In this episode, our Alaska and Hawaiian MEC Chairs, Will McQuillen and Larry Payne, as well as our Joint Negotiating Committee Co-Chairs, David Wilhelm and Doug Grant, all sat down to provide an update on the status of our Alaska-Hawaiian merger and the state of our Joint Collective Bargaining Agreement (JCBA) negotiations. Through the episode, we covered several topics, including the union’s actions during the last six months to prepare for negotiations, the importance of unity, current perspective on negotiations, and what happens once a Tentative Agreement is reached.

In this episode of Talk Story, we’re putting the spotlight on our HAL MEC Representatives. We have three new HNL LEC 065 Representatives who took office at the beginning of March – Block 1 Rep. Dan Moore, Block 3 Rep. Justen Taafaki, and Block 4 Rep. Makoa Gaughen-Haili. In the first segment, we discuss their experiences as incoming Reps, what inspired them to serve, their interactions with the Alaska Reps, and their primary goals for their current terms.

In the second segment, we bring in our CVG LEC 060 Representative Trent Madsen, who talks through the challenges facing our freight pilots and their successes in navigating this growing operation. We also discuss his unique perspective on being the sole freight representative as well as a representative for a majority-commuter pilot base.

Hawaiian pilots can click below to access the contact information for their respective MEC Representative:

LEC 060 - CVG

LEC 065 - HNL

In our latest episode of Talk Story, HAL MEC Chair Larry Payne and HAL MEC Block 3 Representative Sean Kimura explain what was achieved through the mid-January meetings between the Alaska and Hawaiian MECs, where Joint Collective Bargaining Agreement (JCBA) goals were established. They discuss how the bargaining priorities were determined, the pilot input and feedback that went into those priorities, and a look ahead to the beginning of negotiations.

In the second segment, Scheduling Committee Chair Anthony Fink covers a broad range of bidding and scheduling subjects, including how the Average Line Value system works, how Over Schedule requests are processed, what Reduced Block status entails (and why you may or may not wish to opt-out), and how the upcoming increase to Minimum Flight Grouping Credit may affect our March pairings.

If you have any feedback about the podcast and what you would like to see in future episodes, please send us an email at [email protected].

We’re approaching one year since the initial Alaska-Hawaiian merger announcement. In this episode, Hawaiian MEC Chair Larry Payne and Merger Committee Chair Eric Thorstad give an overview of the potential changes that are coming as a result of the merger, what effects they might have, and the ways our pilots can make an impact on the process.

Among the topics covered:

For more information about the Merger Committee and the SLI process, please listen to our previous episode from January where we discuss ALPA’s Section 45 (Merger Policy):

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With the merger transaction between Alaska and Hawaiian Airlines now final, the separate pilot groups from each carrier will continue the process of combining into one. A significant part of that includes negotiating a Joint Collective Bargaining Agreement (JCBA) under which the new combined pilot group will work. The Master Executive Councils (MECs) of each pilot group, as part of the Air Line Pilots Association International (ALPA), have elected six pilots (three from each airline) to negotiate with Alaska Airlines on their behalf. This episode introduces the Negotiating Committee Chairs from each MEC - Alaska MEC Negotiating Chair David Wilhelm and Hawaiian MEC Negotiating Chair Doug Grant. The hosts, Alaska MEC Communications Chair David Campbell and Hawaiian MEC Communications Chair Mike Davis, discuss with Captains Wilhelm and Grant the process of negotiating a JCBA, the importance of working together as a new single unified pilot group, and what the pilots may expect in the next few months, including contract education and pilot input via survey and polling.

ALA-HAL JOINT MERGER WEBSITE

In this episode, Co-hosts Alaska Communications Chair David Campbell and Hawaiian Communications Chair Mike Davis interview Alaska MEC Chair Will McQuillen and Hawaiian MEC Chair Larry Payne. Captains McQuillen and Payne discuss the vision they share for the collective future of a combined pilot group and the critical importance of pilot unity, engagement, and feedback in upcoming contract negotiations. 

In addition to the episode’s audio content, please watch the video linked below to hear more from the two Union Chairs and other pilots from each carrier.  

VIDEO (https://alahal.alpa.org/announcement)

JOINT MEC WEBSITE (https://alahal.alpa.org/)

In this episode of Talk Story, HAL MEC Chair Larry Payne and HAL Negotiating Chair Doug Grant sit down with Communications Chair Mike Davis to discuss a number of recent developments, including a 10-day extension of the Department of Justice antitrust review, the ratification of our new Transition and Process Agreement, and the upcoming changes to PWA Section 21 (Bidding) and 22 (Scheduling).

Also, for more details on the bidding and scheduling changes coming in September, please check out our previous episode from February 2023 titled "Scheduling Changes Within the TA". Many of the changes discussed in that episode will be rolled out next month. Episode links below:

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In this episode, we'll be covering two separate developments coming in the next two weeks: the beginning of negotiations for a Transition and Process Agreement (TPA) and Hawaiian MEC Officer elections, both happening in early May. Discussing both topics are HAL MEC Chair Larry Payne and Joint Negotiating Committee member Ethan Pearson-Pomerantz, along with HAL Communications Chair Mike Davis. 

Through the discussion, the group tackles a number of questions, including:

• What are the next steps in the strategic plan? [1:37]

With TPA negotiations beginning May 1, and MEC Officer elections May 6-8, now is a great time to listen and learn more about the upcoming events.

This episode, Hawaiian Airlines MEC Chair Larry Payne, ALPA National SPSC Chair Ronan O’Donoghue, and HAL Strategic Planning Committee Chair Ethan Pearson-Pomerantz sit down with HAL Communications Chair Mike Davis for a roundtable discussion of strategic planning. The group gives their thoughts on the purpose of strategic planning and a synopsis of the various methods involved. They also give an overview of the major takeaways from the latest round of joint Alaska-Hawaiian strategic planning sessions, which were facilitated by the ALPA National SPSC team and focused on the ongoing merger process.

On December 3, Hawaiian Airlines announced a merger agreement with Alaska Airlines. To talk about what the merger process will look like going forward for our pilot group, MEC Chair Larry Payne, Joint Negotiating Committee appointee Rob Willoughby, and Merger Committee Chair Eric Thorstad joined Communications Chair Mike Davis for an in-depth discussion of the merger.

Among the topics discussed: an overview of the merger process, preparations for Joint Collective Bargaining Agreement (JCBA) negotiations, major tenets of ALPA Merger Policy, and the logistics of Seniority List Integration.

Episode recorded December 22, 2023