March 3, 2010Dear ALPA Member,
I have some alarming news from Capitol Hill that I want to share with you immediately. I know you'll be as outraged as I am!
Legislation was just introduced in the United States Senate that will put our managements right in the cockpit with us on every flight we make. That's right.
The bill will allow airlines free access to the information on CVRs and FDRs and to use that information ". . .to improve pilot performance. . ." and make sure we, as pilots, are "performing at the highest levels. . . ."
In other words, the legislation will provide legal cover to management to review CVRs and FDRs for the purpose of prosecuting pilots.
Congress has put forth some pretty despicable proposals in the past, but this one may well take the cake! Here are the shocking details:
Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC), the Ranking Member of the Senate Aviation Subcommittee, is the ring leader. His bill, S. 3048, the Pilot Professionalism Assurance Act, wouldpermit airlines to freely audit CVRs and FDRs to:
He’s already sent out a request, asking other Senators to sponsor his bill. . .and there may well be other anti-union sympathizers in Congress who will support this vindictive proposition!
- discipline or discharge pilots or flight engineers,
- evaluate and monitor the judgment and performance of pilots, and
- justify or require pilots to submit to proficiency checks.
His message stated,
"Unfortunately, all information from Cockpit Voice and Flight Data Recorders is specifically blocked from airlines by provisions within the pilot union contracts with the airlines. This must change. The stakes are just too high.”
If that wasn't bad enough, it continued,
"We must give airlines every tool available so they can ensure that their pilots are performing at the highest levels. . . ."
To make matters worse, DeMint’s staff is boasting that the NTSB endorses this approach to improve cockpit safety. In fact, that’s a bit of a stretch. The NTSB is calling for airlines to review and analyze all recorded information to identify safety trends as a way to watchdog the workplace, but notes that the reviews should be done anonymously and could not be used to punish individual pilots.
Despite the NTSB’s reassurances, this is a slippery slope that none of us wants to get near!
Is your blood boiling yet? Mine sure is. Can you imagine the problems and harassment S. 3048 could lead to? To say nothing of the impact it will have on our voluntary safety data reporting programs, like ASAP and FOQA. They’ll be destroyed and the accident investigation process will be seriously compromised!
But I agree with DeMint on one thing: the stakes are definitely too high – too high to allow this mockery of professional airline pilots to proceed.
I remember when a similar idea was proposed back in the late 1970’s. Langhorne Bond, President Jimmy Carter’s Transportation Secretary, called for random reviews of CVRs and FDRs by the FAA.
ALPA fought that deplorable plan with all its political might. Our lobbyists worked to convince members of Congress that the proposal was ill-conceived, unnecessary, and would seriously threaten the rights of pilots. In the end, because of ALPA’s efforts, Congress prevailed and the FAA scrapped the plan.
That’s exactly what we’re going to do this time, too. We will not be bullied and we will not back down. ALPA intends to use every weapon in our arsenal to oppose Senator DeMint’s disgraceful bill. . .and with your help, we will soundly defeat it!
We’ve already begun our work. Our Government Affairs team is educating Senators about the serious problems and potential persecution inherent in the intrusive and unfettered access provided in S. 3048. We’re urging our congressional allies not to co-sponsor S. 3048 but instead to help us quash this contemptible legislation before it gains any traction. We’re working with the congressional committee staffs to urge them to stay away from this impending landmine.
Now we must broaden our battle plan to involve all ALPA members, including you. Your active participation and that of every ALPA pilot is essential to defeat Senator DeMint’s plan to undercut our hard-won professional standards.
Today, I’m calling on you to help in the most effective way possible – by making a voluntary ALPA-PAC donation. Only with a strong and fully-funded political action committee will we have the political clout to stop this obscene proposal.
Please make a secure online ALPA-PAC donation today. Your contribution of $25, $50, $100, $200 or whatever you can afford will be used immediately to help halt Senator DeMint’s plan for pilots dead in its tracks.
Let’s be honest – money still talks in politics! A major reason that ALPA is able to ask for help on Capitol Hill is ALPA-PAC. But unless ALPA-PAC gets financial support from you and other ALPA pilots right away, we risk losing this fight – a fight literally for our careers.
We’ve also launched a nationwide grassroots Call to Action on S. 3048 to get every ALPA member to contact your U.S. Senators and tell them that you strongly oppose this misguided legislation. By using our Call to Action site, your Senators will be identified automatically. A prepared message is waiting for you to send. Just a few keystrokes will have your messages on the way to Capitol Hill to bolster our collective efforts to defeat DeMint’s bill. Click here to send your messages now.
But please remember your ALPA-PAC contribution – it’s crucial to our success. I know there are many demands on your paycheck. Our nation’s fragile economy makes us all cautious spenders. That’s exactly why you need to support ALPA-PAC – to build the strongest, most powerful PAC program possible to help protect and secure your career as a professional airline pilot.
Click here to contribute to ALPA-PAC now and make sure the voice of ALPA’s over 50,000 pilots is heard loud and clear on Capitol Hill on this latest assault on our profession.
We can’t do it alone here in Washington. We need your support and that of your fellow ALPA pilots. Like Senator DeMint said, “The stakes are just too high.” We cannot allow the Pilot Professionalism Assurance Act to become law and make a sham of our great profession. I’m counting on your help. Don’t let me – or yourself – down.
In Solidarity,
John H. Prater
ALPA President
ALPA-PAC Chairman
