Notable TWA Pilots

ALPA In The Beginning

On July 27, 1931, a clandestine labor organization surfaced. With a press conference held in Washington, D.C., the Air Line Pilots Association (International) officially announced its existence. Led by veteran air mail pilot David Behncke, ALPA also proclaimed its affiliation with the American Federation of Labor.

Under threat of dismissal, groups of airline pilots had been meeting secretly for several years to discuss fighting for better wages and working conditions. Though these early pilots loved the adventure of flying, it was also a job. Some airlines paid only $225 a month for flying 125 hours. Seniority prerogatives were practically nonexistent. Despite ALPA becoming public knowledge, most airlines refused to bargain collectively with their respective pilot organizations.

Hal George signed the original charter on behalf of TWA's ALPA chapter, headquartered in Columbus. George was elected chairman; the executive council consisted of Joe Bartles, Earl Fleet, Ernie Smith and Andy Andrews. The Kansas City sub-council consisted of Jack Walsh, Ralph Montee and Howard Hall; at Los Angeles: Royal Leonard, Harlan Hull and Larry Chiappino. Others active in ALPA or the TWA Pilots Association, which pulled out of ALPA for a period of time during the 1930s, were: Carl Rach, Wayne Williams, Howard Hall, Jimmy Roe, Ardell Wilkins and Johnny Graves, who served as president of the TWA Pilots Association.

On October 12, 1931, just two-and-a-half months after ALPA's founding, TWA's pilots received their second drastic wage cut in six months. This time the company insisted that instead of the old mileage pay formula (used by the Post Office and Western Air Express), TWA would now flight pay on aircraft weight. For instance, they were to be paid $3.20 per hour for flying up to 7,500 pounds during the day and $4.30 per hour for night. At the time captains averaged about 900 hours flight time a year.

In a 12-page letter to TWA president Jack Frye dated November 1, 1931, George outlined the desires of the airline's pilots. George stated that the pilots willing to accept a pay cut, as did all employees, to help offset the huge losses the company was still incurring. However, George stated he wanted a return to the old mileage formula (starting at 3 1/2 cents a mile for day flying, plus a 50% night differential). George wanted starting copilot pay at $190 ($225 after one year). The pilots also wanted two weeks annual vacation receiving their base pay. A safe maximum of 90 hours per month was proposed, 100 in good weather. Since flying the Allegheny's was considered hazardous, George proposed that captains he paid a $100 bonus on the Newark to Columbus run.

Other points covered in George's letter was a request that pilots be given a say in the hiring and dismissal of pilots and copilots. George criticized the company for hiring a pilot with a record of having crashed more airplanes than any other living pilot. He had even ground~looped an Alpha while landing at Columbus on his first TWA trip, causing $1,550 damages to the plane. ALPA requested that he be barred from membership.

There was no formal bargaining nor a binding contract between the company and ALPA until 1939. But the surfacing of the ALPA organization and George's letter established the principle of pilot involvement in considerations about their own pay and working conditions.

The TWA Pilots Association continued to support Dave Behncke's efforts to make mileage pay an industry standard even after TWA's group pulled out of ALPA. All airline pilots suffered a setback in 1932 when pilots of E. L. Cord's Century Airlines went on strike, the first strike by airline pilots. Cord wanted to pay them bus drivers' wages for similar hours. The pilots lost; Cord sold the airline.

The nation's airline pilots won a great victory, however, with the Air Mail Act of 1934. Among the many provisions of the bill was the famous "Decision 83," the law that recognized the pilots' right to unionize, to bargain collectively and seniority rights. It also established certain maximum flying times-eight hours of flying in 24 hours, 30 hours of flying in seven days, and 1,000 hours of flying per year.

One of the first accomplishments of TWA's Pilot's Association, then headed by Johnny Graves, was the drafting of an official seniority list, worked out with the company. On June 12, 1934, the company published the first draft of the seniority list. Si Morehouse was listed as number one, followed by Eddie Bellande and Lew Goss. Jack Frye and Paul Richter followed with the total of 71 pilots on the first list.

All three items for consideration were listed, date assigned as pilot, date of employment and total accumulated flying hours as first pilot. Bellande was high man with flying hours-a total of 5,581. Walt Smiley and Don Terry had one hour each. Vice-president (and soon-to-be named president) Jack Frye had accumulated 4,055 and Paul Richter 2, 865; a lot of flying for men normally considered to only be "flying a desk"!