So if we all start holding hands Doug and Glass will just come out and give every Pilot a 30% raise? I think not. ALPA National is full of lies. They dont even represent Legacy Pilots anymore. Just take a look at all the ALPO magazine covers over the last years. Most of them with pictures of our Regional brethern adorning them. The young are the only ones who can be suckered into the ALPO BS these days. For those of us who have been around...we know the ugly truth. :down:
AAA ALPA Thread 9-7 to 9-13
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ALPA National to East US Airways Pilots -- ``Buzz Off''; National Association Abandons East Pilots, Seniority
See Story
[Attention U-Turn readers. Ok, we told you we would get back to the pros and cons of “alternative†representation, but once again, that discussion was pre-empted by yet another developing story. We promise we’ll get back to it…soon.
Meanwhile, you will find the East’s latest Negotiating Committee Report paste below. Pay particular attention to the parts in bold under the Rice Committee section. Anyone who doesn’t believe our MEC is in active negotiations to reach mutually agreeable solutions…
The article is unedited, except for the bold emphasis added.]
AI 07-95 - NEGOTIATING COMMITTEE REPORT
Doug Mowery, Chairman
September 10, 2007 – 3rd Q
Training Freezes
At the 25Jul07 Special MEC meeting in Washington D.C. you tasked the Negotiating and
Grievance Chairs to write to management and request the lifting of all freezes on
“recalled furlough pilotsâ€. A letter detailing your request was sent to management on
09Aug07, signed by Tracy Parrella and myself prior to Bid 07-05. The MEC was cc’d on the correspondence so you should have all received a copy. There has been no response from management at the time of this report.
LOA 97 Retirement Contributions to Shuttle Pilots
At that same Special MEC meeting you tasked the Negotiating Committee to “expeditiously†consummate a negotiation to secure DC plan monies owed to former Shuttle Pilots. Vice Chair Don Hollerbach headed up this project and had it completed for your review and approval on 15Aug07 in Washington D.C. The necessary signatures are being secured at this time and Don will update you on the disbursements of funds in CLT.
Space Positive
We have assisted the Grievance Committee and MEC officers in the negotiations to secure the re-instatement of space positive. Our latest proposal was sent to management in early August, so the ball is in their court. It is my opinion that we have negotiated as far as we can and the remaining small gap between us needs to be closed by management. I am expecting an invocation of mediation in JNC talks by management in the near future. They will not want to be hamstrung by meetings solely east of the Mississippi . Leverage will be with us on this issue and we will win.
I want to thank the MEC for staying the course in this battle, even in the face of advisors from ALPA who tried to chart a different course for us. I have spent the last 18 months riding jumpseats to represent our pilots in this battle and I will happily spend 18 more months on the jumpseat if necessary (it won’t be).
AFB
At the 2Q07 meeting the MEC postponed action on changing AFB until the effects of the new FPL policy could be analyzed for action at this 3Q meeting. Unfortunately, the new
FPL policy will not go into effect, according to MEC S/T Mike D’Angelo, until 01Oct07.
I bring this to your attention so that you do not allow the AFB issue to fall through the cracks. A further postponement to the 4Q07 meeting may be appropriate (this is also the meeting where budgetary issues are normally reviewed---you don’t want to be in that sub-committee!). I am sure there are those who wish you would leave AFB alone and forget about your original resolution. I am not one of those, and, besides, you originally tasked the NC with this job so it is my duty to insure you do not forget.
Flow Thru
Bruce York has called a meeting to discuss Flow thru with the East, the West and the Wholly Owneds (WHO) for 06Sep07. This is the week before the MEC meeting so I will update you orally then. I have informed Bruce York that the NC will head up this negotiation for the East and that he is to copy me in on all future correspondence. Thus far he has communicated with MEC Chair Jack Stephan and Jack has kindly forwarded those communications to me.
Don Hollerbach, Dean Colello and myself will be the members of this team. Donn Butkovic has indicated a willingness to not participate in these discussions and I will honor that request. Kim Snider dropped out of the process in Nov05, as those of you who were on the MEC at the time may remember. I, personally, can’t wait.
