ALPA AAA MEC Thread for 8/10-8/17

[USA320Pilot]

To All US Airways Pilots,

During the past week there has been a significant change in the US Airways MEC’s strategy to set aside the adverse effects of Nicolau Award. The Company has informed the MEC that they believe the best way to resolve the seniority integration dispute is to do it through joint discussions and according to Jack Stephan management has “backed awayâ€￾ from the separate contract/separate operation solution. Why? The company's view is that they do not want to drive a further wedge between the two pilot groups.

The challenge with the company’s position is that the AWA MEC has dug their heels into the ground, they do not support joint discussions to find a "realistic solution" to the problem, and they will not agree to either EC resolution or any Rice Committee recommendations.

Therefore, what can we do to move the process along, obtain a satisfactory solution to the Nicolau Award problem, and obtain a new contract if the separate contract/separate operation solution is off of the table (for now)?

I now believe the time has come to support the US Airline Pilots Association (USAPA) organizing effort and mail a representation card to USAPA, especially after looking at the meaningful East pilot movement associated with Pilot Permanent Bid 07-05 and new hires coming onto the East property in September.

What is interesting is that there will soon be a new MEC resolution to deal with the Nicolau Award and although on the surface it may seem odd a case can be made that signing a card for USAPA is an act of support for our MEC. Here is why:

- If we do not have sufficient interest to call a Representational Election, e.g., not enough cards, we are telling ALPA that all is well. Do we want to do that?

- If you sign a card you tell ALPA in no uncertain terms that you are mad enough to consider an alternative union.

- An important point is that a card does not elect USAPA.

- The card brings an election with ALPA and USAPA both on the ballot. The process from when the NMB Inspector tells the NMB Attorney General that there is a representational dispute for both the US Airways and AWA pilots takes about 90 to 120 days to determine the future collective bargaining agent.

- During the election pilots can vote for either ALPA or USAPA and during the process the US Airways and AWA MEC’s could reach a new seniority integration agreement and joint contract.

- If you do not sign a card and send it to USAPA then ALPA International will think everything is fine. Is that what you want ALPA to think?

I strongly encourage every US Airways and America West pilot to submit a representational card to USAPA to permit an NMB sponsored election. I believe this process willd permit the US Airways pilots to obtain a satisfactory solution to the Nicolau Award and a new contract for the East and West pilots.

To register to decertify ALPA and obtain a representational card click here.

Regards,

USA320Pilot

 

[700UW]

No such thing as an NMB Investigator nor NMB Attorney General.

NMB Organizational Chart

And now that you are promoting another union, your boy Garland will have to stop leaking info to you.

I can't wait to send the MEC your letter.

Just sent this to Arnie, and the rest of the Communication Reps and Webmaster, guess you will hear from them soon!

 

[Bear96]

To All US Airways Pilots,

During the past week there has been a significant change in the US Airways MEC’s strategy to set aside the adverse effects of Nicolau Award. The Company has informed the MEC that they believe the best way to resolve the seniority integration dispute is to do it through joint discussions . . .

Um, you're a little late. To bring you up to date, joint discussions were tried, and failed, so East and West agreed to go to BINDING arbitration, where the seniority integration dispute was resolved by an arbitration panel. Have you been away for the past few months?

. . . and according to Jack Stephan management has “backed awayâ€￾ from the separate contract/separate operation solution.

By "management backed away," you must mean, "East MEC is finally forced to admit management never seriously entertained the idea of a separate contract / separate operations."

The challenge with the company’s position is that the AWA MEC has dug their heels into the ground[.]

Good thing East is being so flexible and reasonable then!

 

[supercruiser]

- If we do not have sufficient interest to call a Representational Election, e.g., not enough cards, we are telling ALPA that all is well. Do we want to do that?

- If you sign a card you tell ALPA in no uncertain terms that you are mad enough to consider an alternative union.


- If you do not sign a card and send it to USAPA then ALPA International will think everything is fine. Is that what you want ALPA to think?

I strongly encourage every US Airways and America West pilot to submit a representational card to USAPA to permit an NMB sponsored election. I believe this process willd permit the US Airways pilots to obtain a satisfactory solution to the Nicolau Award and a new contract for the East and West pilots.

To register to decertify ALPA and obtain a representational card click here.

Regards,

USA320Pilot

Precisely. It took you long enough to figure it out, but better late than not at all.

