ALPA MEC CODE-A-PHONE UPDATE - June 4, 2003

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ALPA MEC CODE-A-PHONE UPDATE - June 4, 2003

This is Roy Freundlich with a US Airways MEC update for Wednesday, June 4, with two new items.

Item 1. Today ALPA and US Airways have agreed to legislative language on pension funding reform that resolves the concerns previously raised by management. As now written, if this bill is passed by Congress, the legislation would provide for the restoration of the US Airways pilots' pension plan as well as help protect other passenger airline employees' defined benefit pension plans. The proposed legislation is consistent with the Company's Plan of Reorganization and ALPA will continue to work with US Airways management and other interested airlines to support getting this legislation enacted. ALPA National officers and staff played a key role is assisting your MEC's efforts to have US Airways fulfill its obligation of pursing and supporting pension legislation that will restore our defined benefit plan.

Your MEC members and officers thank everyone who participated in the MEC's communications campaign. Your correspondence to US Airways President and CEO David Siegel has demonstrated that our pilot group expects senior management to meet their commitments to support legislation that will restore our DB plan. Additionally, your letters to congressional leaders assisted ALPA's efforts on Capitol Hill to make lawmakers aware of management's obligations to this pilot group and to emphasize the importance of the airline industry pension funding proposal.

Your MEC members and officers also thank all of you who were planning to participate in the informational picketing next week, which is now being postponed to allow for additional progress on this and other contractual compliance issues.

We will keep you informed on the details of this important legislation and how you can help in the future, as it moves through the process.

Item 2. A nationwide ALPA grassroots campaign is underway to generate messages from U.S. ALPA pilots to the U.S. Senators to urge them to maintain the mandatory age 60 retirement rule for commercial airline pilots. The U.S. Senate is expected to take up S. 824, the FAA Reauthorization Bill, in the next few days. Senator Jim Inhofe from Oklahoma will offer an amendment to repeal the Age 60 Rule.

The Inhofe Amendment would immediately increase the retirement age to 63, opening the way for retired pilots, age 63 or less, to return to the cockpit. Thereafter, the retirement age would be increased to 66. Every ALPA member should contact his/her Senators right away to urge them to reject legislative proposals to raise the retirement age for pilots.

You can send your messages directly from your computer through ALPA's automated Action Alert program. To get to this program, go to the ALPA International website at www.alpa.org and sign onto the ALPA Members Portal Page with your password. Click on the Action Alert icon and follow the directions from there. On this website, you'll find some tools to help you contact your two senators. Our Action Alert program identifies your legislators, provides a sample message, offers formats for your messages, and sends them.
 
Why are the pilots being encouraged not to extend their careers? I thought that was one of the many reasons pilots said they were compensated so well is that they had to quit at age 60 like it or not. I would think they would like the 3 or 6 extra years to fly if they wanted to. Or does it have something to do with many pilots who were forced out at 60 returning and bumping others out?
 
There are over 12,000 furloughed pilots industrywide right now.

ALPA has to at least PRETEND that they want to get these people back to their jobs sometime in the next few decades.

Extending the retirement age would keep the furloughed pilots on the street for many more years.
 
All,

MY 2 cents,

1. DB plan....good luck and best wishes on returning your earned $

2. Age 60.... "Enough about ME, now let''s talk about ME"
That quote sums up how the baby boomer generation feels about those who follow including their children (generally speaking by the actions they displayed in my 45 years). Been a 2nd tier pay scale the majority of adult life, tax policy (national debt) etc.

Pilots play by the rules. Pilots live and die by seniority. This is another "land grab" of sorts by a few who wish to prosper at the cost of another. Ask any supporters of this bill if they would like a retired person to return to work and dispace them? Then you will discover the TRUE greed in this bill.

I say possibly change this policy effective 2035 . No one likes the rules changing in the middle of game.
 
Also, there will be nothing "OPTIONAL" about retiring at 63. As soon as this legislation passed, all airlines would expect us to immediately extend our careers another three years. I for one do not wish to extend past 60 (35 years of this mess is enough) and do not want to be forced to. It is another opportunity for my retirement to be diluted.

A320 Driver