Editor’s Note: This editorial is my own personal opinion based on 40 years covering the aviation industry.
By Kathryn B. Creedy
As I sat in the Friday afternoon discussion of male allies at the Women in Aviation International conference, I grew angrier and angrier. Sure, they were saying all the right things. They were telling us what we wanted to hear, that it is everyone’s responsibility to stand up for and witness for women by knocking down those who make anti-DEI comments about women and minorities or question their qualifications. All good. But not enough.
I was absolutely shocked no one related the way minorities and women are treated in aviation/aerospace to safety. I understand. A lot of women and minorities don’t get the safety implications of our culture.
People, it is all about safety! Safety on the job, safety on the flight deck which translates to the safety of passengers and, most importantly, psychological safety. How many dozens of accidents have happened because the personality of the captain sets a culture of intimidation that silences first officers who might otherwise save the aircraft? Crew Resource Management has been forgotten in these dangerous times. I’ve written on this safety aspect of DEI many times but want to say, at least, one of the WAI panelists – Jason Ambrosi, president of the Air Line Pilots Association, was being (let me be kind) disingenuous.
I’m sure you will agree with ALPA’s public comments which I will quote below. I do. But you won’t agree with the ALPA’s actions behind those sweet words. I know nothing about the other two speakers during the male ally discussion, I assume they meant what they said and are genuinely interested in improving the lot of women and minorities in aviation and aerospace. I also know too many male allies/champions who are very vocal about supporting us when push comes to shove to doubt their sincerity. It’s ALPA with which I have a problem.
Disclaimer
WAI is NOT responsible for this editorial. This editorial is based on my knowing the women who have been marginalized or misrepresented by the union. ALPA’s lack of support for women over the decades is part of its own decision making so if it is pissed at this editorial, it needs to look in the mirror. If ALPA is true to form, it will withdraw support from the organization in retaliation for this editorial and I will have proved my point. Think about that. An independent journalist, who is a mere member of the organization, who, in exercising her First Amendment Rights and calls it like it is to warn women about ALPA’s two faces, might get WAI in trouble. Ambrosi, is a big boy, he decided to take the stage. He is representing ALPA’s long history against women.
We are at the precipice of a slippery slope and at the beginning of the conference CEO Lynda Coffman urged us to gather collectively to fight what is happening in society today. Not only are minority rights at stake but democracy itself. I hope you’ll watch her opening address because it is refreshing to hear a leader say these words out loud.
I was surprised to find many in the audience disapproved of her speech which I lauded on LinkedIn.
ALPA’s Retaliation
ALPA has gone after me before. I even offered them a chance to read one of the first articles I wrote on the 1500-hour rule before I submitted it. They refused to let me use their quotes but that wasn’t part of the deal so I used them anyway. They called my editors at Forbes and elsewhere to get me fired or kill the article. Now they just ghost me. I refuse to stop and continue to act because it is the right thing to do and there are too damn many people not doing the right thing these days. As a good journalist I’ve tried to get them to participate in my articles but they ghosted me every time so I stopped asking. Their choice.
I’ve been called anti-union when I was raised pro-union and was active in unionizing the FAA. Is this editorial vengeance for all that? Hell, no. I saw the same marginalization to regional pilots over the last 40 years as ALPA fought what it called “outsourcing” of jobs, so I know this is a pattern that needs calling out. I’ve also watched ALPA play politics with safety to the serious detriment of safety.
If ALPA comes after WAI, or me, it is nothing less than the bullying we need to fight. Rock the boat and there will be consequences. Is that really how we should partner?
Lynda urged us to be bold against the anti-DEI onslaught. This is me being bold.
I wanted to shout from the audience: “Ambrosi, actions speak louder than words.” But I decided to be a good little girl.
Quotable Quotes
Let’s look at what Ambrosi said.
He noted the world is now filled with people who want to say what they want to say, whenever they want to say it, reflecting the comments against pilots made after the American Eagle crash in Washington, DC, and again after the Delta Connection crash in Toronto.
“These comments are demeaning to the entire profession,” he said, invoking his daughter, saying he wanted to see her reach any opportunity she desires. “Silence is complicity. We must be assertive in letting people know how you feel about these comments. If we get everyone out there to do this, we can change the culture. We must show that we are a family and emphasize that, in aviation, every pilot meets the exact same training and standards and there are no shortcuts. For anyone to say our pilots are not qualified is unacceptable. We need to create more opportunities for everyone. We must counter the abuses and say we have resources out there. We need to be proactive and not let it just happen.”
Sounds good, right? I wholeheartedly agree.
Tell that to all the male pilots who cue the mike to say to women pilots: Another empty kitchen.
But let’s look at the ALPA’s actions:
Women at ALPA, including those in the executive ranks, have been asking for work-rule changes that would benefit both genders for decades and have been stymied so ALPA’s attitude toward women predates Ambrosi. I know too many women of ALPA working on changes to work rules to accommodate the modern work-life balance for both men and women who have tried to work within the system only to be told the “system” was not for them.
Why do you think ALPA has lost so many dynamic women over the years who have quit doing ALPA work? Because they were not being supported and their budgets were cut. Many MECs have already dismantled their DEI programs. Is that the action of an ally?
Meanwhile, while women pilots continued to struggle, flight attendants fought against misogynistic airline policies way back in the 1970s and won despite being condemed by their unions. (Read the Great Stewardess Rebellion to get the details.) Why are women pilots still having to fight? That is not an accident. It is by design.
Blind Spot
I wrote a two-part article about the changes for which women pilots have been fighting. I’ve also frankly discussed the work-rule issue with one of ALPA’s leaders who defended ALPA’s actions saying women only made up 6% of pilots insinuating majority rules. Message received: we’ll take your money, but we won’t represent you.
