I see lots of people complaining on this forum that ALPA does "nothing" for its members, so when I run across the many examples to the contrary, I'll post them up here.
Not an earth shattering victory, but yet another example of MANY illustrating the little things that get done for the pilots' benefit.
3. On July 27, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Conference Report on H.R. 1, a bill to implement recommendations of the 9/11 Commission, by a vote of 371-40. The Senate passed the same Conference Report on July 26, by a vote of 85-8. Contained in this measure is a provision developed and promoted by ALPA which requires the TSA, after consultation with airlines, airports and flight crew unions, to report to Congress within 180 days of enactment on the status of establishing a process that would give flight deck and cabin crew members expedited access through screening check points. The TSA is further directed to begin full implementation of the system no later than one year after submitting the report. The bill now goes to the President, who is expected to sign it into law.
This is a significant victory for ALPA. Expedited access through screening has been a top priority of this union for quite some time. It became the top priority of ALPA President Capt. John Prater and the Executive Council when they convened their first meeting in January of this year. ALPA worked with the staff of the Senate Commerce Committee to get the language in the Senate bill and then lobbied the Chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS), and his staff to agree to it in conference.
“This bill, upon the President’s signature, starts a 180-day clock for the TSA to consult with airlines, airports and flight crew unions on how to improve airport access,” said Capt. Prater. “ALPA has prepared for this opportunity. We have a proposal that provides a low-cost and effective process to leverage existing technology to screen crew members, saving TSA time and money.
“ALPA's National Security Committee (NSC) and industry are moving forward with a CrewPASS prototype program and we are in the process of identifying airports with established crew portals to test the program. The group is also looking at how long the prototype phase should last, how many airports should be part of the prototype program, and what infrastructure would be needed at each test site.”
We will keep you advised as to progress on the issue.
Not an earth shattering victory, but yet another example of MANY illustrating the little things that get done for the pilots' benefit.
3. On July 27, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Conference Report on H.R. 1, a bill to implement recommendations of the 9/11 Commission, by a vote of 371-40. The Senate passed the same Conference Report on July 26, by a vote of 85-8. Contained in this measure is a provision developed and promoted by ALPA which requires the TSA, after consultation with airlines, airports and flight crew unions, to report to Congress within 180 days of enactment on the status of establishing a process that would give flight deck and cabin crew members expedited access through screening check points. The TSA is further directed to begin full implementation of the system no later than one year after submitting the report. The bill now goes to the President, who is expected to sign it into law.
This is a significant victory for ALPA. Expedited access through screening has been a top priority of this union for quite some time. It became the top priority of ALPA President Capt. John Prater and the Executive Council when they convened their first meeting in January of this year. ALPA worked with the staff of the Senate Commerce Committee to get the language in the Senate bill and then lobbied the Chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS), and his staff to agree to it in conference.
“This bill, upon the President’s signature, starts a 180-day clock for the TSA to consult with airlines, airports and flight crew unions on how to improve airport access,” said Capt. Prater. “ALPA has prepared for this opportunity. We have a proposal that provides a low-cost and effective process to leverage existing technology to screen crew members, saving TSA time and money.
“ALPA's National Security Committee (NSC) and industry are moving forward with a CrewPASS prototype program and we are in the process of identifying airports with established crew portals to test the program. The group is also looking at how long the prototype phase should last, how many airports should be part of the prototype program, and what infrastructure would be needed at each test site.”
We will keep you advised as to progress on the issue.
