The Air Line Pilots Association, International (ALPA) is the largest airline pilot union in the world and represents 60,000 pilots who fly for 40 U.S. and Canadian airlines. Founded in 1931, the Association is chartered by the AFL-CIO and the Canadian Labour Congress. Known internationally as US-ALPA, it is a member of the International Federation of Air Line Pilot Associations.

ALPA provides three critical services to its members:

Airline Safety and Security: Over its 70 years, ALPA has been a part of nearly every significant safety improvement in the airline industry. The Association has helped to make airline travel the safest mode of transportation in human history. More than 600 working airline pilots volunteer to serve on the local and national safety and security committees that help guide the Association's work.

Representation: Over the decades, ALPA pilot groups have negotiated scores of contracts with hundreds of airlines. Today, ALPA staff offers its members the finest financial analysis available, in-depth knowledge of the Railway Labor Act (the legislation that governs airline pilot contracts), and the legal experience to defend pilot contracts.

Advocacy: ALPA's staff and pilot volunteers consistently represent pilots' views to all airline industry decision-makers, including Congress, Parliament, the White House, and federal agencies.

At all levels of ALPA, pilots make decisions through the democratic process. All decisions start with pilot groups. Each pilot group consists of all the pilots at a given airline. Pilot groups exercise considerable autonomy in governing their own internal affairs, such as negotiating contracts, enforcing those contracts, and discussing issues of concern with their companies.