I see team idiot (Menear, Ciabattoni, and Seham) have put out more FUD. I really hope you east guys see this as nothing more than crap.
You do see this as crap, don't you?
Compass Correction Coalition: A bigger steam roller
PERHAPS IF THEY GOT A LARGER STEAMROLLER?
One oft repeated warning from those who believe that the MOU is our last, best hope in negotiations with US Airways management and APA is this; if we don’t sign on, APA and US Airways will simply declare us a part of APA and we will be powerless to stop management from imposing the Term Sheet and/or any other aspect of the APA’s bankruptcy contract. USAPA will be decertified on the US Airways property and any and every aspect of our working agreement will cease to exist.
In short, advocates for signing onto the MOU, as negotiated by our Negotiating Advisory Committee, (NAC) say that if we do not sign on, the pilots of US Airways will simply be steamrolled.
Well, it ain’t necessarily so, as the old song goes. One of the most germane court cases, pertaining to situations like the potential one, should American merge with US Airways involves the old USAir, when they took over the management of the old Eastern Shuttle, (Trump Shuttle).
Briefly, the Flight Attendants of Trump Shuttle were represented by the TWU, those Flight Attendants of USAir, by the AFA. The AFA contract was in virtually all respects, superior to that of the TWU, at Trump. AFA sued USAir, when the company made it clear that they were going to honor the TWU contract, until there was a merger and, more to the point, until AFA opened their contract and negotiated a new, single contract for all.
AFA contended that with the dissolution of the TWU, on the Shuttle property, that the Flight Attendants there employed, would automatically fall under the contract of USAir, since the TWU was no longer the Collective Bargaining Agent for the Trump Flight Attendants.
USAir argued that the AFA had a responsibility to administer the TWU contract, on behalf of the Shuttle FA’s and the contract from AFA, in the case of USAir.
It turns out that the law mandates that existing contracts survive, until there is an opening of negotiations for a new, single collective bargaining agreement for all.
There is no prohibition against having more than one contract for a class of workers at the same company. One need only reflect on the fact that USAirways management has gotten away with paying the East Pilots less, giving us less vacation, etc., than our West counterparts, for 5 years.
What USAirways could not do, which they sincerely want to, is to abrogate our Minimum Fleet Size and Minimum Block Hour provisions. They cannot either, blithely ignore our Change of Control provisions, in the event of a transaction with AMR.
One of the most highly regarded expert attorneys, in the arcane and small community of Airline Labor Law commented to me thusly: “You had better love every aspect of the Term Sheet, as is; because if you sign onto this MOU, the negotiations are effectively complete.” He also passed on this nugget: “About the only way that USAirways can get around your wonderful Scope language and the very good Change of Control language, is if you, the Pilots of USAirways sign onto the MOU. If you do that, your leverage is gone.”
As usual, if you get a second lawyer to look at this language, you will get about four total opinions…. However, the fact that we shouldn’t rush into signing the MOU and thereby instantly give up potentially hugely valuable leverage, comes through loud and clear, to me.
Why on Earth, would our merger partners at APA, want to steamroll us into a crappy Term Sheet? Haven’t they demonstrated their new-found distain for any such working agreement for themselves? As we suggested in an earlier Compass Correction, by becoming members of USAPA, APA members neatly get around the Term Sheet….but only if we at USAPA resist the knee jerk reaction to take the first deal; a very bad one at that.
No legal opinion makes for riveting, or particularly easy reading. I have attached the Ruling from the D.C. Appeals Court, in the matter of USAir, vs. AFA. If one wades through it, the message is clear……someone is going to need a bigger steamroller.
Click HERE to view the judges ruling on the USAir vs AFA.
Fraternally,
Woody Menear-PHL 76i