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To All ALPA Members - 5   July 22, 1948

pilots. IN OTHER WORDS, LET'S GIVE THEM ONE DAY A MONTH WITH OUR CARS AND IT WILL BE TREMENDOUSLY EFFECTIVE.
Enclosed is your sixth National strike assessment billing covering the period from July 10 to August 11. The system employed by Headquarters is one of colored cards. The cards to date are: Buff for those members owing all six strike assessments; Orange for those members owing the last four assessments, in addition to the current assessment; Red for those owing the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth assessments; Blue for those owing the fifth and sixth assessments. All members who are paid up to date on their previous five National strike assessments receive WHITE cards. Let's keep all these cards WHITE.
One thing we must realize - the National boys are on the front lines and they and their families are depending for their livelihood on strike benefits while they fight for all of us. The days they receive their strike benefits cannot be irregular. They must be regular - on time. Imagine yourself in their boots, walking picket lines on the ground and doing air picketing and under circumstances of greatly reduced incomes, without knowing for sure when you're going to receive your strike benefit check. It must be a straight up-and-down business proposition. These payments must be made on time, which means the assessments have to be paid promptly.
An overwhelmingly majority of air line pilots are doing just that, and Headquarters wishes to commend them highly. Some, of course, do not and there's where the trouble lies. Letters, follow-ups, and more letters and follow-ups. We must all, and without exception, get on the runway on this and not raise our eyebrows at Headquarters when they insist on prompt collections, but we must, instead, visualize the ever-moving National pilot-manned picket lines in Miami, Jacksonville, New Orleans, Washington, New York, and at many of the intermediate points. These men have to eat, pay rent, feed and clothe their families, and their only income is their strike benefit. That's the story unflowered and real. Morever, the National pilots are not receiving the kind of personal help they should be receiving from ALPA members on other air lines. It's the same old story - trouble must come awfully close until we realize it's our trouble, too, and then it's often too late.

   The National strike battle and all its legal ramifications - lawyers' fees and all the rest of it - heave greatly increased the ex-pense of operation ALPA. This is, of course, a temporary condition. When the strike is over, things will normalize. Right now, however, the problem is with us and must be met. The National strike assess-ments support the National striking pilots and that is all. All the actual cost of prosecuting the strike comes from ALPA's central treasury, All ALPA members can help greatly by paying their dues promptly, and very nearly all of them do, thank heaven! But there are some who are delinquent. There is no better time than now to look the facts straight in the face and realize what would happen if there were no ALPA or if ALPA would become weak, lose ground, and be unable to stand up and fight for a clean square deal against Baker and certain others, almost but not quite that bad. If you are delinquent, bring yourself in GOOD STANDING by cleaning up your indebtedness to ALPA NOW.

   Headquarters is presently concentrating all its efforts on pre-paration for the hearings before the Civil Aeronautics Board for the revocation of Baker's certificate of convenience and necessity. The Railway Labor Act says, "It shall be a condition upon the holdings of a certificate by any air carrier that such carrier shall comply with Title II of the Railway Labor Act, as amended." The Presidential Emergency Board has found, after weeks of hearings, delving into all the facts of the case, that Baker has violated the Railway Labor Act.