 

[Captsummeroff]

Um, you're a little late. To bring you up to date, joint discussions were tried, and failed, so East and West agreed to go to BINDING arbitration, where the seniority integration dispute was resolved by an arbitration panel. Have you been away for the past few months?
By "management backed away," you must mean, "East MEC is finally forced to admit management never seriously entertained the idea of a separate contract / separate operations."


Good thing East is being so flexible and reasonable then!

(Bear96 I'm just joining in here, not directed at your post.)

Joint discussions are a waste of time"period"the list is the list. Changing unions won't change the list. The real problem is, the list will never be implemented. The east pilots will never sign or agree to a joint contract. The F/O's on the east out number the captains, they are all at risk with the new list. They all know if there's a down turn in the economy, they are history. Parker doesn't have enough money to fix that. That's the reality, if anyone one thinks differently you are just pissing in the wind. The real challenge is where to go to now. When you think things can't get worse, just wait. I have to laugh when I see the word management thrown around under the umbrella of the USAIRWAYS name.

 

[700UW]

Becareful what you wish for, you can end up non-union with no CBA and be employees at will, just what Glass and Hemenway would love.

 

[BottomFeeder]

I just called my reps to get their weigh-in on this.

1. Mr. Yahoo groups...... the AWA MEC was warned about this guy by the AAA MEC long before the Nicolau Award came out. The AWA MEC's read on his attempts to email them is that either a) the East MEC is putting him up to it in a desperate attempt to scare the AWA MEC into capitulating, or B) that he's trying to scare the AWA MEC into capitulating towards a joint contract against the wishes of his MEC. As for the U-Turn, well, the idiots who publish that had little crediblity when they started, and now have even less. U-Turns biggest author is doing alot of backpeddaling on the AWA web-boards right now because of it, including throwing Mr. Yahoo under the bus.

2. A dozen or more East pilots are emailing the AWA MEC regularly in an attempt to convince them to compromise so that we can get a joing agreement. Some, but not most, of these guys are west-coasters and want to come to PHX to bid captain ahead of an AWA pilot. Most of the others have stated their disagreement with the "separate ops" approach.

3. Contrary to the claims by some East pilots, the AWA MEC's strategy does NOT include bribing the East pilots into forgetting about the Nicolau Award with a joint contract. Nor do they believe that the East pilots will somehow "forget" or "accept" the award. They have a few paths mapped out, however, at this point it's more about what WON'T work. Negotiating solutions with an MEC who is continuing down the same path of taking an extremist position and then not backing down from it, WON'T work.

Have you ever noticed that the AWA MEC calls all of the information from the AAA Mec as not true.

Folks a red light should be going off when a elected official tells you that only the other side lies.

 

[Phoenix]

Have you ever noticed that the AWA MEC calls all of the information from the AAA Mec as not true.

Folks a red light should be going off when a elected official tells you that only the other side lies.

What do ALPA MEC "leaders" and lawyers have in common? When their mouth is moving...

 

[Tiger 1050]

(Bear96 I'm just joining in here, not directed at your post.)

Joint discussions are a waste of time"period"the list is the list. Changing unions won't change the list. The real problem is, the list will never be implemented. The east pilots will never sign or agree to a joint contract. The F/O's on the east out number the captains, they are all at risk with the new list. They all know if there's a down turn in the economy, they are history. Parker doesn't have enough money to fix that. That's the reality, if anyone one thinks differently you are just pissing in the wind. The real challenge is where to go to now. When you think things can't get worse, just wait. I have to laugh when I see the word management thrown around under the umbrella of the USAIRWAYS name.

Maybe so. However I believe they (east) would be in violation of the Transition Agreement which they signed. It clearly states that the goal is one cert, one contract and one list. The fact that they don't like the results of the arbitration and are trying to pull these shenanigans would certainly lend itself to an eventual lawsuit. Maybe from the west or maybe from the company. It is sad to see this many led astray by an unscrupulous MEC, leading them to believe that these options (see recent MEC resolutions) will produce the results they desire. Selfishly I might add. Either way Parker has begun to make it clear that he does in fact want one company with one pilot group. Time will tell.

 

[Captsummeroff]

Maybe so. However I believe they (east) would be in violation of the Transition Agreement which they signed. It clearly states that the goal is one cert, one contract and one list. The fact that they don't like the results of the arbitration and are trying to pull these shenanigans would certainly lend itself to an eventual lawsuit. Maybe from the west or maybe from the company. It is sad to see this many led astray by an unscrupulous MEC, leading them to believe that these options (see recent MEC resolutions) will produce the results they desire. Selfishly I might add. Either way Parker has begun to make it clear that he does in fact want one company with one pilot group. Time will tell.

