Executive Board Convenes to Conduct Business, Review Progress Reports

ALPA master executive council (MEC) chairs assembled with members of the Association’s Executive Council on October 22–23 for the union’s 137th regular Executive Board meeting. Together, they viewed the presentation of the 2025 J.J. O’Donnell Trophy for Excellence in Political Action, heard updates and briefings from ALPA subject-matter experts, and deliberated on proposed resolutions. Held at the union’s McLean, Va., headquarters, the meeting also provided an opportunity to welcome Porter Airlines pilots, who, in joining ALPA, recently increased the Association’s total number of member pilot groups to 43.

National Officer Updates

The meeting opened with national officer reports, starting with remarks from Capt. Jason Ambrosi, ALPA’s president. “When I first took office, I was overwhelmed by the depth of resources ALPA has to offer,” he said. “I volunteered in various roles for decades and thought I had a good understanding of ALPA’s resources, but walking around this building and getting to know all the work our team does on behalf of our members drove home that there’s so much more to this union than most of us realize.”

Ambrosi observed that during his administration ALPA’s team has fielded more than 2,100 Accident/Serious Incident Hotline and Pilot Peer Support calls, planned over 1,000 meetings, and certified more than 600 local council nominations. In addition, Association employees have responded to more than 40,000 calls and e-mails from pilots seeking information about their membership, insurance, and payments.

ALPA’s president also highlighted the enormous progress the Association has made, underscoring the $20 billion in contractual improvements the union has negotiated for 14 pilot groups and the historic offering of a national return of dues to members for two straight years. He noted that the Association has grown by more than 10,000 members “from more pilot hiring and adding six new Canadian pilot groups, including the historic merger with the Air Canada Pilots Association.”

“We continue to face complex challenges within our industry and our profession, but safety and security will always be ALPA’s highest priorities,” remarked Capt. Wendy Morse, the Association’s first vice president. “Thanks to your dedication and engagement, ALPA isn’t just meeting these challenges, we’re shaping the future of aviation.”

Morse underscored the recent activities and accomplishments of the Association’s Air Safety Organization, giving special attention to the status of several recent accident and incident investigations. “In each case, ALPA brought technical expertise to the investigation and ensured that the crews involved received access to Critical Incident Response Program support and other resources,” she said.

ALPA’s first vice president also talked about the ongoing government shutdown and its implications for operational safety and security. “Although key aviation and security personnel, our air traffic controllers, and Transportation Security Administration officers are classified as essential and are required to continue working without pay, increasing financial stress, inadequate staffing, and the need to supplement with another source of income raise risks of fatigue and increased sick calls. The longer the lapse in funding endures, the more strain there is on the system,” she asserted.

With ALPA’s growth and changing demographics, Capt. Sean Creed, the union’s vice president–administration/secretary, emphasized the need for Association leaders to gain deeper insights regarding their members. He outlined some of the programs ALPA has introduced to make pilots more aware of the benefits of being trade unionists, including the ALPA 301 online education series as part of the ALPA Academy. Creed also discussed some of the tools available for new-hire mentoring and the Association’s new volunteer recognition and recruitment project.

ALPA’s vice president–administration/secretary likened the Association to a business, stressing the importance for its leaders to better understand customer needs and expectations. “It’s my hope that in taking these measures, we’ll increase pilot engagement, generate a larger volunteer base, and foster a stronger sense of ownership, particularly among our newer members,” he said.

In his report, Capt. Wes Clapper, ALPA’s vice president–finance/treasurer, remarked that the union has done an excellent job of building its basic resources and other reserves during what he described as a period of “overall prosperity.” He observed, “Actual dues income has trended above budgeted dues income every single month this year, and while our expenses fluctuate from month to month, we’re still below budget year to date on our anticipated expenses.”

Outlining the status of the union’s various budgets and spending formulas, Clapper commented, “Our task now turns to maintaining fund levels and protection against depleting those balances, rather than a focus on building the balance of the funds.” ALPA’s vice president–finance/treasurer underscored how he routinely reaches out to the Association’s secretary-treasurers, sharing important reminders and tips to help them better perform their duties. “Together, we’ve all done a great job of moving ALPA forward,” he added.

ALPA Canada Update

In addition to national officer reports, the Executive Board received an update from Capt. Gilles Boissonneault, ALPA Canada’s vice president, who spoke on behalf of Capt. Tim Perry, ALPA Canada president, who was unable to attend due to a speaking engagement at the Conference Board of Canada.

“Similar to the last update provided by Capt. Perry, we have lots to share regarding our government affairs advocacy, protecting safety standards, growing our membership, and negotiating new and improved collective agreements at the bargaining table,” said Boissonneault. As two examples, he pointed to the work of the ALPA Canada Flight Time/Duty Time Task Force in identifying safety concerns related to flightcrew member fatigue and union efforts to stop Canadian airlines from hiring temporary foreign pilots through Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker Program.

Excellence in Political Action

Later in the meeting, Ambrosi presented the 2025 J.J. O’Donnell Trophy for outstanding ALPA-PAC participation to the Endeavor Air pilots, highlighting that the total number of Endeavor PAC members increased by 50 percent during the last year. Endeavor is only the second regional airline pilot group to receive this award since its inception in 2014, and Capt. Jade Schiewe (Endeavor), his pilot group’s MEC chair and ALPA’s resource coordinator, accepted the coveted accolade.

Presentations Highlight Industry Progress, Union Resources

Capt. Travis Ludwig (United), the union’s Air Safety Organization Pilot Assistance Group chair, provided a mental-health legislation update, highlighting the status of the House-passed Mental Health in Aviation Act in regard to the government shutdown, and the work of FAA Federal Air Surgeon Susan Northrup to improve medical certification processes.

Also during the plenary, Capt. Ronan O’Donoghue (Alaska), the Association’s Strategic Preparedness & Strike Committee (SPSC) chair, outlined the resources and support the committee offers. He noted that the SPSC is actively engaged with 99 percent of ALPA’s pilot groups.

In addition, Executive Board members received a presentation about the new ALPA website from Chris Stergalas, ALPA’s Communication Department assistant director for digital strategy and solutions. He explained the effort that went into modernizing the Association’s website, which went live on October 1.

In 2023, ALPA’s Executive Council, with input from the union’s Information Technology Advisory Committee, authorized a new website design that would provide more resources and better represent the size and scope of the Association. The previous website upgrade took place 10 years ago. The three focal points of the new design are advancing aviation, supporting member pilots, and promoting advocacy with a goal of placing the union’s members front and center.

International Update

Another highlight of the Executive Board meeting was a panel discussion titled International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Assembly and Legislative Update. Moderated by Ambrosi, panel participants included Capt. Ron Hay (Delta), the International Federation of Air Line Pilots’ Associations president; Elizabeth Baker, director of ALPA’s Government Affairs Department; and Dave Semanchik, ALPA senior managing attorney.

Every three years, ICAO (the aviation branch of the United Nations) holds a special meeting with representatives from its 193 member states to revisit global aviation policy. Despite efforts from certain industry advocates at the most recent ICAO Assembly held September 23 to October 3, no policy changes were made to flight deck crew complement or the required airline pilot retirement age. Other airline-pilot-related issues discussed included fatigue management, positive safety culture, and social (i.e., labor-related) sustainability.

Resolutions

And after convening in four delegate committees to evaluate proposals, Executive Board members voted on nine amendments to the union’s governing documents. These resolutions addressed updates to improve programs and resources like the Association’s expense policies, ALPA-sponsored union-building and Family Awareness events, and certification of the officer election process.