Pay Parity
The NC met the week after the 2Q07 Regular MEC meeting to develop the pay parity proposal that you tasked us with at that meeting. That proposal was finished and emailed to management the last week of June. Since then you have all followed the saga of the West running to management to “ensure†that we would not be granted pay parity, and management’s reluctance to address the issue without West approval. Management’s original plan called for exploring “Extended Separate Operations†to achieve pay parity, but they subsequently moved away from that idea and back toward a “single†agreement. In either case, they indicated West approval was required.
The West continued to push us into “single†agreement JNC talks, edging us closer to the Nicolau award. I spent weeks telling the West, Management and Officers and advisors of this association that JNC talks were futile at this point and that pay parity needed to be addressed. My final comments to Lyle Hogg and Beth Holdren in early August on this issue were that “the East pilots would not tolerate working on a B-scale much longerâ€. I imagine you weren’t “feeling the love†from the West, Management, or ALPA any more than I was on this very important topic for our pilots. I commend you for the unanimous resolution of 15Aug07 pulling the JNC out of negotiations until pay parity is granted.
Guys, no one was listening! You needed to get their attention. In Parker’s 16Aug07 letter to all pilots he never mentions that he feels we have “breached†the Transition Agreement and instead talks about working on a solution. Good. You have their attention now and they are already indicating a willingness to work things out. This will get worked out. Thank you for taking the dramatic action necessary to represent your pilots.
Rice Committee and “equivalent, permanent, separate contractsâ€
We have had numerous meetings with the Rice Committee since the 17Jul07 joint MEC meeting called by Prater in Washington D.C. Until 14Aug these meetings involved only members of the Rice Committee and the East (Rice conducted separate meetings with the West).
Attending from the Rice Committee have been Paul Rice and Bruce York as the “constantsâ€. Auxiliary members include, Matt Marsh from Champion, Ray Miller from NorthWest, Dave Webb from FedEx and Larry Schulte (retired UAL and former ALPA Officer).
Attending from the East has been the entire NC (including Dean Colello), Jack Stephan, and one member from the merger committee (Kevin Barry). It was obvious at the early meetings that the Rice Committee had a desired preference for a single agreement due to its greater economic value. The MEC resolution for permanent separate contracts with equivalent economics (25Jul07) was panned by the committee and termed “dumb†by Bruce York at a 13Aug meeting. On 14Aug the Rice committee brought the West and East side together for the first time, but that was to primarily explore a united response to a possible request for mediation the next day from management in JNC negotiations and to lay the groundwork for three days of “joint†meetings in PHX the following week. The request for mediation did not materialize the next day as many, including myself, expected.
The week of 20Aug the Rice Committee met for three full days in PHX. The West stated very clearly on day one that they were not interested in participating in this process if it did not lead to a single agreement with implementation of the Nicolau award. On Day two we met separately with the Rice Committee (RC) from the West and it became readily apparent that the RC also has the same goal---a single agreement with eventual implementation of the award. Paul Rice stated that we needed to work toward a “transition to the implementation†of the award. It appears also that their desire is to have this transition occur in a fairly short time frame (1-2 years). Although no specific time frame was mentioned directly by those schooled in carefully choosing their words, they repeatedly asked us questions of where would Dean Colello be in a couple years; where would Dan Scola be, etc. and did this begin to solve our issues? We stayed on a very long time frame (forever, until the last protected pilot retires, etc.). Each time the discussion was artfully steered back to thinking of a much shorter duration.
Even more alarming was the impression that the RC did not back our fight for pay parity! They continually discussed the large economics our pilots would receive and wouldn’t that sway them to vote in the affirmative. Mike Abram mentioned our Group 2 C/O getting raises from $125 to $165 in the single agreement. Notice he did not start from a pay parity rate of $141 to $165. Mike also mentioned getting back to JNC negotiations--- “you mean after we get pay parity, right?†I asked. Mike was silent.