I believe you are correct about being in violation of the TA. However what does that mean or do? What does the company or the west do? File a grievance, which will take months to be heard. Then even if the east loses completely, you’re just back to square one. You can force people to talk, what you can’t do is force them to agree. It’s just a bad situation for all. "Unscrupulous MEC" I would just say no matter what side of the fence you're sitting on many would say that is true. As far as Parker, his dream come true (two groups fighting) is about to turn into a night mare

 

[Tiger 1050]

I believe you are correct about being in violation of the TA. However what does that mean or do? What does the company or the west do? File a grievance, which will take months to be heard. Then even if the east loses completely, you’re just back to square one. You can force people to talk, what you can’t do is force them to agree. It’s just a bad situation for all. "Unscrupulous MEC" I would just say no matter what side of the fence you're sitting on many would say that is true. As far as Parker, his dream come true (two groups fighting) is about to turn into a night mare

Well the west or the company could litigate. As far as people getting along, I would argue the east destroyed that possiblity long ago. "Unscrupulous" could be used to describe any political position... On that we agree.

Good day little children...

P.S. Parker is laughing his way to the bank as we speak...

 

[USA320Pilot]

US Airways ALPA MEC CODE-A-PHONE UPDATE - August 13, 2007

This is Arnie Gentile with a US Airways MEC update for Monday, August 13th, with two new items.

Item 1. MEC Chairman Jack Stephan has called a special meeting for Wednesday, August 15th to convene at 9 a.m. and adjourn at 6 p.m. the same day or at the completion of business.

The agenda for the meeting is as follows:

1. Discussion of Communications and Strike Prep strategy for “Equal Pay for Equal Work†and financing considerations to support campaign.

2. Report from Negotiating Committee and JNC on current negotiations.

3. Provide MEC direction to the JNC regarding future negotiations.

4. Review and possible action concerning LOA #97 – Shuttle Pilots Retirement Contributions.

The meeting will be held in Washington, DC at the Doubletree Hotel Washington, DC, on 1515 Rhode Island Avenue N.W, phone number is 202-232-7000. The hotel does not provide shuttle service, however pilots can take the metro blue line to Mc Pherson Square and exit 4 blocks north.

Item 2. MEC Chairman Jack Stephan has recorded a Chairman’s message that talks about the next steps your MEC will be working on this week at the special MEC meeting on Wednesday. In this message, Capt. Stephan explains that now that the foundation of the MEC’s plan to deal with the Nicolau award is in place, it is time to focus on pilot pay discrimination on this property. The Chairman’s message will be posted under What’s New, emailed to all pilots, and can be heard by dialing the Code-A-Phone and pressing option 2.

News you can use:

W.A.R. Item 810

QRH A320, Severe Weather/Windshear

“Use TOGA Thrust†is the first item when applying wind shear precautions

Educate to Vacate:

Myth buster. Undisputable financial facts: Source LCC, Form10Q

Shared operating expenses:

Shared costs have been allocated based on AWA’s and US Airways’ statistics, including revenue passenger miles (“RPMsâ€) and passenger sales revenues.

First six months 2007, merger related transition expenses:

America West…………. 23 million
US Airways…………… 44 million

Now that we have the merger related expenses, here is the breakdown of operating income, 2Q 2007:

US Airways…………… $320 million dollar Operating Income

America West…………. ($25) million Operating Loss

Equal pay for Equal Work:

The US Airways pilots have worked under an F Scale for 685 Days.
From September 27th, 2005 to August 13th, 2007, Due to the lack of =PAY4=WORK :
Every Group 2 US Airways Captain has lost $31,612

Every Group 2 US Airways First Officer has lost $14,466


Follow the three-prong approach, fly safe and thanks for listening.

___________________

BOS F/O Rep. LEC Update - August 14, 2007

Gents,

Forget about the Nicolau award. It was for drill purposes only.

Your MEC has already unanimously decided to keep the two operations separate indefinitely, and to pursue separate contracts of equivalent value. In so doing, the Nicolau Award will sit on the shelf forever.

And the first battle in this war to reach separate contracts of equivalent value is our demand for immediate pay parity, with the MEC meeting on Wednesday to get this fight started.

And a fight it will be, so get ready.

"Anything else is rubbish."

Garland

__________

USA320Pilot comments: For those who are worried about a merger in the future, another corporate option is for US Airways to acquire another airline whose pilots are represented by ALPA and then ALPA Merger Policy would not apply in our new corporate combination, such as in the AMR-TWA case.

