Alpa Nc & Usair Reach Rj Scope Agreement

[USA320Pilot]

Today the ALPA Negotiating Committee and the Company reached an agreement on RJ scope relief. The ALPA Policy Manual provides a 7-day timeframe for the MEC to review the document.

The MEC is scheduled to convene its first quarter meeting on Monday, March 15, therefore, with the MEC in session the union will deal with the new agreement no later than Friday, March 19.

Regards,

USA320Pilot

 

[USA320Pilot]

Today Michael Yeomans reported Jack Stephan, spokesman for the pilots union, said the pilots are pleased the airline has restructured its loans.

"It's provided us precious time to have another swing of the bat," he said. But asset sales are not good for the long-term survivability of the airline, he added.

Stephan said pilots are deep in discussions with management on changing the rules that would allow the airline to fly more smaller jets at lower costs and are preparing more comprehensive discussions on an entirely new business plan.

See Story

Regards,

USA320Pilot

 

[mwereplanes]

This is something to truly be proud of. ALPA has once again stepped up to the plate for "another swing of the bat".

The furloughed guys are about to once again be beaned by our starting pitcher, Dave Siegel.

Our manager Dave Bronner, will again fail to call the bullpen to replace the starting pitcher.

And the team will lose yet another ball game because of the pathetic performance of the starting pitcher and manager.

Then the team losses will be blamed for not having the same salary cap as the division leaders LUV and JetBlue. Of course our steroid use (sick time) will come into question and also be a part of the blame.

So we will again fail to improve our position in the standings with little time left before the season comes to an end.

Of course we must be playing fairly well because our home and away attendance rivals that of the division leaders. But the fans see stupid manegerial moves too. So they become fans of the division leaders and only come to our games if the leaders aren't playing that day.

See, I can do stupid analogies too.

Yep, makes me truly proud to be an ALPA member.

mr

 

[A320 Driver]

This is just a guess, but I don't think Dave will be around much longer. His team has failed to revive the company and he can walk next month with 4.5 million plus bennies. He would be crazy to stay at a company where his performance is not highly regarded and the employees hate his guts. I mean. what would you do if you had the same choice??

Look for new talking heads in the near future (IMHO).

A320 Driver B)

 

[Furloughedagain]

God, I love baseball analogies.

The Furloughed guys (rookies?) were left at the hotel by the rest of the team because they would'nt fit on the RJ bus.

They were told that they had to do whats best for the team and that the team wouldn't forget the sacrifice they made.

Most of them found jobs coaching little league although some are still at that roadside HoJo's staring down the highway for the little cloud of dust that means the bus is coming back for them.

All of us on the street hope that the company recovers, but I dont believe many (if any) of us are under the illusion that we'll ever play for the team again. While the chosen few of us were traded to other major-league franchises the rest of us were kicked back to the minors -- some of us are even playing on the Mexican League.

For the love of the game, the feel of the ball, the scream of the crowds we walk out there every night doing the job we love to do for a fraction of the pay. We have closets full of uniforms and boxes of receipts from moving companies -- a sad history of the dozens of towns we've lived in for the love of the game.

We still watch the big-league games. Silently we root for the ol' Pittsburgh home team. We don't care for the management. There are some loudmouth players who we wish they'd get rid of. But all in all, its just baseball and it's a heck of a lot easier to watch it from home on TV then to get out there and play it every day.

Sometimes after our own games, the kids down here in Mexico would belly up to the bar, buy us a cerveza, and ask us about what it was like to play at the bigs. The more time passes, the less we remember. After a while, you just forget all about how your teammates left you at that roadside hotel ... they're not your teammates anymore. In more ways then one they're the competition.

So as you're walking around (or taxiing behind) those minor-league guys -- As you're riding in the hotel van with those minor-league guys -- Or if you see those minor-league guys doing the walkaround next door. Stick your head in and say hi. If you start talking baseball, you might be surprised at who you see in the right seat ... could've been a former teammate.

Good luck with this new agreement gentlemen. Hope the chief is making the right calls. :huh:

Play Ball!

 

[autofixer]

This feels bad. The whole secrecy issue is surrounding this new agreement. What is the secret? I can tell you what the agreement is: Outsourcing of more mainline flying and there will be some sort of carrot for the "senior" pilots, allowing them to keep their seat. That is all you need to know.