I finally laid the question directly on the table and asked the RC if they backed our fight for pay parity. Paul Rice, First Vice President of ALPA, stated that pay parity was not at issue here and refused to answer the question. In short, it appears the RC agrees with the strategy of the West articulated in JMac’s Chair letter at the end of July to hold economic gains for our pilots hostage to an acquiescence on the Nicolau award. The greater those economic gains, the greater their chance of achieving their (West and RC) goals. On the final day of discussions in PHX the RC presented us (just East in attendance) with a bullet point document that was introduced by Paul Rice as geared toward a “single†agreement with implementation of the Nicolau award after a defined period. Various protections were itemized in the document. The documents were numbered and had to be turned in at the end of the discussion. I have provided an Aspen update for Jack to forward privately and we will discuss this in much more detail at the 3Q meeting.
Donn Butkovic status
NC member Donn Butkovic suffered a serious injury to his shoulder in early July and is off Flight status at this time. As many of you recall from the Pollock and Brookman issues of the past two years, there is a policy in the ALPA Admin manual, Section 60, M. concerning FPL restrictions governing a member who is sick:
COMPENSATION/FLIGHT PAY LOSS RESTRICTIONS
SOURCE - Executive Board May 1969; AMENDED - Executive Board May 1971;
Executive Board May 1995; Executive Board May 2004; Executive Board June
2006
The MEC or Executive Council, depending on whether the funds utilized are from the MEC or national budget, will be informed by a pilot receiving compensation/flight pay loss when he is no longer medically qualified for more than 90 consecutive days to perform duties as a commercial airline pilot. It is the responsibility of the body providing the funds to determine whether a pilot who is medically disqualified for more than 90 days receives further compensation or must draw on the pilot’s sick leave bank or receives some combination thereof for performance of authorized ALPA assignments, and to determine the method of payment for any compensation aside from sick leave pay.
As Chairman of the NC, I am notifying the MEC that Donn will fall into these restrictions in early October. It is anticipated that Donn will be out up to six more months after that point. The policy clearly states that it is your responsibility to determine whether Donn can continue to receive FPL, use Sick time, or a combination thereof.
I am recommending a combination. Donn is still able to conduct NC duties and, therefore, should be compensated with FPL. However, Donn is not able to fly the 20 hours per month that the MEC asked all AFB pilots to accomplish at a Regular MEC meeting in PHL in ’06. Additionally, I have had a longer standing internal NC policy that all members stay current and fly when possible to defray ALPA FPL expense. We do receive 255 hours of company paid FPL for the NC, but this averages to 64 hours divided by the four (4) members (Donn, Don, Dean and myself). Dean is not on AFB but his duties since the Nicolau Award, and subsequent FPL, are increasing (see above on the Rice Committee).
Therefore it is my recommendation that Donn Butkovic be required to withdraw 20 hours per month from his sick bank and be able to access FPL thereafter, until such time as he is able to fly again.
Respectfully submitted,
Doug Mowery
AAA Negotiating Chairman
AAA MEC CODE-A-PHONE UPDATE - September 11, 2007
This is Arnie Gentile with a US Airways MEC update for Tuesday, September 11th, with three new items.
Item 1. The MEC reconvened its third quarter meeting this morning and began by observing a few minutes of silence in honor of the victims of 9/11. The MEC then heard from pilots in good standing both in person and over the phone. Thirteen pilots in all addressed the MEC, and the majority of their concerns centered around the MEC continuing to protect pilots from the effects of the Nicolau award.
The MEC then spent the rest of the morning and most of the afternoon in closed session with the Merger Committee and attorney Roland Wilder of Bapiste and Wilder.
Tomorrow, September 12th, the meeting will reconvene at 9 a.m. The schedule includes an SPC and Communications Committee update, an update from our ALPA National Executive Vice President, Tom Zerbarini, followed by the processing of items in subcommittee and plenary.
The meeting is being held at the Hilton Charlotte Executive Park located at 5624 Westpark Drive, Charlotte, NC. The phone number for transportation is 704-527-8000
All US Airways pilots are encouraged to attend MEC meeting.
Item 2. The R&I Committee is pleased to report that US Airways management will offer US Airways Pilots Blue Cross Blue Shield of NC as an optional medical plan administrator for 2008, in addition to United Health Care.
During open enrollment for 2008, if you wish to change from UHC to Blue Cross, you must log on and select Blue Cross Blue Shield as your plan administrator. If you are satisfied with United HealthCare, you will not need to make a selection. The default for those that make no selection will be UHC. Once you have made your selection, you will not be able to make any change in plans or administrators without a qualifying event.
