Hi!
If there was no ALPA, the age limit would've changed to 65 at LEAST when it did, and it might have been earlier, as ALPA was a staunch opponent of anything other than Age 60 for a long, long time.
If ALPA campained against Age 65, it would've changed when it did.
So, in fact, ALPA's effect on Age 65, if any, was to delay it's implementation.
Age 65 changed because of 3 main factors:
Most important: The Baby Boom.
Social Security's and Medicaire's financial positions are getting worse and worse all the time, and the gov't need for people to keep working longer to put more money into them.
2-Airlines were going under and/or shedding their labour agreements for retirees, which meant more and more of them were losing their pensions at Age 60, with no sign of money 'til SocSec kicked in down the road.
3-Airlines were going under and/or shedding their labour agreements for retirees, which meant more and more of them were losing their medical benefits at Age 60, with no sign of money 'til Medicaire kicked in down the road.
cliff
GRB