 

[wings396]

You can bet that if it's good for the Pilots, it will be bad news for the rest of the troops. More RJ Scope relief again, and more flying for Mesa and the other slipshot operators. They will get their 60 more A/C that will be flown to new destinations
WITHOUT any US Airways employees in sight. More Mainline Express stations to come with more tossed on the street and some staying for povery waqes. As usual the pilot group will come out smelling like a rose. It makes no difference to them where they fly as long as they do. We could contract out every remaining aspect of the company, and they would still be plugging along business as usual. I know the ALPA gang isn't going to like my reply, but it is the plain simple truth. Those MESA 737's are not far behind, as I'm sure ALPA with work out yet another sweet deal to let it happen. :down:

 

[Phoenix]

You can bet that if it's good for the Pilots, it will be bad news for the rest of the troops. More RJ Scope relief again, and more flying for Mesa and the other slipshot operators. They will get their 60 more A/C that will be flown to new destinations
WITHOUT any US Airways employees in sight. More Mainline Express stations to come with more tossed on the street and some staying for povery waqes. As usual the pilot group will come out smelling like a rose. It makes no difference to them where they fly as long as they do. We could contract out every remaining aspect of the company, and they would still be plugging along business as usual. I know the ALPA gang isn't going to like my reply, but it is the plain simple truth. Those MESA 737's are not far behind, as I'm sure ALPA with work out yet another sweet deal to let it happen. :down:

Wow! Your assertion that all Pilots are together and are not affected by 737s going to Mesa shows a complete lack of understanding of the facts. (Or perhaps a great snow job by Mgt.)

When this whole debacle started there were over 7,000 pilots (active and retired) that benefited from US Air. All the retirees and future pilot retirees have lost the retirement they worked 30 or more years for, there are 2,000 pilots furloughed on the street because they refuse to fly for $20,000 a year and live in hotels for 26 days a month.

Now if you want to take issue with the pilots then you should direct your ire at the US Air Pilot MEC that refuses to send out new agreements to the Pilot Members for ratification. Then I will agree with any bad words you wish to use.

I can assure you that all the retirees, all the furloughed, and well over 70% of the active pilots at Mainline are just as upset and shafted as you are.

 

[SoldWholeSale]

Wings,

I'm not sure which coast the sun sets in your world. The pilots have taken a HUGE hit! Trust me, one look at my resume will show how much has been GIVEN away by our MEC. Read my screenname to witness how I feel. They are most certainly going to give us away again. I work for MAA which pays less than Mesa and is less organized. Would be a blessing to be bought out by someone like Mesa or Chataque.

 

[Phoenix]

This feels bad. The whole secrecy issue is surrounding this new agreement. What is the secret? I can tell you what the agreement is: Outsourcing of more mainline flying and there will be some sort of carrot for the "senior" pilots, allowing them to keep their seat. That is all you need to know.

Bingo.

Negotiations are agenda driven:

MEC agenda, keep Lexus at all cost encurred by others.

Mgt agena, accomodate MEC agenda.

 

[USA320Pilot]

ALPA's Negotiating Committee and the Company reached a RJ scope tentative agreement late last night and now the ALPA Policy Manual provides up to 7 days for the MEC to review the detailed document.

One MEC member recently said, "As an overview, the company is basically asking for scope relief to allow GECAS to sell the CRJ's slated for PSA and the EMB's slated for MDA to an USAirways Express Participating Affiliate (Mesa, for example) if GECAS decides not to sell them to USAirways Inc.

We can't make GECAS lend us the money to buy these airplanes no matter what we do with scope, as their decision appears to be credit worthiness driven and that, at the moment, is not our strong suit. So if they decide not to lend us the money for some or all of these SJ deliveries, then the company wants to be able to capture the revenue stream by those SJ's being sold to our Affiliates. Why is that so important? Because that revenue stream makes up a significant portion of the revenue that we told the ATSB we would deliver under our Plan of Reorganization (POR), and if it goes away we are going to have even bigger problems meeting our ATSB loan covenants," he said.

