SENIORITY MATTERS
The first in a series that takes an honest look at seniority.
FROM WHERE DOES SENIORITY COME?
As a US Airways pilot (East or West), we use seniority in many ways, from equipment and position bidding on the permanent base bids, to vacation bidding, to days off and trip selection on our monthly bids, to trip drops and adjustments through SAP and daily AIL processing. If you ask a First Officer why his flying partner is the Captain, he'll reply, "Because he was hired first." Our seniority dictates our lives as airline pilots throughout our entire career.
So... from where does our seniority come?
Were we born with it? No.
Did we inherit it? No.
Is our seniority determined by a random method, such as alphabetically by last name, or by hair color, or birth date? NO!
Our seniority comes from our collective bargaining agreement. YES, it comes from our contract.
Let's take a look at some excerpts from Section 22 - Seniority from our collective bargaining agreement.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SECTION 22 - SENIORITY:
GENERAL
(A) Only those pilots listed on the current US Airways, Inc. Pilots' System Seniority List shall be used on all flights as defined in Section 2(O).
(B) Pilots' System Seniority List
1. Seniority of a pilot shall be based upon the length of service as an airline pilot in the employ of the Company or its predecessor airline companies whose operations have been taken over by the Company.
2. Seniority of a pilot, and longevity for pay, vacation, sick leave, and retirement purposes shall begin to accrue on the date the pilot first reports to the Company's Pilot Training Program and shall continue to accrue except as otherwise provided in this Agreement. If more than one pilot is assigned to such training on the same day, they will be ranked in order of age, with the oldest pilot receiving the lowest seniority number. Once a seniority position is established, it shall not be changed. Each pilot shall be notified in writing of his number on this list, as well as the pilot's name and who is next junior to him
3. The Pilots' System Seniority List, as established by the Award of Arbitrator S. Kagel dated October 31, 1988, shall constitute the official Pilots' System Seniority List.
4. On January 1 of each year, the Company shall bring up to date and post within thirty (30) days a revised Pilots' System Seniority List . . . .
5. Once having established a seniority date hereunder a pilot shall not lose that date except as provided in this Agreement.
© Seniority shall govern all pilots in case of promotion and demotion, their choice of vacancies, filling of vacancies, their assignment or reassignment due to . . .
(D) In the event . . . . .
(E) Period of Probation . . . .
(F) Loss of Seniority
Any pilot whose services with the Company are permanently severed shall forfeit his seniority rights
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
We encourage all pilots to go to the USAPA website and read the entire Section 22 - Seniority
http://1.usairlinepilots.org/Working_Agree...2_Seniority.htm
So... since seniority is defined within the collective bargaining agreement that means that seniority can be negotiated. In fact, that is precisely what ALPA proposed as a solution through the Rice committee - a negotiated solution to seniority. Take another look at Section 22(B)5 above:
5. Once having established a seniority date hereunder a pilot shall not lose that date except as provided in this Agreement.
We get our seniority from our contract, not from the Company, not from ALPA and not from ALPA merger policy; until it is embodied within our collective bargaining agreement - until it is negotiated! Think about this - wouldn't the company love to take away all of our seniority, to abolish the seniority system? They can’t, because it’s in the contract. USAPA believes that seniority must be preserved in the airline industry.
USAPA was formed and has been built upon the recognition of seniority based on date of hire and length of service. These are widely recognized terms of seniority that are reasonable and have been recognized as such in courts of law. USAPA proposes to continue to define and negotiate seniority, the widely accepted and recognized seniority method of date of hire, through a collective bargaining agreement. The difference is that USAPA will be able to negotiate without the constraints of ALPA merger policy and the results of ALPA merger policy, such as the Nicolau award.
An important point to remember is that if the latest Nicolau award is embodied within the collective bargaining agreement, such as the Kagel award in Section 22 (B) 3 above, then we will live with it for the duration of the contract.
USAPA expects the NMB to set a date for a representational election in the next few weeks; the majority of the pilots at US Airways have asked for this election. USAPA asks that the pilots of US Airways stay united, and support the right of the majority to choose their next collective bargaining agent.
Look for more articles on how "Seniority Matters" soon.