sumadarson
Veteran
- Joined
- Nov 17, 2010
- Messages
- 851
- Reaction score
- 905
A Message From the Master Chairman, Captain Wendy Morse
""""Today the United MEC passed the following resolution:
Whereas the Air Line Pilots Association is founded on the fundamental premise of Schedule with Safety, and
Whereas maintaining One Level of Safety is a continuous and steadfast effort to mitigate risk, and
Whereas one of the most critical factors that results in increased risk is change, and
Whereas United Airlines is changing routes, airplanes, and operating procedures in an accelerated and ill-conceived fashion in order to attain a Single Operating Certificate by an artificial and unrealistic deadline, and
Whereas the individuals most qualified to assess risk are veteran ALPA pilot subject matter experts (SME’s), and
Whereas the considered input of the ALPA SME’s has been poorly received and in many cases ignored, and therefore the company’s risk assessment is not valid, and
Whereas safety institutions and regulators have consistently deemed there are 3 ways to mitigate risk; technology, regulation, and training, and
Whereas these same safety organizations have deemed the most effective of these three ways is training, and
Whereas the United Airlines has chosen to train its crews in new procedures via bulletin and Computer Based Training (CBT) modules, when established past practice would require stand up instruction and full flight simulation, and
Whereas this method of training is deemed insufficient and substandard to the Association’s commitment to One Level of Safety;
Therefore Be It Resolved, the United MEC does NOT endorse the make-up and quality of the Integration Training imposed by the company, and
Be It Further Resolved, the UAL MEC advises that Phase 1 Integration training is an FAA mandated requirement that must be completed by the pilots, and
Be It Further Resolved the UAL MEC directs the Master Chairman to utilize all available resources to gain more active oversight in the SOC integration process to address the risk assessment, safety considerations, and resulting training requirements best suited for attainment of a SOC.
In 1931 a United Airlines pilot, Captain Dave Behncke, and a group of key pilots from the other major airlines established the world’s most recognized, credible and trusted airline safety watchdog—the Air Line Pilots Association. Above and beyond anything else, safety truly is the bottom line for ALPA pilots.
For decades ALPA has always been an equal and trusted partner with United Airlines in developing, implementing and refining industry-leading safety programs as well as an untouchable safety-oriented culture. For example, after the 1978 crash of a United DC-8 in Portland, Ore., the UAL MEC and United worked jointly to develop Command Leadership Resource Management (CLR). This safety program proved so successful that it has been adopted as an industry standard, not just for airlines, but for myriad other industries, including the medical field. This is but one example of the caliber of product which comes about through ALPA involvement.
In the 32 years since the Portland crash, United Airlines has not suffered a single passenger fatality caused by pilot error. This is no accident. But today I must alert the United pilots that the very foundation of our impeccable safety record is at risk. For whatever reason, a fundamental change has occurred in the relationship between the Association and United Airlines. The company has made a choice to discount the value of our input. We are no longer true partners in United’s future safety equation. We have heard managers claim ALPA is involved, and that ALPA’s input and partnership are valued and encouraged. This is not accurate.
As we all know, the company is seeking a single operating certificate (SOC) to legally combine the airline operations of United and Continental. What is easily misunderstood is the path that United is taking towards a SOC. United has chosen to, in parallel, bring the CAL and UAL operations to identical states prior to FAA award of a SOC. Thus, while each phase of the process is designed to move towards integration of the two operations, each phase is also, and simply stated, an independent FAA-approved revision to each airline’s current operating manuals and procedures. Each revision is approved by the FAA prior to implementation.
Managers have claimed that there is ALPA involvement at all levels of the Change Management Process. What management doesn’t say is that most of the managers and subject matter experts (SMEs), while ALPA members, are not elected or appointed ALPA SMEs. They do not report to the Association, the only legally recognized representative of the pilot group. While the company’s SMEs are talented, and capable, many of them ALPA members in good standing, their recommendations have the potential to be subordinated by corporate constraints and priorities, which frankly, often include cost and expediency. Thus while the company’s SMEs may serve two masters, that of safety and cost, the ALPA safety representatives share the same experience and expertise but serve only one master—safety.
On the committees on which we are involved, the company has clearly articulated that if they disagree with our safety concerns, they will ignore them and move the subject to the next level where no ALPA involvement exists. This is unprecedented.
Our pilots and the company should make no mistake. We will not go quietly into the night and watch 85 years of progress be thrown out the window. Your MEC deliberated intensely over a number of strategies and options and clearly directed the MEC Officers to protect our airline’s safety culture. You can be assured that we will spare no effort in protecting and defending our profession, our training and the very future of safety at United Airlines. Nonetheless, because it is our job to protect and defend the careers of our pilots, it is our duty to advise you that FAA-mandated training must be complied with.
For a long time, the company motto was “Safety is our number one priority.” We wonder why United Airlines would ever dismiss this motto. What could possibly be their number one priority now? There is nothing more sacred to our profession, or to the traveling public, than the training and safety of what is soon to be the world’s largest air carrier.""""""
