ALPA Prez Retires from Fedex (JetBlue)
February 1, 2019
I am writing because I know there have been some questions about my retirement from FedEx, and I want you to know my thinking as I made this difficult decision.
Flying is my passion, and I’m proud to have had the honor of being a Marine aviator, a commercial passenger pilot, and an air cargo pilot. During my more than 30 years of flying, I always felt that my colleagues were more than coworkers; they always were—and always will be—friends and family.
As I wrestled with the decision to retire, I had to take into account the fact that I will reach the FAA mandatory retirement age of 65 during the spring of the final year of my term as President and would not be able to return to line flying when my Presidency ends. In addition, it became clear that there were practical impediments to my staying current for the next three years. As a result, I came to the conclusion that retiring from FedEx now would allow me to turn all of my energies without distraction toward fulfilling my role as your President and would be the most appropriate course to best represent all ALPA members. Again, this was not an easy decision.
As ALPA President, I will remain exclusively devoted to representing all ALPA line pilots’ views, and achieving the goals of our union’s pilot-driven strategic plan. For the next four years, I intend to keep as my sole focus making ALPA stronger, leaner, and more responsive, using my lifetime experience as a pilot to guide my actions and my decisions.
Just to be clear, I will not receive further airline income and will not be eligible for any further accruals into any FedEx defined contribution or defined benefit retirement plan. Further, as of the date of my retirement, I have been voluntarily forgoing any distributions from any FedEx retirement plan and will continue to do so while I hold the office of ALPA President.
Article X, Section 1.A of ALPA’s Constitution and By-Laws makes clear that retirement is not an eligibility bar or concern.
As your President, I am solely invested in ALPA. Now that I’m retired from FedEx, I wanted to make it clear that I am unencumbered by any perceived loyalty to my past employer and owe my entire allegiance to this organization and its goals, and to the interests of the entire ALPA membership—not just to FedEx or any other carrier or a specific group of pilots. For example, I am going to be wholly committed to our efforts to promote the piloting profession’s agenda and protect, defend, and advance the safety and security of our industry and the careers of our pilots, whether it be with regard to the threat posed by the ME3 subsidized carriers, atypical employment arrangements, or any of the other serious challenges we face as a profession.
As your President, I have a singular focus and standard—doing what is right by all of the pilots I represent, period.
In solidarity,
Capt. Joe DePete
ALPA President
ALPA President isn’t even a current and qualified pilot......