May 12, 2006

ALPA Public Statement of Strike by Administrative Employees

The Air Line Pilots Association, International (ALPA) has been informed by the leaders of the Union of ALPA Professional and Administrative Employees, Unit 2, that their members are on strike effective 12 noon May 12, 2006.

Since March of this year, ALPA and Unit 2 (which represents the union’s clerical and administrative employees) have been negotiating with a goal of reaching a consensual agreement on the terms of their collective bargaining agreement. Earlier this week, ALPA and Unit 2 completed a tentative agreement that contained merit salary increases, delayed health care cost increases, and improved several other areas of the contract. Unit 2 members have rejected that TA.

Management believes that the TA sufficiently balances the economic realities of the airline profession we serve and the needs of the fine employees who work so hard for our members. The hard reality remains that our pilot members have suffered grievously these past five years. Salary cuts, furloughs, pension losses and escalating health-care costs make it impossible for ALPA to grant the salary increases and health care caps Unit 2 seeks.

ALPA strongly believes in and supports the right of all employees – including its own – to strike. The officers of the association will do nothing to undermine or interfere with their strike. ALPA’s offices where Unit 2 employees ordinarily work are now closed. Other facilities where Unit 2 employees are not ordinarily present, such as strike centers, remain open. ALPA will not request any employee or member to cross a picket line of striking employees at ALPA offices and no effort will be made to replace striking employees.

The association will continue to perform core functions that are essential to maintaining ALPA as an institution: protecting the safety, bargaining and employment rights of its members and responding to our members on matters that require immediate attention. ALPA’s purpose in engaging in such activities is not to weaken or undermine the Unit 2 strike, but rather to preserve ALPA’s existence.

ALPA represents 62,000 airline pilots at 39 airlines in the U.S. and Canada. Learn more at www.alpa.org.

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Media Contact: Pete Janhunen, pjanhunen@alpa.org, 571/243-5300 or 571/436-7242 (cell)