This was posted another website...ALPA's reaction to the story and to SWAPA's statements. For those who were slow to attack SWAPA & this pilot, thanks for your non-rush to judgment. chase
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The following is from the ALPA Faast Read from March 10th. Sounds like things are ok between ALPA and SWAPA.
Capt. Ike Eichelkraut, the president of the Southwest Airline Pilots Association, is criticizing a New York Times reporter for incorrectly quoting a SWAPA safety representative. The remarks in question upset many ALPA pilots because they seemed to suggest that network pilots who have taken massive concessions deserved what they got.
The story in question, "Airline Pilots Still Flying, but No Longer Quite So High," was written by Times reporter Matthew L. Wald and ran originally on the Times website on Monday, March 6. The article was a mix of interviews with US Airways, American, and United pilots--with commentary by industry observers--describing life in the post-concessionary world.
It focused on stress, fatigue, and morale problems. It concluded with disputed quotes from SWAPA's safety chairman, including calling network pilots "spoiled brats" who had a "cushy job… You make a lot of money and you don't have to fly a lot. But there had to be a market balancing at some point."
Alerted to the SWAPA representative's harsh remarks at the end of the otherwise competent article, Capt. Eichelkraut discussed the issue with the safety chairman, who stated he was never interviewed for the story and categorically denied the remarks. Capt. Eichelkraut then reached out to Wald to question the quotes. Wald apparently stuck to his story. Not wishing to leave any negative impression, Capt. Eichelkraut quickly penned a letter to ALPA's president, Capt. Duane Woerth.
"SWAPA appreciates what all pilots have sacrificed to save their airlines and works cooperatively on many levels with ALPA, APA, and all professional pilot organizations. SWAPA is contacting the paper to request a retraction and is pursuing other avenues to correct the inaccurate reporting which occurred," the letter reads in part.
Undeterred, the Times went the next step and published, in its March 10 print edition, the exact same Wald article, challenged quotes and all. No prediction on how SWAPA will respond now.
"From my perspective, this issue is closed," Capt. Woerth says. "Ike and I had a clear and open discussion about the article, and I accept his version of events and his support for our work together at face value. ALPA pilots have indeed given up a lot and don't deserve to see criticism of any variety – whether correctly quoted or not."
The New York Times has very strict copyright procedures, and ALPA does not have the rights to republish the article. Visit the Times at www.nytimes.com to
subscribe.
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