Item 3. As a reminder, bidding for 2008 Pilot Vacations ends at midnight Saturday, September 15th EST. Bidding instructions and worksheets are available in the Crew Rooms, if needed.
Please direct questions pertaining to the Vacation Bid to James May at (412) 747-5456.
News you can use:
W.A.R. Item 911
AB 320PH 2b.10.5 Please reference appropriate PH
Do not start an engine until pushback complete when aircraft is being directed by hand signals only.
Educate to Vacate:
At the May 9th session of the Joint Negotiating Committee, it was revealed to the assembled representatives of both pilot groups and ALPA National, that a project code-named “Project Zanzibar†was in place for America West Airlines in 2005, and that the legal papers for a Chapter 11 Bankruptcy filing had been prepared and a plan developed for a America West bankruptcy in the event that the merger with US Airways failed.
Equal pay for Equal Work:
It has been 11 days since September 1, 2007, the start of retro active pay.
Money to be paid to each Group 2 Captain is $618
Money to be paid to each Group 2 First Officer is $303.
Follow the three-prong approach, fly safe and thanks for listening.
See Story
[Attention U-Turn readers. Ok, we told you we would get back to the pros and cons of “alternative†representation, but once again, that discussion was pre-empted by yet another developing story. We promise we’ll get back to it…soon.
Meanwhile, you will find the East’s latest Negotiating Committee Report paste below. Pay particular attention to the parts in bold under the Rice Committee section. Anyone who doesn’t believe our MEC is in active negotiations to reach mutually agreeable solutions…
The article is unedited, except for the bold emphasis added.]
AI 07-95 - NEGOTIATING COMMITTEE REPORT
Doug Mowery, Chairman
September 10, 2007 – 3rd Q
Training Freezes
At the 25Jul07 Special MEC meeting in Washington D.C. you tasked the Negotiating and
Grievance Chairs to write to management and request the lifting of all freezes on
“recalled furlough pilotsâ€. A letter detailing your request was sent to management on
09Aug07, signed by Tracy Parrella and myself prior to Bid 07-05. The MEC was cc’d on the correspondence so you should have all received a copy. There has been no response from management at the time of this report.
LOA 97 Retirement Contributions to Shuttle Pilots
At that same Special MEC meeting you tasked the Negotiating Committee to “expeditiously†consummate a negotiation to secure DC plan monies owed to former Shuttle Pilots. Vice Chair Don Hollerbach headed up this project and had it completed for your review and approval on 15Aug07 in Washington D.C. The necessary signatures are being secured at this time and Don will update you on the disbursements of funds in CLT.
Space Positive
We have assisted the Grievance Committee and MEC officers in the negotiations to secure the re-instatement of space positive. Our latest proposal was sent to management in early August, so the ball is in their court. It is my opinion that we have negotiated as far as we can and the remaining small gap between us needs to be closed by management. I am expecting an invocation of mediation in JNC talks by management in the near future. They will not want to be hamstrung by meetings solely east of the Mississippi . Leverage will be with us on this issue and we will win.
I want to thank the MEC for staying the course in this battle, even in the face of advisors from ALPA who tried to chart a different course for us. I have spent the last 18 months riding jumpseats to represent our pilots in this battle and I will happily spend 18 more months on the jumpseat if necessary (it won’t be).
AFB
At the 2Q07 meeting the MEC postponed action on changing AFB until the effects of the new FPL policy could be analyzed for action at this 3Q meeting. Unfortunately, the new
FPL policy will not go into effect, according to MEC S/T Mike D’Angelo, until 01Oct07.
I bring this to your attention so that you do not allow the AFB issue to fall through the cracks. A further postponement to the 4Q07 meeting may be appropriate (this is also the meeting where budgetary issues are normally reviewed---you don’t want to be in that sub-committee!). I am sure there are those who wish you would leave AFB alone and forget about your original resolution. I am not one of those, and, besides, you originally tasked the NC with this job so it is my duty to insure you do not forget.
