Release #06.NWA11
June 17, 2006

Pilots Union at Northwest Airlines Elects Chairman and Vice Chairman

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Leaders of the Northwest Airlines unit of the Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l (ALPA) elected a new chairman and vice chairman during the second quarter Master Executive Council (MEC) meeting held June 13-17 in St. Paul, Minn.

The MEC voting members elected Capt. Dave Stevens to serve as MEC chairman and Capt. Randy Helling to serve as MEC vice chairman. They join current MEC Secretary Treasurer Bob Elflein to complete the NWA MEC officer team. The officers’ terms begin immediately and end Jan. 7, 2008.

"The three of us are honored to serve Northwest pilots and will work tirelessly to help build consensus within our pilot group,” Capt. Stevens said.

Capt. Stevens was hired by Northwest in 1985. He served as the Seattle Local Council 54 vice chairman from 2000-2002 and worked on a variety of ALPA committees including Hotel, Family Awareness and Pilot to Pilot.

Northwest hired Capt. Helling in 1986. He served as the Detroit Local Council 20 vice chairman from 1998-2000 and as secretary treasurer from 1996-1998. Capt. Helling has also volunteered his time by serving on the Legislative, Strategic Planning, Training, and Professional Standards committees.

The MEC elected Elflein as MEC Secretary Treasurer in October 2005. He was hired by Northwest in 1997. Elflein previously served as the Detroit Local Council 20 Secretary-Treasurer from 2002-2005, served as the assistant coordinator for the ALPA Safety Operations Center and as a Detroit strike center volunteer in 1998.

“We believe it is crucial to have the input and confidence of all segments of the pilot group and imperative that we build consensus,” Capt. Stevens said. “Our goal is to have all Northwest pilots supporting and contributing to a single integrated agenda and ready to face our next challenge as a unified pilot group.”

Founded in 1931, ALPA represents 62,000 pilots at 39 airlines in the U.S. and Canada. ALPA represents approximately 5,000 active NWA pilots and 700 furloughed NWA pilots. Visit the ALPA website at http://www.alpa.org and the NWA ALPA website at http://www.nwaalpa.org.

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SOURCE: Air Line Pilots Association
CONTACT: Will Holman (612) 840-7749 or Wade Blaufuss (919) 673-0970