Randy Richmond wrote a short, to-the-point, and simply outstanding rebuttal
to Duane Woerth's grass roots appeal. The purpose of this message is to
pass on to the membership the contents of this from-the-heart rebuttal.
Randy has given permission to have his writing passed on to all, in order
to serve the cause. Please submit Randy's grass roots rebuttal to every
ALPA publication that you can think of. We may also consider passing the
rebuttal to non-ALPA publications, and/or individuals (your
representatives?) in order to further dismiss the fallacy that ALPA is
united in its goal to keep the age 60 rule intact.
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Bury the Grass-Roots Campaign

I received from my union a package that both saddened and enraged me. It
encouraged me to voice my support for eliminating the ability for my fellow
pilots to continue earning a living as an airline pilot. It told me the
BOD's position (which prior to 1980 they opposed) and declared it cast in
stone with no room for reasonable compromise. It gives me the specious
argument that Age 60 is a crucial to air safety. My union, whom I hold up
as one of the most progressive safety-oriented organizations in aviation,
has chosen to cloak their protection of preferred tax status in a safety
veil, cheapening the generations of hard work that ALPA safety volunteers
have done.

So I ask who is harmed and who benefits from having this punitive rule in
place. It benefits pilots with defined benefit plans (A plans) by allowing
them to receive a full distribution at age 60. So, a pilot with a
multi-million dollar retirement consisting of an A-plan, a B-plan a 401(k)
and other benefits won't have to live on a few hundred dollars less a month
(maybe) if we force everyone else (who may or may not have these same
benefits) to cut off ALL of their income on their 60th birthday. And I am
asked to convince my senator that this is a safety issue. I am not sure
what value the ALPA BOD's put on their credibility, but my own is far more
valuable than that.

So, as you look over what you are being asked to support, look inside
yourself. If the circumstances of your career were different, through no
fault of your own, would you be so anxious to dictate to others when they
must end their careers? Now is the time to stand on the side of
reasonableness and fairness and find a compromise on the Age 60 rule.

The toll-free number to contact your legislators courtesy of the AFL-CIO is
1-877-611-0063. Let them know what you really feel is fair.

Randy Richmond
A320 FO - AWA (Age 36)