Flow Thru
Bruce York has called a meeting to discuss Flow thru with the East, the West and the Wholly Owneds (WHO) for 06Sep07. This is the week before the MEC meeting so I will update you orally then. I have informed Bruce York that the NC will head up this negotiation for the East and that he is to copy me in on all future correspondence. Thus far he has communicated with MEC Chair Jack Stephan and Jack has kindly forwarded those communications to me.
Don Hollerbach, Dean Colello and myself will be the members of this team. Donn Butkovic has indicated a willingness to not participate in these discussions and I will honor that request. Kim Snider dropped out of the process in Nov05, as those of you who were on the MEC at the time may remember. I, personally, can’t wait.
Pay Parity
The NC met the week after the 2Q07 Regular MEC meeting to develop the pay parity proposal that you tasked us with at that meeting. That proposal was finished and emailed to management the last week of June. Since then you have all followed the saga of the West running to management to “ensure†that we would not be granted pay parity, and management’s reluctance to address the issue without West approval. Management’s original plan called for exploring “Extended Separate Operations†to achieve pay parity, but they subsequently moved away from that idea and back toward a “single†agreement. In either case, they indicated West approval was required.
The West continued to push us into “single†agreement JNC talks, edging us closer to the Nicolau award. I spent weeks telling the West, Management and Officers and advisors of this association that JNC talks were futile at this point and that pay parity needed to be addressed. My final comments to Lyle Hogg and Beth Holdren in early August on this issue were that “the East pilots would not tolerate working on a B-scale much longerâ€. I imagine you weren’t “feeling the love†from the West, Management, or ALPA any more than I was on this very important topic for our pilots. I commend you for the unanimous resolution of 15Aug07 pulling the JNC out of negotiations until pay parity is granted.
Guys, no one was listening! You needed to get their attention. In Parker’s 16Aug07 letter to all pilots he never mentions that he feels we have “breached†the Transition Agreement and instead talks about working on a solution. Good. You have their attention now and they are already indicating a willingness to work things out. This will get worked out. Thank you for taking the dramatic action necessary to represent your pilots.
Rice Committee and “equivalent, permanent, separate contractsâ€
We have had numerous meetings with the Rice Committee since the 17Jul07 joint MEC meeting called by Prater in Washington D.C. Until 14Aug these meetings involved only members of the Rice Committee and the East (Rice conducted separate meetings with the West).
Attending from the Rice Committee have been Paul Rice and Bruce York as the “constantsâ€. Auxiliary members include, Matt Marsh from Champion, Ray Miller from NorthWest, Dave Webb from FedEx and Larry Schulte (retired UAL and former ALPA Officer).
Attending from the East has been the entire NC (including Dean Colello), Jack Stephan, and one member from the merger committee (Kevin Barry). It was obvious at the early meetings that the Rice Committee had a desired preference for a single agreement due to its greater economic value. The MEC resolution for permanent separate contracts with equivalent economics (25Jul07) was panned by the committee and termed “dumb†by Bruce York at a 13Aug meeting. On 14Aug the Rice committee brought the West and East side together for the first time, but that was to primarily explore a united response to a possible request for mediation the next day from management in JNC negotiations and to lay the groundwork for three days of “joint†meetings in PHX the following week. The request for mediation did not materialize the next day as many, including myself, expected.
The week of 20Aug the Rice Committee met for three full days in PHX. The West stated very clearly on day one that they were not interested in participating in this process if it did not lead to a single agreement with implementation of the Nicolau award. On Day two we met separately with the Rice Committee (RC) from the West and it became readily apparent that the RC also has the same goal---a single agreement with eventual implementation of the award. Paul Rice stated that we needed to work toward a “transition to the implementation†of the award. It appears also that their desire is to have this transition occur in a fairly short time frame (1-2 years). Although no specific time frame was mentioned directly by those schooled in carefully choosing their words, they repeatedly asked us questions of where would Dean Colello be in a couple years; where would Dan Scola be, etc. and did this begin to solve our issues? We stayed on a very long time frame (forever, until the last protected pilot retires, etc.). Each time the discussion was artfully steered back to thinking of a much shorter duration.
