The NIRA protected the right of workers to form unions of their own choosing. And it required employers to engage in good-faith negotiations when

1590-519: The air a federal crime. In 2020, amidst the COVID-19 outbreak, ALPA pressed the US government for favorable provisions in the CARES Act for the aviation industry. ALPA has lobbied against attempts to rescind the "1,500-hour rule", which requires that pilots for commercial airlines must log 1,500 hours of flying before they can get their license. The 1,500-hour rule was implemented in 2013, raising

1643-490: The automobile industry in 1933. But the auto companies rejected the union's demand for recognition, set up company unions and refused to allow the NLB to mediate. Roosevelt intervened personally in the dispute. On March 25, 1934, Roosevelt announced a settlement that provided for proportional, rather than exclusive, representation—thus giving the company unions equal footing with the Auto Workers. The agreement also stripped

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1696-456: The bus drivers in a company, for example, would bargain a contract only on behalf of its members. Another union could represent the other bus drivers. In many cases, several unions represented the same workers in one company, each union bargaining a different contract for however many members it represented. Denver Tramway was a major turning point in American labor law because it established

1749-536: The decision to strike. Both decisions have had stabilizing influences on collective bargaining relationships. The doctrines laid down by the NLB continue to reverberate in 2006, as the NLRB wrestles with the implications of card check and voluntary recognition. Land and Hold Short Operations Land and Hold Short Operations ( LAHSO, pronounced "La-So") is an air traffic control procedure for aircraft landing and holding short of an intersecting runway or point on

1802-518: The existence of the NLB, and gave it exclusive enforcement authority over Section 7(a) of the NIRA. The NLB was given the authority to hold elections, but it was also authorized to prohibit acts of coercion by the employer against employees and required employers to bargain in good faith with the duly elected representatives of workers. The bill explicitly incorporated the concept of exclusive representation. However, it did not require it, and left it up to

1855-733: The history of the Air Line Pilots Association. To access the collections' finding aids, search for ALPA-related content via ArchivesSpace@Wayne . ALPA represents the following bargaining units : National Labor Board The National Labor Board (NLB) was an independent agency of the United States Government established on August 5, 1933, to handle labor disputes arising under the National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA). The American labor movement, encouraged by

1908-439: The hope that the NIRA would be self-policing system. But that had clearly not happened, and formal governmental machinery was needed to handle the sudden wave of labor activity. Subsequently, Johnson—acting on a joint motion from the NRA's Industrial Advisory Board and Labor Advisory Board—created the NLB. President Franklin D. Roosevelt announced the NLB's formation on August 5, 1933. Roosevelt issued no executive order defining

1961-594: The law as it wished, and American labor law fragmented. Wagner, however, proceeded to draft and in 1935 introduced a new bill, the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). The NLRA was enacted and is the basis for private-sector labor relations in the United States to this day. Many of the legal doctrines established by the National Labor Board deeply influenced American labor relations. The Board's exclusive representation doctrine

2014-427: The law more heavily depending on the longevity of the collective bargaining relationship between the employer and union. Other Board decisions, such as Bee Bus Line Company (decided May 10, 1934) and Eagle Rubber Company (decided May 17, 1934), laid down the stipulation that a properly conducted, government-monitored representational election required good-faith bargaining, and that collective bargaining must precede

2067-559: The name for the program and lobbied hard for the measure. In 1997, the Canadian Airline Pilots Association (CALPA) merged with ALPA, forming what would become known as ALPA Canada. As of 2024, ALPA Canada represents more than 10,600 pilots. In 2000, after years of advocacy by the association, the FAA approved ALPA's recommendations for Land and Hold Short Operations (LAHSO). During the 2010s, ALPA successfully lobbied to make pointing lasers at pilots in

2120-506: The organization of the workers' choosing and immediate negotiations. Large numbers of workers were summarily fired for striking. The NLB quickly settled on a strategy of suggesting elections as a way of determining majority status and breaking a collective bargaining deadlock. The NLB's opportunity came when the Full-Fashioned Hosiery Workers Union launched an organizing drive in the summer of 1933 in

2173-488: The protections guaranteed under Section 7(a) of the National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA), undertook a wave of organizing not seen in almost two decades. A series of strikes overtook the country in the summer of 1933. The NIRA established the National Recovery Administration (NRA), and General Hugh S. Johnson was named the agency's administrator. Gen. Johnson had initially expressed

