Airline Pilots Guild of America | APGA
What if there were a regional industry-wide collaborated and agreed upon set minimum standards of compensation and work rules? What if every regional pilot had the opportunity to add input to these standards, and provide constant feedback?
An association to represent all pilots under the same banner. A unified front.
Membership is available to ALL pilots, and the only cost to join is affirming you will always vote in line with the minimum standards, you will promote the association to non-members, and you pledge to stay informed.
The Airline Pilots Guild of America is the first and only grassroots movement established to promote and secure industry-wide appropriate, safe, minimum compensation and work rule standards, to unify all airline pilots - especially at the regional level - under one banner, and to offer an outlet to effectively come together to attain these goals while offering career mobility protection in order to continue, and build upon, the Stop The Whipsaw movement.
Initiatives:
One List
At date-of-enactment, all pilots will be placed on one industry-wide "seniority list", based on DOH. This list will serve to unite all pilots of the FFD industry. Those pilot groups stigmatized by past behaviors will start over with a clean slate. Moving forward, we all need to be unified.
Regional-wide Private Internet Forum
Using verified, member-specific logins. To collaborate, come together, and become educated on other pilot group issues. To collectively combat against managements' whipsaw tactics.
Public Outreach
I know most of you think passengers will just buy the cheapest tickets and they don't care about pilot compensation. In front of their computers on kayak dot com that is probably true. But reading a full page ad in the USA Today pointing out regional airline pilot pay and working conditions, in the airport before boarding a RAH 175 whose 7 year FO makes less than a third year Eagle FO and to fly a mini 737, those passengers will start to take notice. Couple this with:
Political Advocacy
Chuck Schumer D-NY was instrumental in both the 1500hr rule, and the new part 117. You think they don't care about safety? These politicians and their families fly on regionals too. Representatives around the country are supporting bills to raise minimum wage. When they realize their first officer is making an annual salary near minimum wage levels, our association will offer guidance to solutions; if nothing else more awareness to the issues.
Media Inquiries
A hub for media interest to effectively educate themselves to our issues.
Voting Portal
A way to self-register a yes/no vote on a particular issue, TA, or LOA.
Prospective New-Hire Education and Mentorship
Providing the facts of the industry from an insider's perspective to new-hires of the FFD segment. Engagement with student pilots and aspiring airline pilots at its most organic level.
Career Mobility
Our seniority system handcuffs us into our current airlines, and starting over is not feasible for most of us. But seniority is too much a part of how we operate. I offer you Career Mobility Insurance. Similar to loss-of-employment insurance, you pay a very small premium, that if your carrier shuts down because concessions were refused, via management's whipsaw, Career Mobility insurance would cover a percentage of your pay for 6 months AND cover the disparity between your current pay and first year pay at another regional, should you choose to start over. I have already spoken to one insurance company expressing interest in this type of outside-the-box insurance policy.
This would effectively Stop The Whipsaw by eliminating the threat of shutting down your airline. Fearful YES voters will no longer have to worry about starting at first year pay if they get shut down. With every regional pilot group on board, instead of a race to the bottom, we will see a race to the top, as more pilot groups vote no to concessions.
Think Stop The Whipsaw, but as an official association. Instead of stickers and bracelets, think pins, lanyards, and badgebackers. Instead of tossing that ALPA lanyard in your closet because you feel misrepresented, you wear your new association's lanyard with pride. Pride for standing up for yourselves and your industry, representing TRUE unity, professionalism, and safety. A commitment to ourselves as highly technically skilled, highly trained, professional airline pilots. And a commitment to our passengers to provide a safe, professional service.