Even more alarming was the impression that the RC did not back our fight for pay parity! They continually discussed the large economics our pilots would receive and wouldn’t that sway them to vote in the affirmative. Mike Abram mentioned our Group 2 C/O getting raises from $125 to $165 in the single agreement. Notice he did not start from a pay parity rate of $141 to $165. Mike also mentioned getting back to JNC negotiations--- “you mean after we get pay parity, right?†I asked. Mike was silent.
I finally laid the question directly on the table and asked the RC if they backed our fight for pay parity. Paul Rice, First Vice President of ALPA, stated that pay parity was not at issue here and refused to answer the question. In short, it appears the RC agrees with the strategy of the West articulated in JMac’s Chair letter at the end of July to hold economic gains for our pilots hostage to an acquiescence on the Nicolau award. The greater those economic gains, the greater their chance of achieving their (West and RC) goals. On the final day of discussions in PHX the RC presented us (just East in attendance) with a bullet point document that was introduced by Paul Rice as geared toward a “single†agreement with implementation of the Nicolau award after a defined period. Various protections were itemized in the document. The documents were numbered and had to be turned in at the end of the discussion. I have provided an Aspen update for Jack to forward privately and we will discuss this in much more detail at the 3Q meeting.
Donn Butkovic status
NC member Donn Butkovic suffered a serious injury to his shoulder in early July and is off Flight status at this time. As many of you recall from the Pollock and Brookman issues of the past two years, there is a policy in the ALPA Admin manual, Section 60, M. concerning FPL restrictions governing a member who is sick:
COMPENSATION/FLIGHT PAY LOSS RESTRICTIONS
SOURCE - Executive Board May 1969; AMENDED - Executive Board May 1971;
Executive Board May 1995; Executive Board May 2004; Executive Board June
2006
The MEC or Executive Council, depending on whether the funds utilized are from the MEC or national budget, will be informed by a pilot receiving compensation/flight pay loss when he is no longer medically qualified for more than 90 consecutive days to perform duties as a commercial airline pilot. It is the responsibility of the body providing the funds to determine whether a pilot who is medically disqualified for more than 90 days receives further compensation or must draw on the pilot’s sick leave bank or receives some combination thereof for performance of authorized ALPA assignments, and to determine the method of payment for any compensation aside from sick leave pay.
As Chairman of the NC, I am notifying the MEC that Donn will fall into these restrictions in early October. It is anticipated that Donn will be out up to six more months after that point. The policy clearly states that it is your responsibility to determine whether Donn can continue to receive FPL, use Sick time, or a combination thereof.
I am recommending a combination. Donn is still able to conduct NC duties and, therefore, should be compensated with FPL. However, Donn is not able to fly the 20 hours per month that the MEC asked all AFB pilots to accomplish at a Regular MEC meeting in PHL in ’06. Additionally, I have had a longer standing internal NC policy that all members stay current and fly when possible to defray ALPA FPL expense. We do receive 255 hours of company paid FPL for the NC, but this averages to 64 hours divided by the four (4) members (Donn, Don, Dean and myself). Dean is not on AFB but his duties since the Nicolau Award, and subsequent FPL, are increasing (see above on the Rice Committee).
Therefore it is my recommendation that Donn Butkovic be required to withdraw 20 hours per month from his sick bank and be able to access FPL thereafter, until such time as he is able to fly again.
Respectfully submitted,
Doug Mowery
AAA Negotiating Chairman
AAA MEC CODE-A-PHONE UPDATE - September 11, 2007
This is Arnie Gentile with a US Airways MEC update for Tuesday, September 11th, with three new items.
Item 1. The MEC reconvened its third quarter meeting this morning and began by observing a few minutes of silence in honor of the victims of 9/11. The MEC then heard from pilots in good standing both in person and over the phone. Thirteen pilots in all addressed the MEC, and the majority of their concerns centered around the MEC continuing to protect pilots from the effects of the Nicolau award.
The MEC then spent the rest of the morning and most of the afternoon in closed session with the Merger Committee and attorney Roland Wilder of Bapiste and Wilder.
Tomorrow, September 12th, the meeting will reconvene at 9 a.m. The schedule includes an SPC and Communications Committee update, an update from our ALPA National Executive Vice President, Tom Zerbarini, followed by the processing of items in subcommittee and plenary.
