This is the biggest problem involved.
No court to date has stepped up to the plate and answered the real question.
Does a union have the ability to renege on a binding arbitration?
I am guessing when one finally does, the answere will be a resounding...um NO.
Everybody keeps pointing to McCaskill/Bond and saying, well there arbitration is afforded by federal law if an agreement can't be reached. Well, so what? the usapa premise is that the majority at a union can simply disavow any arbitrated result by electing a new representational body.
Nic, the court said USAPA was free to negotiate. That means the "binding" isn't binding. You are spinning your wheels. The Nic will NEVER be mentioned by USAPA again in seniority going forward. Never. You might as well erase Nicolau other than a reference to this dispute.
Mike Cleary. The East LCC pilots need to understand what a masterful job he did in leading this fight to where it has ended. And the Nic is clearly now a non issue. Cleary listened to Brian O Dwyer and went to Texas to meet to Ferguson. Cleary obviously did not want to go. It was a watershed event, and one that was missed totally by Ferguson and Leonidas Counsel. Abner Mikva, George Pataki and George Mitchell agreed to participate in this impasse between USAPA and Leonidas. This was clearly known as fact by Eric Ferguson, He REJECTED their involvement. Nicolau or nothing was the response from Ferguson. This was clearly documented and known by Judge Silver. Ferguson blew it right there. To not even begin to talk with those three esteemed statesmen, was an unbelievable disaster for Leonidas. Judge Silver knew this, and it must have been enlightening to her to see the non participation of Leonidas in a resolution of conflict. Abner Mikva was chief counsel for President Clinton when he appointed the Honorable Judge Roslyn Silver to the Arizona Court. His selection was no fluke.
This court event in Arizona was a watershed event, and there is no way the West posters can undermine this. They still do not even understand this case, and NEVER have from day one and the Wake Circus was the beginning of the misunderstanding.
If you are LCC East, you are free from the Nicolau. Judge Silver clearly said that. Mike Cleary did a fantastic job listening to O'Dwyer. and he deserves all the credit for Judge Silver being educated and informed about the intransigance of Leonidas. Judge Silver must have been astonished at the arrogance of Ferguson upon hearing his unwillingness to even begin to discuss the dispute with such statesmen, ESPECIALLY Mikva.
The West pilots totally underestimated Mike Cleary, as did many, many East pilots. Without his work, this outcome might possibly have been totally different. The West pilots who saw Cleary thought he was going to see APA pilots about a merger. That attempt by Cleary to negotiate a settlement was unbelievably saavy. His attempt and rebuff set the stage for the showdown in Arizona. Judge Silver was well aware of the lengths Cleary went to resolve this prior to any court event.
I am sure the West is going to keep the fight going, but it is going to end up the same way. Someone needs to come up with a different plan there, or it is going to be the same, expensive outcome.