In the past many would have thought this was a US Airways option? But, I believe Doug Parker wants US Airways to be the survivor and we all know he is not afraid to buy anybody considering his hostile attempt to acquire DAL.

As far as the USAPA ALPA decertification effort, I believe there is NO downside to signing a card. If the NMB Investigator believes a dispute exists and notifies the NMB General Counsel then we decide who we want to represent us. It could be ALPA or USAPA. Once we have an election authorized then we can move forward and let our pilots decide who will represent both the US Airways and the America West pilots.

With that said, I do not want to leave ALPA, but I do want to find an acceptable solution to the Nicolau Award. I believe if we have an election then there will be serious pressure placed on the AWA MEC, EC, and Rice Committee to come up with a compromise we can live with.

During this process we will never be without union representation and I believe the decision to sign and submit a card moves the process along.

Regards,

USA320Pilot

 

[ClueByFour]

Your MEC has already unanimously decided to keep the two operations separate indefinitely, and to pursue separate contracts of equivalent value. In so doing, the Nicolau Award will sit on the shelf forever.

Your MEC's lawyer should have Garland go back and try reading comprehension on the Transition Agreement, since what he just wrote has materially impacted the ability of the East MEC to defend itself from the inevitable lawsuit from the Company, West MEC, or both.

It's not the East's decision to make, and that kind of arrogance is exactly what the West guys are talking about.

And the first battle in this war to reach separate contracts of equivalent value is our demand for immediate pay parity, with the MEC meeting on Wednesday to get this fight started.

Reading comprehension must be weak, since even those of us on the outside can read the transcripts of any number of company statements that have said pay parity is not going to happen outside a joint contract.

Sticking one's head in the sand does not count as resolve.

USA320Pilot comments: For those who are worried about a merger in the future, another corporate option is for US Airways to acquire another airline whose pilots are represented by ALPA and then ALPA Merger Policy would not apply in our new corporate combination, such as in the AMR-TWA case.

In which case it will invariably end up in some form of arbitration. You guys are like Charlie Brown with the football if you think that's a particularly good idea.

In the past many would have thought this was a US Airways option? But, I believe Doug Parker wants US Airways to be the survivor and we all know he is not afraid to buy anybody considering his hostile attempt to acquire DAL.

They don't call it a purchase. It's a "merger," remember?

Your group's entire economic predication during and since the Nicolau arbitration have been focused upon the idea that US Airways was not "bought" by America West, and now you expect to try to cram the "purchaser/survivor" mantra down another group's throat?

Wanton hubris. Bank it--the Nicolau list will be used for any future merger.

As far as the USAPA ALPA decertification effort, I believe there is NO downside to signing a card. If the NMB Investigator believes a dispute exists and notifies the NMB General Counsel then we decide who we want to represent us. It could be ALPA or USAPA. Once we have an election authorized then we can move forward and let our pilots decide who will represent both the US Airways and the America West pilots.

And if they don't "decide" in a particular number, you have no union.

With that said, I do not want to leave ALPA, but I do want to find an acceptable solution to the Nicolau Award. I believe if we have an election then there will be serious pressure placed on the AWA MEC, EC, and Rice Committee to come up with a compromise we can live with.

Contrary to what you may think or have been told, leaving ALPA will not do a thing to eliminate Nicolau.

During this process we will never be without union representation and I believe the decision to sign and submit a card moves the process along.

That's the only correct thing I've read here. It's at the end of the process (instead of during) that you run the risk of being without representation.

 

[Bear96]

Your MEC has already unanimously decided to keep the two operations separate indefinitely[.]

Guess that settles it then.

Why doesn't the MEC just unanimously "decide" to reinstute your defined benefit pension plan, and everything else you lost in BK concessions. You'll be all set! Why didn't they think of this sooner?

 

[exB717Flyer]

US Airways ALPA MEC CODE-A-PHONE UPDATE - August 13, 2007
Educate to Vacate:
Myth buster. Undisputable financial facts: Source LCC, Form10Q

Shared operating expenses:

Allow me to educate y'all on the expression, non sequitur, defined as "a statement (as a response) that does not follow logically from or is not clearly related to anything previously said". The current state of profit or loss is irrelevent to the Nicolau Award which, as you know, was based on pre-merger conditions. Everybody knows the Award will never be vacated so why is the AAA MEC wasting time and your money (the video) on it?