The meeting is being held at the Hilton Charlotte Executive Park located at 5624 Westpark Drive, Charlotte, NC. The phone number for transportation is 704-527-8000
All US Airways pilots are encouraged to attend MEC meeting.
Item 2. The R&I Committee is pleased to report that US Airways management will offer US Airways Pilots Blue Cross Blue Shield of NC as an optional medical plan administrator for 2008, in addition to United Health Care.
During open enrollment for 2008, if you wish to change from UHC to Blue Cross, you must log on and select Blue Cross Blue Shield as your plan administrator. If you are satisfied with United HealthCare, you will not need to make a selection. The default for those that make no selection will be UHC. Once you have made your selection, you will not be able to make any change in plans or administrators without a qualifying event.
Item 3. As a reminder, bidding for 2008 Pilot Vacations ends at midnight Saturday, September 15th EST. Bidding instructions and worksheets are available in the Crew Rooms, if needed.
Please direct questions pertaining to the Vacation Bid to James May at (412) 747-5456.
News you can use:
W.A.R. Item 911
AB 320PH 2b.10.5 Please reference appropriate PH
Do not start an engine until pushback complete when aircraft is being directed by hand signals only.
Educate to Vacate:
At the May 9th session of the Joint Negotiating Committee, it was revealed to the assembled representatives of both pilot groups and ALPA National, that a project code-named “Project Zanzibar†was in place for America West Airlines in 2005, and that the legal papers for a Chapter 11 Bankruptcy filing had been prepared and a plan developed for a America West bankruptcy in the event that the merger with US Airways failed.
Equal pay for Equal Work:
It has been 11 days since September 1, 2007, the start of retro active pay.
Money to be paid to each Group 2 Captain is $618
Money to be paid to each Group 2 First Officer is $303.
Follow the three-prong approach, fly safe and thanks for listening.
sharktooth
Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 27, 2006
- Messages
- 1,846
- Reaction score
- 0
What are the bolded areas, your comments or puke greens? or someone else?
For the sake of readability, you may wish to separate quotes in the provided manner instead of hacking your own. Your roadhouse views are drowned in text noise, especially when you quote someone elses bolded thoughts, adding your own bold text to the mix, completely confusing any message whatsoever.
aquagreen73s
Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 22, 2005
- Messages
- 1,979
- Reaction score
- 1,877
I think Prechilill was republishing my post because it's THAT GOOD. In any case, I cut and pasted from your beloved but severely underfunded USAPA website so there wasn't a possibility to quote/comment etc. The bolded comments are mine - but the thoughts are shared by all 1800 AWA pilots.
USAPA is DOA.
aquagreen73s
Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 22, 2005
- Messages
- 1,979
- Reaction score
- 1,877
When my kids were younger I would take them to the library for story time where they sat and listened to a librarian read fairy tales. But on the East I guess it's grown men who gather around the telephone to listen to the latest impossibility and fantasy. That truly must be a sight to behold. A UAL pilot warned me the night of the "merger" announcement that I and my fellow AWA pilots have no idea who we were dealing with. Oh man was he so correct.
Piedmont1984
Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 12, 2004
- Messages
- 1,737
- Reaction score
- 897
John Prater
Thanks for your efforts in making USAPA a viable and imminent reality. Your most recent "fact" sheet continues to inspire additional pilots who were heretofore undecided, finally get off the fence.
If you can, would you also send some money to our effort, if you haven't already?
Just go to our website, www.usairlinepilots.org, and click "donate".
Thanks again.
Thanks for your efforts in making USAPA a viable and imminent reality. Your most recent "fact" sheet continues to inspire additional pilots who were heretofore undecided, finally get off the fence.
If you can, would you also send some money to our effort, if you haven't already?
Just go to our website, www.usairlinepilots.org, and click "donate".
Thanks again.
aquagreen73s
Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 22, 2005
- Messages
- 1,979
- Reaction score
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I wish you guys luck; I really do because from the West perspective we didn't relish a protracted fight against ALPA to do what they were supposed to do. USAPA's survival depends upon their assumption of ALPA's duty which is to protect and defend the Nicolau award. If they so much as flinch in that duty, they're toast.
