USA320Pilot
Veteran
- Joined
- May 18, 2003
- Messages
- 8,175
- Reaction score
- 1,539
Dear US Airways Pilot,
The aaapilots4fairness want to thank you for your support on the yahoo group's web board. This board is too unwieldy for our use and we have moved the discussions to www.decertifyalpa.com.
This site will become the home if this movement to remove ALPA as our collective bargaining agent and restore the futures of many pilots will suffer under the misguided ALPA merger policy. The list of the problems inherent in ALPA and also in the bylaws which allow three people to go into the bargaining room with the company and come out with some agreement that is totally unacceptable to the pilot group, is just too long to mention. We will not dwell on ALPA's past failures but only on what we can achieve in the future.
To bring you up to date we have had conversations with several different law firms concerning the Nicolau award and how we can deal with it. All the lawyers agree that a direct attack on the award is a loser and that the MEC's attack via the Washington DC law firm they have hired is a real long shot. Much greater than 1000 to 1 said one lawyer. Surprisingly, all three firms agree that if ALPA is not on the property and a new contract is in effect then the Nicolau award is not applicable. It simply goes away and a new seniority list must be negotiated as part of the new contract. Some feel that our survivorship language is strong enough in itself to guarantee a date of hire list; other lawyers say that the question is subject to negotiation but they all agree that ALPA must be gone to renegotiate or impose a change in the seniority list.
The aaapilots4fairness want to give our pilots a chance to regain their future in an airline where the policies of the union help and not hinder or career. To do this we will need your help and support.
We will soon start a Representational Election campaign. It is called a representational election campaign because under the National Mediation Board rules there is no decertification procedure. We don't decertify APLA we replace them with a new bargaining agent. The rules of this procedure are spelled out bye the NMB. By the way some people have been posting items taken from NLRB law and this is incorrect. The National Labor Relations Board governs all bargaining activity except Railroads and Airlines. Railway Labor Disputes including agents is controlled by the NMB and their procedures.
NMB procedures will require that we get a "showing of interest" to call an election. The "showing of interest" is typically accomplished by a card count. A card or paper containing a clear indication of the employee's desire to be represented by the new union and that is signed and dated in his own handwriting is the normal method. When we have 50%+1 of the eligible pilots' cards we can call the NMB in for an investigation. The investigator reviews the card count and if he finds the cards to be correct and not fraudulent and the proper employees in craft and class are signed then he will call an election. Signatures are compared with those on file with the company and if the card count is correct and above the required threshold and will be called. The election is run and tallied by the NMB and the winner becomes the new bargaining agent.
The question of craft and class applies more to railroads than our situation. We have only full time pilots so that decision is already made. The America West pilot group will most likely be included in the required number of cards so we have to take that into account. The last given west count was 1893 and it will be slightly lower than that now. Our current count is about 2628 however many of our furloughed pilots can sign cards. The threshold for signing cards and voting are two different matters. A furloughed pilots who intends to return and has " a reasonable expectation of returning to work" may sign a card although that person if he is not actively working cannot vote in the election.
If you use a conservative estimate of our East count to sign cards at 3000 and a west count of 1893 then the total count is 4893. This will require 2447 to call an election but it will only take 1894 to outvote the west in the election. Once an election is called it takes only a majority of the majority to win. This means that if greater than 50%+1 vote in the election than just the majority off those voting will determine the election. The required vote to out vote the west is 1893 +1, providing all East pilots vote for new representation and all west pilots vote ALPA. Once a new bargaining agent is in place there are no changes to the current agreement at all the next contract is simply bargained by the new agent.
We feel that this is a tall but very do-able project. Soon you will receive a "showing of interest" card in the mail. We invite you to complete it and send this pre-paid card in. It doesn't elect anyone, it merely gives you a choice. If we call an election you will be able to choose between new representation or ALPA. We will have to answer your questions and earn your vote by having a competent team in place to represent our pilots. We hope that the future will prove that we can earn your vote and allow you to have a say in the future of this profession and our company.
So remember please go to www.decertifyalpa.com to find out more information and use the forum and see the postings. All information will be available to those who provide the registration information on the web site. We hope to see you all over on the new board.