""""Today the United MEC passed the following resolution:
Whereas the Air Line Pilots Association is founded on the fundamental premise of Schedule with Safety, and
Whereas maintaining One Level of Safety is a continuous and steadfast effort to mitigate risk, and
Whereas one of the most critical factors that results in increased risk is change, and
Whereas United Airlines is changing routes, airplanes, and operating procedures in an accelerated and ill-conceived fashion in order to attain a Single Operating Certificate by an artificial and unrealistic deadline, and
Whereas the individuals most qualified to assess risk are veteran ALPA pilot subject matter experts (SME’s), and
Whereas the considered input of the ALPA SME’s has been poorly received and in many cases ignored, and therefore the company’s risk assessment is not valid, and
Whereas safety institutions and regulators have consistently deemed there are 3 ways to mitigate risk; technology, regulation, and training, and
Whereas these same safety organizations have deemed the most effective of these three ways is training, and
Whereas the United Airlines has chosen to train its crews in new procedures via bulletin and Computer Based Training (CBT) modules, when established past practice would require stand up instruction and full flight simulation, and
Whereas this method of training is deemed insufficient and substandard to the Association’s commitment to One Level of Safety;
Therefore Be It Resolved, the United MEC does NOT endorse the make-up and quality of the Integration Training imposed by the company, and
Be It Further Resolved, the UAL MEC advises that Phase 1 Integration training is an FAA mandated requirement that must be completed by the pilots, and
Be It Further Resolved the UAL MEC directs the Master Chairman to utilize all available resources to gain more active oversight in the SOC integration process to address the risk assessment, safety considerations, and resulting training requirements best suited for attainment of a SOC.
In 1931 a United Airlines pilot, Captain Dave Behncke, and a group of key pilots from the other major airlines established the world’s most recognized, credible and trusted airline safety watchdog—the Air Line Pilots Association. Above and beyond anything else, safety truly is the bottom line for ALPA pilots.
For decades ALPA has always been an equal and trusted partner with United Airlines in developing, implementing and refining industry-leading safety programs as well as an untouchable safety-oriented culture. For example, after the 1978 crash of a United DC-8 in Portland, Ore., the UAL MEC and United worked jointly to develop Command Leadership Resource Management (CLR). This safety program proved so successful that it has been adopted as an industry standard, not just for airlines, but for myriad other industries, including the medical field. This is but one example of the caliber of product which comes about through ALPA involvement.
In the 32 years since the Portland crash, United Airlines has not suffered a single passenger fatality caused by pilot error. This is no accident. But today I must alert the United pilots that the very foundation of our impeccable safety record is at risk. For whatever reason, a fundamental change has occurred in the relationship between the Association and United Airlines. The company has made a choice to discount the value of our input. We are no longer true partners in United’s future safety equation. We have heard managers claim ALPA is involved, and that ALPA’s input and partnership are valued and encouraged. This is not accurate.
As we all know, the company is seeking a single operating certificate (SOC) to legally combine the airline operations of United and Continental. What is easily misunderstood is the path that United is taking towards a SOC. United has chosen to, in parallel, bring the CAL and UAL operations to identical states prior to FAA award of a SOC. Thus, while each phase of the process is designed to move towards integration of the two operations, each phase is also, and simply stated, an independent FAA-approved revision to each airline’s current operating manuals and procedures. Each revision is approved by the FAA prior to implementation.
Managers have claimed that there is ALPA involvement at all levels of the Change Management Process. What management doesn’t say is that most of the managers and subject matter experts (SMEs), while ALPA members, are not elected or appointed ALPA SMEs. They do not report to the Association, the only legally recognized representative of the pilot group. While the company’s SMEs are talented, and capable, many of them ALPA members in good standing, their recommendations have the potential to be subordinated by corporate constraints and priorities, which frankly, often include cost and expediency. Thus while the company’s SMEs may serve two masters, that of safety and cost, the ALPA safety representatives share the same experience and expertise but serve only one master—safety.
On the committees on which we are involved, the company has clearly articulated that if they disagree with our safety concerns, they will ignore them and move the subject to the next level where no ALPA involvement exists. This is unprecedented.
Our pilots and the company should make no mistake. We will not go quietly into the night and watch 85 years of progress be thrown out the window. Your MEC deliberated intensely over a number of strategies and options and clearly directed the MEC Officers to protect our airline’s safety culture. You can be assured that we will spare no effort in protecting and defending our profession, our training and the very future of safety at United Airlines. Nonetheless, because it is our job to protect and defend the careers of our pilots, it is our duty to advise you that FAA-mandated training must be complied with.
For a long time, the company motto was “Safety is our number one priority.” We wonder why United Airlines would ever dismiss this motto. What could possibly be their number one priority now? There is nothing more sacred to our profession, or to the traveling public, than the training and safety of what is soon to be the world’s largest air carrier.""""""
