Union's Highest Governing Body Approves Dues Reduction at 51st Regular Meeting
ALPA Board of Directors Convenes in D.C.
Celebrating ALPA’s 95th anniversary year, the Association’s Board of Directors—the union’s highest governing body—held its 51st regular meeting the week of October 26 in Washington, D.C. For three days, the Association’s local council status reps assembled with the union’s national officers, the ALPA Canada president, and the executive vice presidents to act on 22 resolutions, including proposals to reduce the member dues rate, elect officers to lead the union for the next four years, and engage in strategic planning.
Guest speakers during the week included Frank Abagnale, FBI fraud-protection expert, writer, and subject of the motion picture Catch Me If You Can; Nick Daniels from the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA); Bea Bruske from the Canadian Labour Congress; Richie Johnsen from the Machinists Union (IAM); and Rob Johnston from the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF). Additionally, pilot leaders from 15 of the Association’s national committees talked about who they are and what they do.
Several awards were presented, including an honorary ALPA membership and the ALPA Political Action Committee (ALPA-PAC) annual awards.
National Officers Report on Union Activities
The meeting opened Monday with reports from ALPA’s four national officers, who reflected on the progress made over their four years of service leading the world’s largest pilot union.
President Stresses Focus on the Line Pilot
ALPA president Capt. Jason Ambrosi welcomed the union’s elected status reps, national officers, ALPA Canada Board officers, and executive vice presidents attending this biennial event.
“Looking back at the past four years, we can proudly say we continued to raise the bar for our members,” Ambrosi said. “Together through tragedy and triumph, bankruptcies and contract negotiations, and in the halls of Parliament and the Capitol, we have made our industry and profession stronger and safer.”
Giving special attention to ALPA’s progress at the bargaining table, Ambrosi noted, “Over four years, we negotiated 24 new contracts representing over $29 billion in contractual improvements for our members and 209 letters of agreement, contract amendments, or protocol agreements.”
Looking to the future, Ambrosi stressed the need to keep the focus on the line pilot.
First Vice President and National Safety Coordinator Says Goodbye
First vice president and national safety coordinator Capt. Wendy Morse, who recently retired from flying, asserted that mentorship and institutional knowledge are key to ensuring the future of the profession.
“I benefited from pilots who took the time to teach me what they knew,” Morse said. “I’ve tried throughout my career to do the same for others who were interested. We have a responsibility to pass along that knowledge, including the lessons learned from efforts that succeeded and those that did not.”
Morse spent much of her time highlighting the work of ALPA’s Air Safety Organization. At the end of her presentation, she received a standing ovation for her dedication to the union and her years of service.
Later in the week, a video tribute to Morse outlined her many ALPA achievements in her previous roles as a UAL MEC chair, a member of the United Airlines Board of Directors, a local council officer, a host of committee positions, and a United pilot.
Vice President–Administration/Secretary Looks to the Future
“I want to spend my report this morning talking about where we have been as an organization and where we are going,” said vice president–administration/secretary F/O Tyler Hawkins. “In the last four years, part of this change has been directing greater levels of attention, authority, and resources to both our pilot groups and line pilots.”
Hawkins highlighted some of the products introduced during the past four years, including a new website, the new ALPA app, the online membership application, the use of ALPA Chat, and the revamping of the My Proxy System. He also observed how members, once limited to attending local council meetings, can now watch broadcasts of them, generating higher participation rates.
Vice President–Finance/Treasurer Talks Union Financials
In his report, vice president–finance/treasurer Capt. Wes Clapper asserted, “We have more pilots, we have more pilot groups, and our budget has gone from around $140 million just a decade ago to nearly $400 million this year.”
Clapper continued, “And, of course, we’ve conducted an offer to return dues for three years running, with more than $150 million going back into pilots’ pockets over that time period.”
Later in the meeting, Clapper outlined the reasons for the resolution before the BOD to reduce member dues from 1.85 to 1.55%. “This is an opportunity to streamline our financials,” he said.
ALPA Canada Report
ALPA Canada president Capt. Tim Perry briefed attendees on the actions and activities of the Association’s Canadian pilot groups, giving special attention to the Canada Board’s work on Parliament Hill.
“We have seen political uncertainty and a revolving door of Cabinet appointments, close calls with Temporary Foreign Worker visas, aggressive industry lobbying against our Flight Time-Duty Time regulations, and threats to our collective bargaining rights,” he said.
