Allied Pilots Association (APA) president Captain Ed Sicher was recalled on Monday following a 15-5 vote by the union’s board of directors. The labor group represents approximately 15,000 American Airlines pilots.
Sicher’s removal follows election interference claims, according to Aero Crew News on Linkedin. He has held the office since 2022.
Reports indicate that Sicher allegedly attempted to block certain local candidates who support a merger between the APA and the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) from being elected. There are also claims that he threatened disciplinary action against various supporters of the merger being brought to a membership vote.
Other allegations include threats to publish the names of both voters and non-voters in local APA elections.
Last year, the APA’s board rejected a proposal that would have initiated the potential merger with ALPA. A group called AA Pilots for ALPA conducted a survey in 2022 which resulted in approximately 67% of the 53% American pilots who voted saying they strongly or mostly favored exploring a merger with the larger union.
ALPA represents over 78,000 pilots worldwide, including at Delta and United.
At the time of writing, Sicher’s bio was removed from the union’s website when comparing WayBackMachine snapshots. The APA did not immediately respond to AirlineGeeks’ request for comment.
