The Air Line Pilots Association is a union representing 66,000 airline pilots at 43 U.S. and Canadian airlines. Founded in 1931, it is chartered by
the AFL-CIO.
ALPA provides all of the traditional union representation services for its members.
This includes the lobbying of airline pilot views to Congress and government agencies. In
addition, it devotes more than 20 percent of its dues income to support aviation safety. A
network of more than 600 working airline pilots serve on local and national safety
committees to carry out the Association's safety work. They are assisted by a staff of
professional aeronautics engineers and safety experts. ALPA is usually granted
"interested party" status in most major airline accidents, which means that ALPA
accident investigators assist National Transportation Safety Board staff at the on-site
investigations and participate in the ensuing public hearings. ALPA has initiated or
participated in most of the numerous safety improvements over the years that have made
U.S. airline travel the safest mode of transportation.
Organizationally, ALPA is divided into "pilot groups." Each pilot group
consists of all the pilots at a given airline. Pilot groups exercise considerable autonomy
in governing their own internal affairs, such as negotiating contracts. Each pilot group
is governed by its Master Executive Council, composed of the two or three elected
representatives from each of the pilot group's Local Councils (which are located in the
airline's major domiciles). The Local Council representatives from all the groups also
comprise the Board of Directors, which sets major policies. An Executive Board and
Executive Council provide interim guidance between the biennial meetings of the Board of
Directors. The four national officers (president, vice president, vice president of
administration, vice president of finance) administer
these policies from the Association's offices in Washington, D.C., and nearby Herndon, Va.
To learn more about the standards by which an ALPA pilot conducts himself, read ALPA's code of ethics.
ALPA's Communications Department provides information and support for news media
inquiries. An ALPA communications representative can be reached in the Herndon, Va. office
at (703) 689-2270.