“Our message has remained remarkably consistent: Aviation safety cannot be compromised, collective bargaining rights must be protected, and professional pilots deserve a meaningful voice in policy decisions affecting their careers and our industry.”
BOD Elects National Officer Team, Executive Vice Presidents, and Canada Board
National Officers
Officer elections were the priority on the third day. By acclamation, the Board reelected Ambrosi as president to serve the four-year term beginning January 1, 2027. Ambrosi is the 12th person to hold this position. He flies the Boeing 767 for Delta Air Lines and plans to maintain his currency throughout his presidency.
ALPA Group B2 executive vice president Capt. Doug Grant was elected first vice president. Grant is an Airbus A330 pilot for Hawaiian Airlines and, this January, will replace Morse, who retired from United Airlines this year.
Hawkins, a United Boeing 777 pilot, was reelected vice president–administration/secretary, and Clapper, a JetBlue Airbus A320/A321 pilot, was reelected vice president–finance/treasurer. Both were reelected by unanimous consent.
Executive Vice Presidents
The results of ALPA’s executive vice president (EVP) elections were announced Wednesday afternoon. The two-year term for EVPs will also begin January 1, 2027.
Group A
Group A EVPs who were reelected include Capt. Stu Jones (Air Canada), Capt. Jeff Schroeder (Alaska Airlines), Capt. Reed Donoghue (Delta Air Lines), Capt. Bill Secord (FedEx Express), and Capt. Jason Graves (JetBlue Airways). Capt. Tom Cross (United Airlines) was elected as his pilot group’s EVP.
Group B
Capt. Jade Schiewe (Endeavor Air) was reelected the Group B1 EVP, and will represent the pilots of Amerijet International, Endeavor Air, Envoy Air, Mesa Airlines, Piedmont Airlines, and Spirit Airlines (cust.).
Capt. Sam Larson (Sun Country Airlines) is moving from his current role as Group 3 EVP to be the new Group B2 EVP, representing the pilots of Air Wisconsin (cust.), CommuteAir, Frontier Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines, and Sun Country Airlines.
The new Group B3 EVP, Capt. Chris Sabia (PSA Airlines) will represent the pilots of Air Transport International, Breeze Airways, Kalitta Air, PSA Airlines, and Western Global Airlines.
Group C
Capt. James Harding (Wasaya Airlines) will once again serve as the Group C EVP, representing the pilots of Air Creebec, Air Inuit, Air Transat, Calm Air, Canadian North, Cargojet, Flair Airlines, Great North Airlines, Jazz Aviation, Keewatin Air, Kelowna Flightcraft, Morningstar Air Express, PAL Aerospace, PAL Airlines and Air Borealis, Pascan Aviation, Perimeter Aviation, Porter Airlines, Wasaya Airways, WestJet Airlines, and WestJet Encore.
ALPA Canada Board
All three ALPA Canada Board officers were reelected and will serve four-year terms beginning January 1, 2027. Perry, who flies for WestJet, will continue as the ALPA Canada president. Capt. Gilles Boissonneault (Air Canada) was reelected ALPA Canada vice president and Capt. Louis-Éric Mongrain (Air Transat) will continue to act as ALPA Canada vice president–administration and finance.
BOD Actions: Dues Reduction Passes
BOD members acted on 22 resolutions, including several amendments to the ALPA Constitution & By-Laws. Chief among them was an agenda item to reduce the member dues rate from 1.85 to 1.55%. The measure passed by acclamation with the understanding that if the Association’s dues income declines by more than 20 percent over a two-year period, the dues rates will be increased.
“We’re in this position because of the unity ALPA members displayed in the negotiation process and the prudent financial leadership across the union,” said Ambrosi.
Another notable resolution addressed shortening the local executive council election process timeline.
Representatives from each of the eight delegate committees briefed the BOD on their work with the strategic planning process, including any proposed changes. The BOD then voted to accept the ALPA 2026 Strategic Plan, which will be available for members to view in the near future on the Strategic Plan page.
Former ALPA Presidents Examine Measures 25 Years After 9/11
On Monday afternoon, Ambrosi sat down with former ALPA presidents Duane Woerth (1999–2006) and John Prater (2007–2010) to examine the impact of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the period of consolidation and bankruptcies that followed, and the measures ALPA took to survive those dark moments in the Association’s history.
Guest Presentations: IAM, Canadian Labour Congress, and Catch Me if You Can
During plenary, BOD members heard a presentation from IAM General Vice President of Air Transport Richie Johnsen, who explained how IAM and ALPA work together and support each other as members of the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF).
