Before we totally throw it down the drain, we should remember some of the accomplishments...I wonder if the pilot that this article talks about thought his dues were not being used properly. Just a thought.


Exposed Gross Laboratory Testing Misconduct: ALPA vindicated a wrongfully terminated Delta pilot, whose FAA certificates were revoked when the testing laboratory (LabOne) reported his urine sample had creatinine and specific gravity readings at the levels of water, and claimed that he "substituted" his sample. Despite this pilot's 20-year unblemished record and assertion of his innocence, neither the airline nor the FAA gave his claims any credence. ALPA appealed the enforcement action and grieved his firing.

With the help of an expert forensic toxicologist, ALPA counsel investigated LabOne. ALPA attorneys procured boxes of laboratory records and exposed the laboratory's bad testing practices, costing the laboratory director his job. These ALPA efforts, on behalf of the pilot, exposed pervasive and gross laboratory misconduct, including: (1) use of malfunctioning equipment, (2) backdating documents, (3) destroying evidence, (4) using deteriorating controls that caused inaccurate results, (5) failing to comply with applicable standards, and (6) lying under oath by the laboratory director.

ALPA succeeded in getting the pilot reinstated with all back pay and benefits, fully clearing his record with the FAA. Several previously fired Delta flight attendants were also cleared and reinstated.

• Ensured that Nationally Certified Laboratories Meet Regulatory Guidelines: As a result of ALPA's detection of laboratory errors and misconduct in handling validity tests, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ordered an emergency inspection of the national laboratories certified to conduct regulated testing. In that inspection, 40 or more of the 66 laboratories were found in noncompliance with the federal guidelines covering testing procedures. As a result, 300 test results previously reported as "substituted" were ordered canceled by the government.
• Advocated Validity Testing Standards: ALPA sought and achieved stricter regulations governing validity testing and succeeded in getting the criteria for samples reported as "substituted" to be more favorable to employees. In response to rules proposed by DOT in 2000, ALPA submitted extensive comments critiquing the procedures for validity testing, including the cutoff levels for deeming a sample to be "substituted." ALPA vigorously contended that DOT's creatinine cutoff level was not low enough and risked branding innocent individuals who produce ultra-dilute urine as rule violators.