Fellow Pilots,
Last Friday, Chief Judge Rosslyn Silver of the United States District Court in Phoenix issued an order which called for a trial on a lawsuit brought by certain West pilots against USAPA. In the order, she clarified their claim:
"The exact claim brought by the West Pilots is:
USAPA breached its [duty of fair representation] because it made a
contract that abandons a duty to treat the Nicolau award as final and
binding.
(Doc. 52 at 13) (emphasis in original). In other words, the West Pilots’ claim is that USAPA breached the duty of fair representation when it entered into the MOU because the MOU does not require USAPA use the Nicolau Award in the McCaskill-Bond process."
In response to this claim, our attorneys are confident that USAPA did not breach its duty of fair representation in obtaining a new contract that provides over $1.6 Billion in increased pay and benefits for all pilots both East and West. Nevertheless, the next two months will be extremely busy for your Officers and your legal team as we prepare to meet this latest challenge.
It is equally important to note that the court case in Phoenix is but one of the many opportunities that we as a union will have to affect the professional lives and futures of our membership. Our Negotiating Advisory Committee is meeting regularly to prepare for the transition to the New American Airlines. Your Officers are similarly meeting with their counterparts at the Allied Pilots Association (APA), so that a seamless transition can be made to assure continued high quality representation. We continue to engage the Company on any number of important issues, even as our attorneys meet with bankruptcy counsel to craft the appropriate response to the American Airlines plan of reorganization. Your Merger Committee is actively engaged in preparing for negotiations with the APA that will result in a fair and equitable seniority integration.
Your Grievance Committee continues its pursuit of the 3% raises that were due to East pilots each May 1 during the status quo period beginning on May 1, 2010. Last week, correspondence was sent to Arbitrator Kasher from the USAPA System Board Member, requesting that Arbitrator Kasher render a decision on the jurisdictional question of whether this grievance was properly before this Board. Simultaneously, the Grievance Committee is coordinating with outside counsel regarding the strategy of filing a writ of mandamus, which in turn would compel Arbitrator Kasher to render a decision.
In addition, your Grievance Committee, along with our attorneys, is actively involved in litigation in both Pittsburgh and Phoenix seeking to require the Company to adhere to its legal obligations under the Railway Labor Act. In fact, all of our committees are doing equally important work in preparation for the transition to the new American.
It would not be unfair to say that these next eight weeks will be the most deciding in the history of our organization, and the most crucial period in your professional careers. There are many external forces that threaten the considerable gains that we have made in this past year. Those forces can only be overcome if we turn down the noise and get down to work by helping to secure a better future for us all. During this time it is imperative that we all stay focused on the merger and keep our eye on the prize.
Regards,
Gary Hummel, President
There will be no prize, no taking our seniority without a fight.
SYIC
