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To All Active ALPA Members -19- January 26, 1948 All members' Kardex financial records (one for each member) have been rearranged by air lines and councils of air lines -- all individually. It is now an easy matter for any ALPA member in good standing to visit Headquarters, draw out a tray of Kardexes and note at a glance the delinquent members of any of ALPA's 80 councils. All letters pertaining to members' accounts are being answered promptly. During 1948, great emphasis will be placed on good and bad standing credentials; in other words, does a member have a good standing flying card or not. This is covered more fully in another part of this letter. A common question asked by the average ALPA member is, "Where does ALPA money go?" Enclosed is a printed card which will quickly give you the picture. On one side is a pie chart showing the various divisions and departments of ALPA and the percentage of ALPA's outgo of money required to operate each of such divisions and departments. Your ALPA representing machine, considered alongside the terrific representing job it must do, is spread cellophane thin and cannot be spread any thinner without the complete elimination of some important part of its representing structure. This, I know, no member would desire to have done. On the reverse side of the printed card will be found a graph chart and a bar chart. The graph chart show the income line and the outgo line of ALPA finances representing the surplus and the deficit. The bar chart shows the income and the outgo by quarters for 1946 and 1947. It will be readily noted that more money has been paid out during the latter part of 1946 and all of 1947 than has come in. Is it any wonder Headquarters is cracking down on the dues and assessments and insisting every member must pay? It is also the reason Headquarters must crack down on flight pay loss and operating expenses generally. Study the enclosed printed card carefully. It will answer many questions for you about ALPA finances. To give you a quick picture, ALPA paid out $53,266.93 more than it took in during the first quarter of 1947. During the second quarter, it paid out $62,891.03 more than it took in. These first two quarters of 1947 deficits were due largely to ALPA still being on the old pre-Ninth Convention dues rate which was long recognized as being too low. During the third quarter, it paid out $16,725.15 more than it took in, but the deficit was considerably less due to the increase in dues placed into effect by the Ninth Convention at the beginning of the third quarter. During the fourth quarter, it paid out $49,120.60 more than it took in. The expenses during this quarter were unduly large due to the greatly added expense of completing many agreements, extensive safety activities, and holding the second Executive Board meeting. In the first quarter of 1948, the intake and the outgo lines on the printed card chart will have to meet or ALPA will be forced to curtail its representing activities. We have hesitated on establishing regional field offices and putting into effect a number of other plans and mandates for the reason that there isn't money with which to do it. If all members paid promptly, when billed, their dues and assessments, and all eligible members were brought in, it would be possible financially to complete the plans laid down by Convention and Executive Board action. Of course, it does without saying that 1947 was a very expensive year. This was due to excessive activities in many respects. All contracts were renewed; a Convention and two Executive Board meetings were held. all in less than 10 months; and there were 2 strikes, the cost of which fell largely in 1947. These are
