Friday, December 11, 2009

Pilots at North American Airlines join ALPA

by B.N. Sullivan

North American AirlinesThe pilots at North American Airlines (NAA) have chosen the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) to be their collective bargaining representative. The U.S. National Mediation Board (NMB) recently announced that ALPA received an "overwhelming majority" of the votes in a recent union election. The NAA pilots formerly were represented by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT.

“NAA pilots chose ALPA because of the many benefits such as aeromedical services and the access to worldwide support through ALPA and its affiliation with the International Federation of Air Line Pilots’ Associations (IFALPA),” said Capt. Al Gallo, Temporary Master Executive Council chairman of the NAA unit of ALPA. “Those benefits extend to the ALPA staff whose vast experience and expertise will be invaluable in our efforts to protect our rights and advance our careers under our collective bargaining agreement. We did not have the resources under the IBT that we have now with ALPA, and we plan to take full advantage of this opportunity.”

Capt. John Prater, ALPA’s president, said that the union was “extremely pleased that the NAA pilots have joined the ALPA family.”

The pilots of NAA fly Boeing 757 and 767 aircraft for passenger, military, and cargo operations around the world.

[Photo Source]