USA320Pilot
Veteran
- May 18, 2003
- 8,175
- 1,539
BOS Pilots,
As we wait for the decision of the Executive Council, some things need to be said about the ongoing effort to elect a new Bargaining Agent.
This is America. And in America we have the right to elect any Bargaining Agent that we choose. Our choice, whatever the reason, period, end of story.
Some facts for your consideration in making your decision:
In my view:
1. ALPA National's agenda is to do what's best for ALPA, and trade Unionism, as a whole. This has been severely criticized, but realize that every National Union has this same agenda, as it's the very core of Unionism, and is the source of political, financial, and negotiating power for all its members.
2. ALPA is an extremely decentralized Union, more appropriately called the Association that it is, and this too has been severely criticized. And in that decentralization it conveys tremendous authority to its respective MEC's.
3. They convey this authority because each airline, and thus each MEC, has circumstances unique to itself, and thus best knows how to deal with them. Moreover, pilots, by nature, would accept no other form of Union governance.
4. Now the next is for mature audiences only, so if you're a sensitive type read no further. US Airways went bankrupt 2 times in 3 years, and in the last bankruptcy could find no one, not even Dr. Bronner, who was willing to put up his own money to finance us through it. In order to survive, we, labor, financed this airline ourselves, and if we hadn't we wouldn't be here today.
5. Bad things happen to labor contracts in a first bankruptcy, and even worse things happen to labor contracts in a second bankruptcy, and whether the Judge takes it away, or you negotiate a TA in order to prevent the Judge from taking even more of it away, your contract is going to take some major hits.
6. This is true whether we had ALPA, an in-house Union, the Teamsters, or even the IAM (who, during our 2nd bankruptcy, advised their members to ratify their TA, and take their severance pay, rather than let the Judge abrogate and impose a new contract). And whether we had ALPA, an in-house, or the Teamsters, your DB Plan would be gone because the Judge said it must go.
7. And whether we had ALPA, an in-house, or the Teamsters, Arbitrator Nicolau, or any other Arbitrator, can and will do anything he pleases in determining what he thinks is "fair and equitable" in a seniority integration award.
8. All the issues of this Award will be the issues of ALPA, an in-house, or the Teamsters, and whomever our Bargaining Agent is they too will have to wrestle with the same problems, because none of this automatically goes away just because we want it too (lawyers make their living making sure of this fact).
9. As of yet, ALPA National has not attempted to impose any solution to the reality that we cannot, and will not, accept the Nicolau Award on this property. I believe they got your message.
10. If they do, it's time to leave, because they'd be nothing left to stay for. Until then, it's up to us, with that power given to both our MEC's, to find our own solution.
And if you don't like, or trust, your MEC, then do something about it. Recall them, and put in people you do trust. That's the power that ALPA has given to you, so use it if you think best, and you don't have to wait for a NMB vote either.
Respectfully,
Garland
CC: MEC
As we wait for the decision of the Executive Council, some things need to be said about the ongoing effort to elect a new Bargaining Agent.
This is America. And in America we have the right to elect any Bargaining Agent that we choose. Our choice, whatever the reason, period, end of story.
Some facts for your consideration in making your decision:
In my view:
1. ALPA National's agenda is to do what's best for ALPA, and trade Unionism, as a whole. This has been severely criticized, but realize that every National Union has this same agenda, as it's the very core of Unionism, and is the source of political, financial, and negotiating power for all its members.
2. ALPA is an extremely decentralized Union, more appropriately called the Association that it is, and this too has been severely criticized. And in that decentralization it conveys tremendous authority to its respective MEC's.
3. They convey this authority because each airline, and thus each MEC, has circumstances unique to itself, and thus best knows how to deal with them. Moreover, pilots, by nature, would accept no other form of Union governance.
4. Now the next is for mature audiences only, so if you're a sensitive type read no further. US Airways went bankrupt 2 times in 3 years, and in the last bankruptcy could find no one, not even Dr. Bronner, who was willing to put up his own money to finance us through it. In order to survive, we, labor, financed this airline ourselves, and if we hadn't we wouldn't be here today.
5. Bad things happen to labor contracts in a first bankruptcy, and even worse things happen to labor contracts in a second bankruptcy, and whether the Judge takes it away, or you negotiate a TA in order to prevent the Judge from taking even more of it away, your contract is going to take some major hits.
6. This is true whether we had ALPA, an in-house Union, the Teamsters, or even the IAM (who, during our 2nd bankruptcy, advised their members to ratify their TA, and take their severance pay, rather than let the Judge abrogate and impose a new contract). And whether we had ALPA, an in-house, or the Teamsters, your DB Plan would be gone because the Judge said it must go.
7. And whether we had ALPA, an in-house, or the Teamsters, Arbitrator Nicolau, or any other Arbitrator, can and will do anything he pleases in determining what he thinks is "fair and equitable" in a seniority integration award.
8. All the issues of this Award will be the issues of ALPA, an in-house, or the Teamsters, and whomever our Bargaining Agent is they too will have to wrestle with the same problems, because none of this automatically goes away just because we want it too (lawyers make their living making sure of this fact).
9. As of yet, ALPA National has not attempted to impose any solution to the reality that we cannot, and will not, accept the Nicolau Award on this property. I believe they got your message.
10. If they do, it's time to leave, because they'd be nothing left to stay for. Until then, it's up to us, with that power given to both our MEC's, to find our own solution.
And if you don't like, or trust, your MEC, then do something about it. Recall them, and put in people you do trust. That's the power that ALPA has given to you, so use it if you think best, and you don't have to wait for a NMB vote either.
Respectfully,
Garland
CC: MEC
There's no lie so marvelously deceitfull as one of omission