The problem these days is that we as a society have completely lost the concept of right and wrong. Instead, we bury ourselves in periods, commas, the definition of "is," etc. When the list came out I knew we had the law squarely in our corner but the question remained as to what ALPA would do with respect to what is right and what is wrong. The East immediately went into hippie style disruption ala 1968 Democratic Convention and then what does Prater do? He shelves right and wrong and thinks he can craft a solution out of thin air. Instead, he stepped into a quagmire and his failed vision only made things worse for all pilots in this profession. Much like Vietnam and Iraq, Prater has taken ALPA into a swamp that is much deeper and far more treacherous than originally thought. But, just as Nixon figured it out in 1972 and it appears that the Shrub is finally getting it in 2007, it seems that Prater is figuring out the obvious that he just needs to get out. Hence, the ruminations seeping out of certain East players that the hour is close at hand in which "Right" will be taken down from the shelf in Herndon and placed front and center in this dispute that never should have been.
AAA73Pilot
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I think Prechilill was republishing my post because it's THAT GOOD. In any case, I cut and pasted from your beloved but severely underfunded USAPA website so there wasn't a possibility to quote/comment etc. The bolded comments are mine - but the thoughts are shared by all 1800 AWA pilots.
USAPA is DOA.
Underfunded? The bills are current. We have no debt. If we had more money, think of what we could do. So on a tight budget USAPA is still capable of achieving an unbelievable amount of success in ALPA's eyes. Thanks for reminding me of how well we are doing.
DOA? Wishful thinking. Keep it up, because you obviously don't understand the dynamics of the east pilots resolve. Since USAPA hasn't "arrived" yet, you must think the election is coming. It's easier to get USAPA elected than to get an election. If you really want to see if we're DOA send in a card and let the campaign begin sooner, rather than later.
nostradamus
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Did the United pilot mention the fairy tale about the "Goose That Laid The Golden Egg?"
"We don't want to kill the goose," he said. "We just want to choke it by the neck until it gives us every last egg."
Read chapter 11 of the book below.
Summer of Hell
aquagreen73s
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The bills for USAPA really haven't even started yet. You're going to need a heck of a lot more than 300 donations. That number actually shocked me because I would have guessed that the number was four to five times that. The real problem for USAPA is that it is founded upon a premise that is untenable - you can't "do away" with Nicolau any more than ALPA can. Furthermore, unlike AWAPA where there really was a near success, USAPA is entering an arena in which the law is squarely against them, there are 1800 AWA pilots ready and chomping at the bit to destroy USAPA, and finally there's that 800 pound gorilla in Herndon that will want its dues money back. You're set up for a slaughter and the immediate cram down of Nicolau. So, that's why I do wish the East all the near term success possible. For karma reasons, however, I think it's best that the West just let the events unfold and the reason is because we have the law on our side and the moral high ground. There is no need for us to lift a finger when the advesary is headed straight into a dead end.
By the way, do you suppose Russ Webber's motion to forward the list is his idea alone? Or perhaps is he only the guy drafting the motion - ergo he was asked to do this by others on the EC??? Food for thought.
aquagreen73s
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You're going to need upwards of 95% support for your wildcat tactics, otherwise the company will have a field day picking off individuals like a sniper perched in a tree. And even if you did somehow muster enough troops who are more brave than intelligent, then consider that the company has the blueprint from the Rich Lavoy/APA fiasco. Either way, you're stuck and the reason is because you refuse to hold the line with the 57,000 other pilots in this profession.
nostradamus
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I was just pointing out the arrogance of the United pilot, I in now way condone what they did.
aquagreen73s
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Ok. A lot has changed in the last six years and hopefully the sectarian arrogance which fractured this pilot profession is over. It took the Persian threat to unite the Greek states. Hopefully the pilots will coalesce into a formidable phalanx in the coming negotiations across the industry. It's the only way to march forward. Our strength lies in our unity as a profession, not as a matter of which airline we got hired at.
nostradamus
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Well your formidable phalanx symbol is impotent.
Have you been playing a lot of role playing games on the computer lately? It is affecting your posts.
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