ALPA finally did a survey and reported male pilots wanted the same work-rule changes. Duh!
This ALPA exec ran up to me at the World Airline Training Summit several years ago excitedly telling me the results. He thought I’d be impressed.
“So, Paul, you are telling me now the men are pushing for the same thing that women have been asking for decades, ALPA is going to act?”
“No, Kathryn,” he said. “It’s not like that.”
“Paul, it is exactly like that,” I said walking away shaking my head at his ignorance. Clearly, ALPA is not being inclusive, or it wouldn’t be so. Damned. Ignorant.
Union Representation
ALPA is supposed to represent its members in any disputes, but I’ve seen too many pilots of both genders, betrayed by ALPA, which, when a someone rocks the boat, joins with management to circle the wagons to isolate and gaslight the victim using their dues to help management fight them in court. Don’t believe me? Ask Karlene Pettit who not only won her case against Delta but counsels both male and female pilots on how to navigate the law.
I’ve seen too many women pilots who were sexually assaulted, and the airlines and unions circled the wagons to protect the perpetrator. One woman was sexually assaulted on the flight deck, in flight, but the airline isolated the first officer (saying “we’ve never had a problem with this captain,” insinuating it was she who had the problem. Meanwhile, he was a well known sexual predator). The airline immediately began protecting him, retaliating against the victim. The manager at her base conspired to ensure that all her pilot colleagues turned against her, calling on them to attack her publicly on social media by sending an all-base email against her. They poured it on. That’s called stalking, boys, and it is illegal. These are people she must fly with and what do you think that does to Crew Resource Management or psychological safety?
A flight attendant was assaulted on a trip because she refused to go out with a first officer, who, mid-flight, sauntered back to the cabin to ask her out and for an alcoholic beverage. Does he assault all women who refuse to defy the FARs against drinking and flying? The airline knows all about this incident. Have they grounded him? Not to my knowledge.
But more important are questions prompted by this event. Have other FAs, afraid of his status or his reputation, acceded to his wishes and let him drink and fly? Tell me that is not about safety.
And Delta is still going after Pettit after she questioned the training of the pilots in the Toronto crash. She is not alone. More and more pilots are questioning pilot training and the rapidity of pilots rising through the ranks owing to the pilot shortage. My question is whether Delta and others are trying to skirt the requirements of the Pilot Records Database by letting pilots they know will fail opt to go back to the regionals as a captain. But WE HAVE A SINGLE LEVEL OF SAFETY! Well, we might. Let’s be clear, Delta owns its regionals. Here’s the blog it objected to.
If you want a blow-by-blow account of how Delta gaslit and grounded boat rocker Karlene Pettit in a case all about the safety issues she observed as a captain, read Karlene’s book Air 21 Delta’s Debacle, lessons learned in her triumphant seven-year battle against the airline. It gives you the tools to protect your career.
Oh, about that quote. Members wanted ALPA to make a statement supporting the pilots in the Toronto crash.
Unlike ALPA-Canada, ALPA-US didn’t follow suit to publicly support the pilots until after a call by members to do so. When ALPA-US finally posted, I noted it was reversing 40 years of attacking regional pilot quality, adding it was refreshing to hear ALPA actually support regional pilots even as I wondered if it was because he works for Delta.
These stories are well-known in the industry. It is an open secret that the old-boy’s network, boys-will-be-boys toxic culture is jeopardizing safety and lots of pilots are saying so, even ALPA members. Consequently, listening to Ambrosi made me want to vomit. I got angry instead.
Good Character
There’s also another issue to be considered, that of the regulator. Airlines and pilots know full well they are required by law to be of good moral character. So, given the actions of airlines and unions we should be asking why the regulators don’t enforce the requirement about being of good moral character. Because the problem is just about women? Not, really, it is also about other minorities in the same culture.
Both regulators and companies not only let these crimes slide, they protect the perpetrators. That is not what real male allies do.
That is why it is of paramount importance to stress this is a safety issue and while they may say safety is their north star, letting these crimes continue and protecting the perpetrators says they don’t really mean it. Even if the pilot tilting at a big corporation wins, they lose if they sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) which keeps the crime, and the company’s role in it, secret. I say join Gretchen Carlson, who won her sexual harassment case against Fox News, in her move to ban NDAs.
It’s About Safety
Changing the culture is not just a nice thing to do for women or minorities. It is a safety issue. Full Stop.
It is also about the women and minorities who follow us into the industry.
Dr. Kimberly Perkins completed her study revealing the importance of understanding the impact of bias and creating psychological safety on the flight deck as a critical element of reducing risk and crucial for enhancing safety.
The most important way to eliminate bias is what Tachelle Lawson advises in her book Black is NOT a Credential: The Corporate Scam of DEI. She advises taking DEI out of HR and placing it squarely on the shoulders of the CEO. She points out that it is the CEO who is responsible for charting the company’s strategic course and since DEI is a strategic initiative designed to boost the bottom line, it is squarely on his or her shoulders. That goes for Ambrosi, too. Her definition of how we should conduct ourselves is pretty much the same as the National Transportation Safety Board which reports again and again that professionalism and discipline are key to aviation safety. Lawson also adds respect to the equation. Respect, discipline and professionalism would set a new cultural tone. It is that simple.
So, I’ll test Ambrosi’s word. “Silence is complicity,” he said. “We must be assertive in letting people know how we feel about these comments.”
This is how I feel.
Prove I’m wrong, Jason. The point is men still think they don’t have to take us into consideration and the current political climate proves it. Men think lip service checks the box.
This is not about being politically correct.
It’s about safety.
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