Allied Pilots Association

Headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, near Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, the Allied Pilots Association (APA) serves as the certified collective bargaining agent for the 16,000 professional pilots who fly for American Airlines. APA was founded in 1963 and is the largest independent pilots’ union in the world. APA provides a broad range of representation services for its members and devotes more than 20 percent of its dues income to support aviation safety.

The APA IT Department will perform system maintenance between 0500 and 0700 Central on Oct. 9. We expect few interruptions.

HEADLINES

APA in the News

WSOC-TV, Aug. 22


String of break-ins, crime at Charlotte Airport has pilot concerned

One our CLT-based members recently returned from a trip to find that his car’s wheels had been stolen. This was the latest in a string of thefts from the employee parking lot. “In aviation, safety is always the first priority,” CLT Domicile Vice Chair Capt. Erik DeWinne told WSOC-TV. “If we get you there on time, that’s great; that’s an added bonus. And frankly, the City of Charlotte and the airport are not putting safety first.” Watch the report ...

 

Fox Business, Aug. 10


Turbulence is rising. Mandating a seatbelt might not be the answer, pilot says

Despite the changes in turbulence over the years, APA spokesman Capt. Dennis Tajer doesn't believe the FAA’s seat belt regulations need an update. But he said it’s vital that passengers wear seat belts while seated. “As basic as it is, the highest form of technology that can keep you from getting injured is having the seat belt on,” he told Fox Business. Read the article ...

 

Morning on Merit Street, Aug. 9


Pilot ‘shaken’ by testimony during hearing on Boeing door plug incident

After the National Transportation Safety Board conducted a two-day hearing on the Boeing door plug incident, APA spokesman Capt. Dennis Tajer appeared on Morning on Merit Street to discuss what he heard. “It is an absolute shock to hear what disarray was actually going on in an iconic company, while the words from management were ‘We’ve got this.’ So ‘shaken’ would be the key word for how I felt about it,” he said. Watch the interview …

 

WHAT'S HAPPENING

APA Public Statements

A Change in Leadership

A Change in Leadership Today, pursuant to the APA Constitution and Bylaws, Article IV, Section 5, Paragraph B, the Board of Directors recalled the APA President. The result of the recorded vote was 15-5. We encourage the membership to review today’s discussion and debate, which was held almost entirely in open session. The recording will be posted to AlliedPilots.org/Videos as soon as possible. The Board will fill the vacancy in accordance with C&B Article IV, Section 3, Paragraph C, before the conclusion of the Fall Board Meeting. In accordance with C&B Article IV, Section 4, Paragraph B, the Vice President will perform the duties of the President until such time as the vacancy has been filled. We thank CA Sicher for his service to our membership. In Unity, The APA Board of Directors

APA Network Outages

APA Network Outages Earlier today, APA’s internet access was disrupted due to a work crew with outside vendor Lumen inadvertently severing a fiber optic cable. As a result of this disruption, APA was unable to update AlliedPilots.org, and we have also been unable to send and receive individual emails and membership updates from APA HQ. While Lumen has restored connectivity through temporary measures, the vendor will be undertaking a longer-term repair that will likely result in intermittent outages. Thank you for your patience and understanding while Lumen fully corrects this situation.

Reflecting on Labor Day

Reflecting on Labor Day We celebrate Labor Day each year to honor the efforts of our nation’s workers. The three-day holiday weekend traditionally marks the end of summer, it’s one of the year’s busiest travel periods, and it’s an opportunity to get together with family and friends if you’re fortunate enough to have the time off. It also provides an opportunity to reflect on the labor movement itself. One of the foundational elements of organized labor has always been the emphasis on building membership unity. The familiar adage “united we stand, divided we fall” neatly sums up the task unions face – unifying members to achieve their aims. As we approached the end game in Section 6 negotiations last year, the APA membership voted overwhelmingly in favor of authorizing a strike if we couldn’t reach a satisfactory agreement with management at the bargaining table. Shortly thereafter, 95% of our pilots participated in the vote to ratify our new contract, securing $9.6 billion in additional value versus the previous agreement. As that recent experience demonstrated, unity pays, and I encourage everyone to keep that in mind considering the contract enables APA and management to begin the next round of Section 6 bargaining in November 2026 – just over two years from now. It’s in our best interests to go into negotiations as a strongly unified pilot group. That’s how we’re going to get the contractual improvements we want and need sooner rather than later. Unity means looking after our own, and my guess is we already do more of that than we might realize. Think of it this way: If you have a little brother, chances are you pushed him around when you were kids, but when someone else did, you stood up for him. Whatever our path to American Airlines – whether you learned to fly in a T-6 in the military or in a Cessna 172 at your local mom-and-pop flight school – each of us worked hard to get here, and we all belong here. We’ve all endured check rides that left us sweating, and we’ve all flown trips we don’t care to repeat. Let’s set aside whatever perceived differences we may have and focus on what we have in common. We all want to enjoy full, rewarding careers as American Airlines pilots doing something that very few other people in the world know how to do, and membership unity is one of the keys to accomplishing that. Stay safe, enjoy the holiday, and keep looking out for one another. In Unity, CA Ed Sicher APA President

Allied Pilots Association: “We Strongly Support Our NetJets Colleagues”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Capt. Dennis Tajer, 847-902-8481/Gregg Overman, 817-312-3901 Allied Pilots Association: “We Strongly Support Our NetJets Colleagues” FORT WORTH, Texas (Aug. 20, 2024) – The Allied Pilots Association weighed in on NetJets’ recent termination of two high-ranking NetJets Association of Shared Aircraft Pilots (NJASAP) officials, characterizing the terminations as “egregious” and “unwarranted.” The NJASAP officials terminated by airline management – the union’s vice president and strategy group chair – both had unblemished professional records. “Intimidation, retaliation, and suppression of protected union activity have no place in a functional labor-management relationship,” said APA President Capt. Ed Sicher. “NetJets management’s actions are egregious and unwarranted.” When the terminations took place, NJASAP officials had been emphasizing the importance of resetting the labor-management relationship at the airline. In a press release following the terminations, NJASAP President Capt. Pedro Leroux said, “Choosing to terminate two high-ranking Union leaders is not simply another hurdle to resetting the landscape, but a move reflective of a strategy that is not sustainable in the long term.” APA and NJASAP are both members of the Coalition of Airline Pilots Associations (CAPA), a Washington, D.C.-based trade association representing more than 35,000 professional passenger and cargo pilots. CAPA focuses on advancing its members’ safety, security, legislative, and regulatory priorities. “We strongly support our NetJets colleagues and wholeheartedly agree with Capt. Leroux – NetJets management must change course and repair the relationship,” Sicher said. “We are all stronger when labor and management work together.” Founded in 1963, the Allied Pilots Association – the largest independent pilots union in the United States – has its headquarters in Fort Worth, Texas. APA represents the 16,000 pilots of American Airlines, including several hundred pilots on full-time military leave of absence serving in the armed forces. The union’s website is AlliedPilots.org.

APA’s Legislative Priorities

APA makes its voice heard on Capitol Hill.

Video Highlight

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