Legislative Affairs Update - November 22, 2011 The Super Committee (Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction) failed in their mission to produce a $1.2 trillion deficit reduction package. This will trigger automatic spending cuts in fiscal year 2013, split between discretionary domestic spending and Department of Defense spending. However for ALPA Members, this means that some of the talked about deficit reduction/revenue generating proposals that would have been harmful to pilots – taxation of employer-provided health benefits, lowering of the IRS 415c defined contribution limit, an increase in aviation taxes – are not happening at this time. We dodged a major bullet, for now. However ALPA and your FedEx Legislative Affairs team has been doing some preventative lobbying to protect our future.
November 22
November 22, 2011
The Super Committee (Joint
Select Committee on Deficit Reduction) failed in their mission to produce a $1.2
trillion deficit reduction package. This will trigger automatic spending cuts in
fiscal year 2013, split between discretionary domestic spending and Department
of Defense spending. However for ALPA Members, this means that some of
the talked about deficit reduction/revenue generating proposals that would have
been harmful to pilots – taxation of employer-provided health benefits, lowering
of the IRS 415c defined contribution limit, an increase in aviation taxes –
are not happening at this time. We dodged a major bullet, for now.
However ALPA and your FedEx Legislative Affairs team has been doing some
preventative lobbying to protect our future.
Our time on Capitol Hill working on these issues was very positive, and we
established many new relationships and began a process of educating Members of
Congress and their staff on these important issues.
Our work, however, does not end with the death of the Super Committee. In the
coming months, we will be putting together and executing a plan to continue our
education campaign on these important issues to ensure that the negotiated
benefits or our pilots are not subject to new taxes and the airlines our pilots
work for remain viable and competitive companies.
The Flight & Duty Time rules release date is uncertain at this time. It is an on
going battle day by day to garner current information, as nothing has been made
public. Last Friday, there was a joint letter to the President of the United
States signed by Captains Lee Moak, President of ALPA National, Robert Travis,
President of IPA and Scott Stratton Chairman of the FedEx ALPA MEC. The message
was bold and clear. “One Level of Safety is the only acceptable standard,” and a
cargo cutout for the FT&DT rules is unconscionable and unsatisfactory.
We are continuing to work on the FAA reauthorization bill and also FFDO issues
as we speak. This is a team effort and you (the FedEx Pilot) are an extremely
important member of this team.
You can help by staying informed, participating in the very simple “Call to
Actions,” and contribute to the PAC. It is just not that hard to help. Thank you
to all who are already helping.
The present Call to Action total participants for ALPA National is 4024 pilots
in which 1470 are FedEx Pilots. Our FedEx participation is 36% of all ALPA.
Thank you for stepping up. The easy link for those that have not yet
participated is:
http://app7.vocusgr.com/WebPublish/Controller.aspx?SiteName=ALPA&Definition=ContactLegislators&IssueID=1075&submit=Take+Action
PAC Contributions can now be made on line. Only 14% of FedEx pilots contribute
to the PAC. I’d like to more than double that amount of participation. It is the
lifeblood of our legislative efforts in Washington. I thank you in advance for
your help. Here is the quick link for ALPA PAC contributions:
http://www.alpa.org/5WaysToBackThePAC/tabid/3374/Default.aspx
Thank you for being a part of the FedEx Legislative Affairs Team and for helping
to protect or futures and our profession.
In Unity,
Fred
Captain Fred Eissler
Legislative Affairs Committee Chairman
FedEx-ALPA MEC
ALPA PAC Steering Committee
