Small Team. Big Impact.

ALPA’s Government Affairs Department may be one of the Association’s smallest, but its work protects every pilot’s career. Our team advances policies that strengthen aviation safety, defends pilots’ rights, and ensures that lawmakers understand the real-world consequences of the decisions they make—delivering value for members’ dues every day.

Reporting directly to ALPA’s president, Government Affairs implements the policy priorities established by the Association’s Board of Directors and serves as the union’s voice before the U.S. Congress, the Canadian Parliament, federal regulators, and state and provincial governments.

With just 13 professionals based in Washington, D.C., and Ottawa, Ontario—including seven full-time lobbyists working daily on Capitol Hill and Parliament Hill—ALPA maintains one of the most respected aviation advocacy operations in North America. Collectively, the team has centuries of experience in government relations, transportation policy, labor advocacy, grassroots organizing, and political strategy.

That expertise is strengthened by collaboration across the Association. Government Affairs works closely with pilot leaders; the union’s Air Safety Organization; the Engineering & Air Safety, Legal, Retirement & Insurance, and Communications Departments; and other subject-matter experts to provide lawmakers and regulators with the technical knowledge and operational perspective they need to make informed decisions. When legislation or regulations are drafted, ALPA doesn’t simply react—we help shape them.

The Results Speak for Themselves

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Association helped secure federal relief that kept airline employees on payroll and prevented mass furloughs across the industry. For thousands of ALPA pilots, that advocacy meant continued employment, maintained seniority, and preserved careers during aviation’s greatest economic crisis.

ALPA advocacy helped create and Government Affairs continues to protect the Federal Flight Deck Officer program. We’ve strengthened due process protections for pilots and defeated proposals for flight deck cameras and single-pilot operations.

Our advocacy has improved the safe transportation of lithium batteries, made laser attacks on aircraft a federal crime, protected North American airline jobs from outsourcing to the lowest bidder, and blocked attempts by airlines to pass federal legislation to preempt state laws that provide important worker protections such as paid family leave, sick leave, meal and rest breaks, and wage transparency.

Government Affairs is expanding its work at the state and provincial level, where decisions increasingly affect pilots’ workplace rights. The department serves as ALPA’s primary liaison to the AFL-CIO, the Canadian Labour Congress, and numerous state and provincial labor federations, building coalitions that strengthen our collective voice. Through ALPA’s State Labor Representative program, pilots represent the Association within their local labor communities, helping defend and advance worker protections when critical needs arise.

More Than Day-to-Day Lobbying

Government Affairs prepares congressional and parliamentary testimony, develops issue fact sheets and background papers, drafts legislative communications, and coordinates Calls to Action that enable pilots to engage directly with elected officials. Events such as ALPA’s annual Legislative Summit and Parliament Hill Day give members an opportunity to influence the policies that shape their profession.

Those efforts are amplified through ALPA’s grassroots network. Government Affairs supports master executive council Government Affair Committee chairs, who recruit and organize district advocates in the United States and constituent advocates in Canada. These pilot volunteers can build lasting relationships with elected officials and ensure that lawmakers hear directly from the professionals affected by their decisions. Nothing is more persuasive than a constituent explaining how proposed legislation will affect aviation safety and the profession.

Government Affairs also administers ALPA-PAC, giving U.S. pilots a powerful, voluntary way to support candidates who understand aviation and labor issues. Today, ALPA-PAC is the largest bipartisan labor union political action committee and one of the nation’s leading aviation PACs. Its continued growth has expanded ALPA’s access to policy makers and ensures that the Association has a seat at the table when critical decisions are made. ALPA-PAC enables us to play above our weight class in Washington. Combined with the union’s professional advocacy team, it gives ALPA members a stronger voice in shaping legislation that affects their careers. However, with a 27.6 percent participation rate, we need more pilot involvement to further strengthen our union’s influence.

Protecting Pilots

Collective bargaining protects pilots at the negotiating table. Government Affairs protects pilots where the rules are written.

Every law passed, every regulation adopted, and every policy defeated can affect your career long before it reaches the flight deck. That’s why government advocacy isn’t a spectator sport. Whether you respond to a Call to Action, attend the Legislative Summit or Parliament Hill Day, become a grassroots advocate, or support ALPA-PAC, your involvement strengthens our collective voice and helps protect the profession for every ALPA pilot.