america west pilots latest update.
Leonidas Update February 7, 2013
On Friday, February First, Leonidas, LLC published an update encouraging West pilots to consider voting to ratify the MOU in light of the fact that we do not believe it harmful to our mission of protecting and enforcing the Nicolau Award. Here are additional advantages to passing the MOU. We do this with the knowledge that Leonidas, LLC leaders have a track-record of virtually unanimous support from the West pilots. Therefore, US Airways management can expect the vast majority of former AWA pilots to support their MOU.
Remember, the polls close this coming Friday at 1400 ET, so please visit
https://www.BallotPoint.com/USAPA/to cast your vote if you haven't already. We will say it again, please vote to ratify the MOU now. It is in your best interests, and here is why:
1) Ripeness. This was discussed in last Friday's update. Please click
here to review.
2) Furlough Protection. Only West pilots are involuntarily furloughed. Though the company and USAPA may believe that a job offer to the bottom of the East list is the same thing as a “recall” to the West, it is not. Taking one of those consolation positions has never been a requirement before. The MOU furlough protections cover every pilot currently on the property and all those pilots senior to the most junior pilot regardless of current employment status. A pilot returning after the eventual JCBA may be forced to return to another domicile but not under LOA 93 or the East seniority list. A real union would have long ago insisted on the recall of those West pilots to the West contract as that would have the net-effect of raising the average pilot pay. Instead, USAPA has done nothing to enforce compliance with the spirit and intent of our current Transition Agreement, but rather it has sought to improve the relative standing of the East pilots at the expense of the West, aided and abetted by US Airways Management. This, so USAPA can make an improved “career expectations” argument during what it prays will be a “three-way arbitration” as it desperately seeks to earn itself a “do-over” through the mechanism of this merger. In any case, the furlough protection offered by the MOU is something West pilots can appreciate given how only pre-merger West pilots were furloughed after they were replaced by much lower-paid formerly furloughed East pilots. It has been a deplorable example of your union and your company working together for a common goal, lower costs plus the elimination of West pilots. West pilots have learned that hailing from the non-bankrupt airline offers no protection or benefit whatsoever. Lesson learned, therefore we believe it to be better to have this language than nothing.
3) Seat and Pay Protections. This is a double-edged sword for West pilots who alone have pre-merger pilots who suffered a downgrade and remain locked into the First Officer seat thanks again to the lower wages available to management out East. So, while the company offers seat and pay protection to pilots at what will become much higher rates of pay, they will be locking and protecting many East pilots into seats which they have only gained by USAPA's tactics to prolong Separate Operations under LOA 93, rather than negotiate the required Joint CBA containing the Nicolau Award. As a result, the East will keep their ill-gotten gain while West pilots are locked into lower-paying positions as a result of USAPAs prolonged DFR violation and the endless series of management decisions which have sought to reward East pilots at the expense of West pilots. In any case, these were not protections negotiated under the current Transition Agreement so they represent an improvement. Even though these protections disproportionally benefit East Pilots they have real value for West Pilots. US Airways' history of failure to complete our current merger makes clear the need for this MOU.
4) Increased Pay. An obvious benefit, but again, the vast majority of the value goes to East pilots. This is the nature of parity; those who earn more before parity unavoidably get less in the equation as a result. Passing the MOU will allow retrospective pay from passage to the effective date. On the effective date the new rates will start, eliminating management’s incentive to run separate operations and our need to fight for retroactive pay.
5) An orderly process. It goes without saying that the main purpose and benefit of the MOU is to prevent USAPA from getting “USAPA'ed” by the APA! All US Airways pilots (and for that matter, APA pilots) should desire a document which prevents the majority from abusing the minority. Of course, if USAPA's legal theories were to ultimately prevail, NOTHING in the MOU could prevent the larger pilot group from having its way with the smaller group in the future. Remember, under USAPA's legal theory, the whole of the contract, (including seniority!) is renegotiable during every bargaining cycle. Nothing, including seniority, is sacred. According to USAPA, seniority is subject to the bargaining at the whim of the majority; this was the whole purpose behind the creation of USAPA. Let's hope the new majority has integrity enough to abide by its agreements in the future because the majority of East pilots under USAPA certainly have not.
For the forgoing reasons, Leonidas, LLC strongly recommends that all West pilots vote in favor of the MOU in order to best protect ourselves from USAPA, the APA and whatever management team ultimately prevails. While the MOU does not, in and of itself, solve our problems the moment it is ratified, it will take us far down the field toward our long-sought-after goal. Voting for this MOU will not waive any future claim we may choose to make, nor will it undermine our quest to enforce the Nicolau Award if we do not let it (which we won't).
Don't forget to vote.
Sincerely,
Leonidas, LLC