I suspect, although I do not know yet, the deal could include:

1. Increase Large (70-seat) SJs to be flown at PSA by 35, from 25 to a total of 60. Per the new ATSB agreement permit the sale of PSA without ATSB approval, with 75% of the proceeds used to pay down debt and 25% kept for general corproate pruposes. Separately, we could see the Allegheny/Piedmont turboprop operation "spun off" as well.

2. Change J4J provisions for Large SJs at PSA from 100% to 50%, maintain this if PSA is sold off, and becomes an affiliated carrier as opposed to a Wholly-Owned.

3. Allow CRJ aircraft on order at PSA to be flown at a participating affiliate at a J4J ratio of 50%.

4. Extend the deadline from 12/31/04 to 12/31/06 to place the large SJs at participating affiliates.

5. The Company can place EMB 170/175s at a Participating Affiliate Carrier with a 50% J4J ratio. The one exception could be if MDA is "spun off" as a separate airline, they would keep the 100% J4J.

The five items the Company previously offered ALPA in return for the scope relief were:

1. Tag Along Rights -- The Company’s position is that it may be very difficult to properly administer such a program, since all the currently distributed stock is in individual pilot’s hands as opposed to being held by a single entity such as a trust. The Company will meet with RSA and ALPA representatives on Friday, March 5 to expeditiously resolve all outstanding Tag Along issues. Again, Tag Along Rights were negotiated during Restructuring allowing all stock issued to ALPA to be eligible for the same premium that RSA stock may be offered.

2. Jump Seat -- The Company will participate in the industry off line jump seat plan. Once this process is approved, the company shall apply to TSA to participate after it determines the cost of participation in the program. The time frame for approval and cost of this program have not yet been determined.

3. Security Checkpoint Alternate Access -- The company agrees to implement a procedure arranging for alternate access to secure areas at pilot domicile airports with the company paying no more than $70 toward each pilot’s cost. The target for implementation is six months.

4. Commuter Policy -- The parties will negotiate and implement a commuter policy by no later than July 1,2004. The current Southwest Commuter Policy states that as long as you have one flight and one backup that arrive before check-in time, there is no penalty if either one does not operate or runs late. We would hope to implement something similar here.

5. Trip Pairing Construction -- Two members of the Scheduling Committee will work with the Company to review pairing Construction parameters with the objective of seeking mutually beneficial improvements to the quality and efficiency of pairings, as long as the result is no additional cost to the Company.

In my opinion, the deal will be something like the information above, will likely be endorsed by the MEC next week, and then be sent out for membership ratification with the voting results done in 10 days or about two weeks from now. In fact, it wold not surprise me if we have the electronic vote results announced by Friday, March 26.

This will provide about 90 days or until the end of June to have new labor accords in place.

Finally, ALPA spokesman Jack Stephan told the Charlotte Observer in an interview yesterday that "We're anxious to work with the airline and the rest of labor on the plan to return the airline to profitability."

Regards,

USA320Pilot

 

[U 737 PILOT]

Can't wait to see what we are giving up this time ! Anyone seen this E-170 yet....... I would hardly call it an RJ. Not to worry though, Mesa will be flyin em .... soon to be followed by the 737 and Airbuses.

 

[wings396]

I knew that my statement would get a rise out of some here on the board. The Mesa 737 issue was a joke, but I'm sure IF the company could pull it off, they would. I also know the pilot group has taken huge cuts as well. It just iratates me when they give up more and more flying to RJ's and/or contract operators. As I said, the pilots don't care how many stations close or go Express as long as they are still flying. The RJ issue has dealt a bigger blow to those on the station level than anyone else. The 2000 pilots on the street or those fling under the J4J agreement will get a shot at Mainline again someday. As for the closed or Expressed and MDA people, it is another story. I hope this clarifies my point in another way.

 

[tadjr]

Whats really sad is 5 years ago, no RJS on property, no way, no matter what. Now, bring em on, all of them, as many as you can get, without much in return. Too bad hind sight is 20/20. (and I know management had a say in this too, its just sad all around.)

 

[ktflyhome]

Oh Boy, let's see: 1.) Tag Along Rights 2.)Jumpseating rights 3.)Security Checkpoint Rights 4.)Commuting Policy Rights 5.) Trip Pairing(whatever). Wow. At the expense of more people's jobs. Brilliant. Just Brilliant. <_<