The President of the American Airlines pilot union has been removed, recalled by the union’s board of directors in a 15-5 vote. Captain Ed Sicher, in office in 2022, had controversially sought to exclude pilots from union positions that favored merging with the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), which is the largest pilot union group while pilots at American have their own independent union.
Pro-merger candidates, often referred to as “pro-pilot choice,” were being excluded from ballots based on a reading of the union’s bylaws that suggested action against the union was disqualifying – and the union head considered advocacy of joining ALPA an existential threat to the union’s existence. He reportedly initiated disciplinary charges against two union board members and six local council candidates who were aligned with the pro-ALPA movement.
Sicher has also been accused of threatening to publicly release the names of both voters and non-voters in local council elections, which was interpreted as an attempt to influence the outcome of those elections.
The recall vote is the latest episode in a broader debate over whether the APA should merge with ALPA. In 2022, a survey conducted by the group AA Pilots for ALPA found that 67% of participating pilots were in favor of exploring a merger with ALPA. However, only 53% of eligible pilots voted in the survey.
Local representatives from former US Airways hubs—such as Charlotte, Philadelphia, and Phoenix—as well as legacy American Airlines hub Chicago, have expressed support for a merger. Meanwhile, leaders in other bases, including Boston, Washington, Dallas, and Los Angeles, have opposed the idea. The board of directors of the APA was evenly split last year, voting 10-10 on the formation of a merger negotiations committee (that vote required a two-thirds majority to pass).
Proponents of a merger argue that joining forces with ALPA would provide greater leverage and resources for APA members, while opponents fear losing the union’s autonomy. ALPA, with its expansive membership, already represents pilots across a broad swath of North American airlines, including United, Delta, Alaska Airlines and JetBlue.
No motion has yet been made to rename the union the People’s Front of Judea or the Judean People’s Front but rumors suggest that could be coming.
Sicher’s removal leaves the APA at a critical juncture. With the future of a potential merger with ALPA still unresolved, the union’s leadership will likely face increasing pressure to bring the issue to a general membership vote. For now, the leadership vacuum left by Sicher’s departure creates uncertainty as the APA navigates its next steps. But there was a clear backlash against heavy handed tactics, which have included deleting pro-merger discussions from their The Line forum. What’s interesting here is that 5 board members voted against removal.
Why can’t a pilot belong to two unions at once ? Why not ?
Because, Mr. Alert, an airline pilot is only a member of the union that represents his entire working group. You can’t join another union and there is no point in doing so. You would not want to pay dues to a union that does not represent you.
Further proof that AA’s unions have made bad decisions, it costs the workers that are represented by them, and the company seems to thrive on the chaos rather than wanting to see its employee relations improve.
AA has much less restrictive scope agreements with its pilots than DL or UA – and AA management continues to prioritize the growth of regional carrier over mainline operations.
It is noteworthy, however, that AA FAs managed to get a contract while UA’s FAs STILL don’t have one.
UA’s argument to the pilots was that it would wait for all the players in the industry to settle and then would settle but who exactly is UA waiting for to settle with its FAs?
I strongly bet that UA doesn’t want to take a big hit on its summer earnings to settle with its FAs and Sara Nelson has been convinced to roll over to UA mgmt.