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2226-463: The provisions of Wagner's bill. It permitted company unions, removed prohibitions on a refusal to bargain, and turned the Board's affirmative duty to determine the outlines of the bargaining unit into a voluntary one. The Walsh bill won almost unanimous support from the president, the cabinet, the Senate and even from Wagner himself. Wagner was unhappy with the number of provisions which had been watered down, but believed that passage of some legislation

2279-513: The required flight training hours from 250 to 1,500. Critics of the rule say it is arbitrary and not based on scientific data, as well as raises the costs and time for prospective pilots to obtain certification. The rule has been attributed as a factor in explaining a shortage of pilots in the United States. Most countries, including the European Union, require 250 hours for pilot certification. In July 2023, after four years of negotiations,

2332-486: The rule of exclusive representation . This rule said that a union which won the majority of votes in an election would win the right to represent all workers. Even when several unions competed against one another and no union won a majority of the votes, the union with the most votes still won the right to represent all workers. President Roosevelt quickly disavowed the Board's exclusive representation rule. The United Auto Workers had organized more than 50,000 workers in

2385-406: The runway: Non-air carrier aircraft: ceiling 1,000 feet and visibility 3 statute miles. Air carrier aircraft: ceiling 1,500 feet and visibility 5 statute miles, unless the landing runway is equipped with precision approach path indicator (PAPI) or visual approach slope indicator (VASI), in which case 1,000 feet ceiling and 3 statute miles visibility must be applicable. For configurations requiring

2438-410: The silk stocking mills around Reading, Pennsylvania . The employers refused to recognize the union, and 10,000 workers went on strike. On August 10, 1933, the NLB mediated a settlement. Known as the "Reading Formula," the settlement consisted of four parts: (1) That the union call off the strike; (2) That all employees be rehired immediately, without retaliation; (3) That the NLB hold elections in which

2491-403: The union won the election. But within months, a large number of employers refused to cooperate with the NLB. The NLB relied on enforcement of its orders through the NRA (which only had the power to remove so-called Blue Eagle industrial code approval from a manufacturer) or prosecution by the U.S. Department of Justice . These weak enforcement powers encouraged employer resistance. In July 1933,

2544-456: The union's Board of Directors on Oct. 19, 2022, and began their four-year terms on Jan. 1, 2023. Jason Ambrosi, Delta Air Lines , is ALPA's twelfth president. He previously served as chair of the Delta pilots’ Master Executive Council. While employed by a charter airline, Ambrosi was a strong supporter of labor representation and helped create a culture of safety. Wendy Morse, United Airlines ,

2597-816: The workers would vote by secret ballot for their own representatives, and that both parties would negotiate a collective bargaining agreement covering wages, hours and working conditions; and (4) That in the event of any disagreement on any matter, the parties would submit the dispute to the NLB for binding arbitration. The Reading Formula proved useful in settling large numbers of labor disputes, including strikes in silk mills in Paterson, New Jersey ; silk mills in Allentown, Pennsylvania ; tool and die factories in Detroit, Michigan ; and coal mines in Illinois . In most cases,

2650-511: The world. In 1951, ALPA created an internal air safety system, which developed into the world's biggest independent, nongovernmental safety structure. During the 1950s, jet travel was introduced, marking a new period for the air industry. In this era, crew fatigue became a greater concern for pilots, with the union successfully persuading the Civil Aeronautics Board to stop airlines from scheduling impractical flights. During

2703-530: Was "a major landmark in American labor history". The doctrine was later enacted into law as part of the NLRA, and the NLRB continues to apply it today. The Board's decision in Denver Tramway laid the basis as well for the NLRB's concept of mature collective bargaining relations. Under this doctrine, the NLRB has emphasized and de-emphasized various aspects of the NLRA over time, weighing different parts of

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2756-512: Was introduced in the Senate the next day. Amended to expressly protect the right to strike, it passed both houses of Congress on unanimous voice-votes. Roosevelt signed the resolution on June 19, 1934. Roosevelt issued Executive Order 6763 on June 29, 1934. The new order abolished the NLB. In its place, it established the National Labor Relations Board . The new NLRB had only three members: Lloyd K. Garrison , dean of

2809-454: Was preferable to inaction. He also resolved to draft much stronger legislation after the fall elections. Nevertheless, the Walsh bill faced an uncertain future in the Senate. Congress needed to adjourn and return home to campaign for the fall elections, and the bill promised a lengthy fight. Roosevelt once more directly intervened in order to win labor peace. Steelworker unions were threatening

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