Richard Obermeyer (LGA)
Editor, US AIRWAVES
Summer/Fall 2007
Partial part of article
"The next false argument made in the AWA
communications is the one that says that, since
our models showed every pilot always bidding
to the highest-paying piece of equipment as soon
as possible, our number of captain years lost as
a result of this list is somehow false. We say that
this number is over 4,000 years of captain flying
that was transferred to the AWA pilots. They
make no attempt to say what the real number is,
but they say our number is wrong and that our
model is wrong. They try to say that since realworld
bidding isn’t what was reflected in our
model, then the number produced by the model
is not valid. Is that really the case? Clearly, this
is another argument made by the AWA pilots
designed to confuse the issue.
Let’s set up a simple example: There are 10
widebody Captain positions available. In this
example, East pilots will be identified with an
“e” before their number and West with a “w.”
The 10 widebody positions are filled by the
following pilots before the merger: e1, e2, e5,
e6, e8, e10, e11, e13, e19 and e21. Now let’s say
that pilot e8 retires. On the merged list, there is
a section of the list that is as follows: e11, w8,
e12, w9, e13 e14, w10, e15. In this example, w9
bids for and is awarded the position. Even if no
AAA pilot except for the aforementioned Jim
Ziegler wanted that position, is that a transfer of
widebody Captain’s pay from an AAA pilot to
an AWA pilot?
Since virtually every AWA pilot on the merged
list is ahead of Jim, if one of them bids for and
fills that position, is the year of Captain’s pay
transferred to a West pilot or not? The fact that
the model used “stove piped” the bidders is
irrelevant to the fact that the transfer occurred.
The model used by the AAA pilots never attempted
to identify the actual pilot who lost the
pay, merely the fact that some pilot lost it.
Somehow the communications coming from the
AWA pilot leadership leaves that part out.
Now for the worst of the statements made by
the AWA pilot leadership. They say that they
would be outraged if the AAA pilots are brought
up to parity with them on rates of pay. Bottom
line here is that the AWA pilots don’t believe
that we should be paid as much as them. Let me
say that again: Two years after this merger, even
after the AAA pilots supported the changes that
enhanced the AWA pilots’ retirement, and even
after they have been brought into our profit
sharing plan, they don’t think that we should
receive equal pay for equal work. If we aren’t
willing to accept the outrageous Nicolau award,
then we aren’t deserving of equal pay for equal
work. Did the AWA pilots express their outrage
when any other group or individual was brought
to pay parity with their counterpart on the other
side? If the situation was reversed, would the
AWA pilots want equal pay for equal work? Did
the AWA pilots believe that they should receive
parity when it came to retirement plans? Just to
be clear here, the leadership of one labor group
will be outraged and will actively oppose the
members of another labor group getting a raise.
Say this out loud and see how it sounds: “Unless
the AAA pilots drop their opposition to the
Nicolau award, the AWA pilots don’t believe
the AAA pilots deserve equal pay for equal
work!”
In essence, if you are willing to give your
future to the AWA pilots, then they will believe
that your work is worth as much as theirs. I guess
there is a different kind of trade unionism in
Phoenix. They must have missed the part of
“Flying the Line” that talks about the theory of
pattern bargaining that says you jack the house
up one corner at a time. Too bad the AWA pilots
weren’t members of our union during the Bscale
era. If they were, they would have learned
that the top of the scale will stagnate while the Bscale
is eliminated. In the end, the AWA pilots
will get a bigger raise if the pay rates are equal
at the start, because we will all be united in that
fight, but they will have to learn this lesson all on
their own."
Editor, US AIRWAVES
Summer/Fall 2007
Partial part of article
"The next false argument made in the AWA
communications is the one that says that, since
our models showed every pilot always bidding
to the highest-paying piece of equipment as soon
as possible, our number of captain years lost as
a result of this list is somehow false. We say that
this number is over 4,000 years of captain flying
that was transferred to the AWA pilots. They
make no attempt to say what the real number is,
but they say our number is wrong and that our
model is wrong. They try to say that since realworld
bidding isn’t what was reflected in our
model, then the number produced by the model
is not valid. Is that really the case? Clearly, this
is another argument made by the AWA pilots
designed to confuse the issue.
Let’s set up a simple example: There are 10
widebody Captain positions available. In this
example, East pilots will be identified with an
“e” before their number and West with a “w.”
The 10 widebody positions are filled by the
following pilots before the merger: e1, e2, e5,
e6, e8, e10, e11, e13, e19 and e21. Now let’s say
that pilot e8 retires. On the merged list, there is
a section of the list that is as follows: e11, w8,
e12, w9, e13 e14, w10, e15. In this example, w9
bids for and is awarded the position. Even if no
AAA pilot except for the aforementioned Jim
Ziegler wanted that position, is that a transfer of
widebody Captain’s pay from an AAA pilot to
an AWA pilot?
Since virtually every AWA pilot on the merged
list is ahead of Jim, if one of them bids for and
fills that position, is the year of Captain’s pay
transferred to a West pilot or not? The fact that
the model used “stove piped” the bidders is
irrelevant to the fact that the transfer occurred.
The model used by the AAA pilots never attempted
to identify the actual pilot who lost the
pay, merely the fact that some pilot lost it.
Somehow the communications coming from the
AWA pilot leadership leaves that part out.
Now for the worst of the statements made by
the AWA pilot leadership. They say that they
would be outraged if the AAA pilots are brought
up to parity with them on rates of pay. Bottom
line here is that the AWA pilots don’t believe
that we should be paid as much as them. Let me
say that again: Two years after this merger, even
after the AAA pilots supported the changes that
enhanced the AWA pilots’ retirement, and even
after they have been brought into our profit
sharing plan, they don’t think that we should
receive equal pay for equal work. If we aren’t
willing to accept the outrageous Nicolau award,
then we aren’t deserving of equal pay for equal
work. Did the AWA pilots express their outrage
when any other group or individual was brought
to pay parity with their counterpart on the other
side? If the situation was reversed, would the
AWA pilots want equal pay for equal work? Did
the AWA pilots believe that they should receive
parity when it came to retirement plans? Just to
be clear here, the leadership of one labor group
will be outraged and will actively oppose the
members of another labor group getting a raise.
Say this out loud and see how it sounds: “Unless
the AAA pilots drop their opposition to the
Nicolau award, the AWA pilots don’t believe
the AAA pilots deserve equal pay for equal
work!”
In essence, if you are willing to give your
future to the AWA pilots, then they will believe
that your work is worth as much as theirs. I guess
there is a different kind of trade unionism in
Phoenix. They must have missed the part of
“Flying the Line” that talks about the theory of
pattern bargaining that says you jack the house
up one corner at a time. Too bad the AWA pilots
weren’t members of our union during the Bscale
era. If they were, they would have learned
that the top of the scale will stagnate while the Bscale
is eliminated. In the end, the AWA pilots
will get a bigger raise if the pay rates are equal
at the start, because we will all be united in that
fight, but they will have to learn this lesson all on
their own."