Bea Bruske, the Canadian Labour Congress president, provided a virtual presentation, noting ALPA’s work with the group and what she described as “the power of solidarity across national borders.”
Frank Abagnale—FBI fraud-protection expert, writer, and subject of the motion picture Catch Me If You Can—gave a presentation titled “AI, Cybercrime, Identity Theft, and Scams.” He discussed at length the enormous amount of personal information available online, the ease of its access, and measures you can take to better protect yourself.
Labor Presentations
NATCA President Reports Continued Challenges
During the afternoon plenary on Day 2 of the meeting, NATCA President Nick Daniels addressed the BOD, highlighting the unique relationship ALPA and NATCA have developed.
“You may not know our names, you may not see our faces, but you hear our voices . . . and we hear yours,” he said.
Air traffic controllers continue to face challenging working conditions. Daniels observed that on a rainy day in June this year, controllers handled 57,000 flights while dealing with old equipment and understaffing. “To say fatigue is an issue is an understatement,” he said.
International Transport Workers’ Federation Discusses AI Risks
BOD members also heard from Rob Johnston, the assistant general secretary of the ITF, of which ALPA is a member. ITF represents 20 million workers at nearly 700 affiliated trade unions in 150 countries.
Among other issues, Johnston talked about artificial intelligence and how it poses serious risks to jobs, working conditions, privacy, occupational safety and health, and fundamental labor rights if not properly regulated and managed.
Revisiting an ALPA Win: The Payroll Support Program
Ambrosi sat down with former ALPA president Joe DePete (2019–2022), Senior Advisor and Chief Negotiator Art Luby, and Government Affairs Manager of Policy and Legislation Jeff Pavlak to revisit the Payroll Support Program (PSP), secured during the COVID-19 pandemic.
DePete pointed out that ALPA, working in conjunction with the AFL-CIO and other airline labor organizations, helped facilitate the first “worker-centric, worker-first relief package.” PSP provided $63 billion in three installments of federal financial assistance to stabilize aviation employment and prevent mass layoffs. Never before had a U.S. industry bailout focused on the needs of workers.
“The whole purpose of this was to keep the collective bargaining agreements in place,” said Luby, who added that ALPA made the argument that it was important to keep pilots employed so that, when the industry recovered, airlines would be able to quickly ramp up their operations. Pavlak added that the union’s response to 9/11 served as a “template,” providing a better sense of the actions necessary to take and those to avoid.
ALPA-PAC Awards
Ambrosi announced three sets of honorees for this year’s ALPA-PAC awards: the ALPA-PAC Key Society, which honors the 24 ALPA local councils with the top PAC performance; MECs with 100% PAC participation; and the J.J. O’Donnell Trophy.
In order, the ALPA-PAC Key Society councils are UAL 153, UAL 12, UAL 173, DAL 54, DAL 66, DAL 48, DAL 81, UAL 172, DAL 16, UAL 33, UAL 11, UAL 150, UAL 34, DAL 9, DAL 44, DAL 20, UAL 5, DAL 1, UAL 171, UAL 57, UAL 93, HAL 60, FDX 79, and FDX 500.
The MECs that achieved 100 percent donation rates are Air Transport International, Air Wisconsin, Alaska Airlines, Breeze Airways, Delta Air Lines, Endeavor Air, Envoy Air, FedEx Express, Hawaiian Airlines, JetBlue Airways, Kalitta Air, Sun Country Airlines, and United Airlines.
Finally, the 2026 J.J. O’Donnell Trophy for Excellence in Political Action was presented to the United MEC.
Comstock Becomes Honorary ALPA Member
By acclamation, the BOD voted to make longtime labor pollster Phil Comstock an honorary member of the Association.
“For over 40 years, Phil has been a trusted researcher, pollster, adviser, and educator for our union,” Ambrosi said. “His longstanding partnership with the Association has supported generations of pilot leaders through significant industry changes and major challenges ALPA has faced.”
Looking Ahead
At the meeting’s conclusion, Ambrosi sent a message to all ALPA members:
“In the next four years, we will continue to raise the bar for our industry and our members. We will continue to ensure that every flight has at least two pilots on the flight deck at all times. We will continue finding new ways to break down barriers to build a culture of collaboration between pilot groups. In the last negotiating cycle, we set the tone because we came together as One ALPA.
“We will continue to fight and win for you.”
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