The aaapilots4fairness want to thank you for your support on the yahoo group's web board. This board is too unwieldy for our use and we have moved the discussions to www.decertifyalpa.com.
This site will become the home if this movement to remove ALPA as our collective bargaining agent and restore the futures of many pilots will suffer under the misguided ALPA merger policy. The list of the problems inherent in ALPA and also in the bylaws which allow three people to go into the bargaining room with the company and come out with some agreement that is totally unacceptable to the pilot group, is just too long to mention. We will not dwell on ALPA's past failures but only on what we can achieve in the future.
To bring you up to date we have had conversations with several different law firms concerning the Nicolau award and how we can deal with it. All the lawyers agree that a direct attack on the award is a loser and that the MEC's attack via the Washington DC law firm they have hired is a real long shot. Much greater than 1000 to 1 said one lawyer. Surprisingly, all three firms agree that if ALPA is not on the property and a new contract is in effect then the Nicolau award is not applicable. It simply goes away and a new seniority list must be negotiated as part of the new contract. Some feel that our survivorship language is strong enough in itself to guarantee a date of hire list; other lawyers say that the question is subject to negotiation but they all agree that ALPA must be gone to renegotiate or impose a change in the seniority list.
The aaapilots4fairness want to give our pilots a chance to regain their future in an airline where the policies of the union help and not hinder or career. To do this we will need your help and support.
We will soon start a Representational Election campaign. It is called a representational election campaign because under the National Mediation Board rules there is no decertification procedure. We don't decertify APLA we replace them with a new bargaining agent. The rules of this procedure are spelled out bye the NMB. By the way some people have been posting items taken from NLRB law and this is incorrect. The National Labor Relations Board governs all bargaining activity except Railroads and Airlines. Railway Labor Disputes including agents is controlled by the NMB and their procedures.
NMB procedures will require that we get a "showing of interest" to call an election. The "showing of interest" is typically accomplished by a card count. A card or paper containing a clear indication of the employee's desire to be represented by the new union and that is signed and dated in his own handwriting is the normal method. When we have 50%+1 of the eligible pilots' cards we can call the NMB in for an investigation. The investigator reviews the card count and if he finds the cards to be correct and not fraudulent and the proper employees in craft and class are signed then he will call an election. Signatures are compared with those on file with the company and if the card count is correct and above the required threshold and will be called. The election is run and tallied by the NMB and the winner becomes the new bargaining agent.
The question of craft and class applies more to railroads than our situation. We have only full time pilots so that decision is already made. The America West pilot group will most likely be included in the required number of cards so we have to take that into account. The last given west count was 1893 and it will be slightly lower than that now. Our current count is about 2628 however many of our furloughed pilots can sign cards. The threshold for signing cards and voting are two different matters. A furloughed pilots who intends to return and has " a reasonable expectation of returning to work" may sign a card although that person if he is not actively working cannot vote in the election.
If you use a conservative estimate of our East count to sign cards at 3000 and a west count of 1893 then the total count is 4893. This will require 2447 to call an election but it will only take 1894 to outvote the west in the election. Once an election is called it takes only a majority of the majority to win. This means that if greater than 50%+1 vote in the election than just the majority off those voting will determine the election. The required vote to out vote the west is 1893 +1, providing all East pilots vote for new representation and all west pilots vote ALPA. Once a new bargaining agent is in place there are no changes to the current agreement at all the next contract is simply bargained by the new agent.
We feel that this is a tall but very do-able project. Soon you will receive a "showing of interest" card in the mail. We invite you to complete it and send this pre-paid card in. It doesn't elect anyone, it merely gives you a choice. If we call an election you will be able to choose between new representation or ALPA. We will have to answer your questions and earn your vote by having a competent team in place to represent our pilots. We hope that the future will prove that we can earn your vote and allow you to have a say in the future of this profession and our company.
So remember please go to www.decertifyalpa.com to find out more information and use the forum and see the postings. All information will be available to those who provide the registration information on the web site. We hope to see you all over on the new board.
Send me my ballot, NOW! 
