Question

What was the basis for ALPA to lobby for airlines to be included in the RLA?

Answer 1

Airlines were not originally included in the Railway Labor Act (RLA). It was only in 1936 that, with the efforts of Air Lines Pilots Association (ALPA) that airlienes were included in the RLA. The basis for ALPA to lobby for alrlines to be included in the RLA was simple-

• That airlines and pilots were as indispensable for the nation and the economy as railways and its drivers.
• That any strike of airlines pilots will result in great harm to commerce.
• That transport of cargo and people should not be obstructed by strikes.
• And hence, airline pilot was an individual whose personal welfare was in the nation’s general interest.
• That RLA, with its provisions for delaying or preventing strikes by careful mediation and negotiations, is a tool just as well suited for airlines as its for railways.
• So, it only made sense that the RLA was extended to airline pilots also.

With these points for lobbying, the ALPA was succesful in getting airlines included in the RLA in 1936.

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