MAA flight attendant press release

[2out]

130 US Airways Flight Attendants Sue Company & Union for $1.2 Billion


NEW YORK, March 16 –- More than 100 US Airways flight attendants have filed a one billion dollar suit in federal court in New York against their employer and union.
The flight attendants contend that they were duped by US Airways, their employer, and their union, the Association of Flight Attendants [AFA], into believing they were no longer part of US Airways and thus coerced into accepting much lower pay and benefits than they were actually entitled to.
The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn on behalf of some 130 flight attendants, stems from a 2003 plan by US Airways to facilitate the hiring of furloughed flight attendants and pilots to fly for a new venture, MidAtlantic Airways, Inc.
Initially, US Airways intended to form MidAtlantic as a wholly-owned subsidiary that would operate independently of US Airways and would have its own Federal Aviation Administration operating certificate.
However, according to the complaint filed in the Eastern District of New York, MidAtlantic never actually obtained its own operating certificate and was never actually formed. Instead, US Airways simply painted the words “US Airways Expressâ€￾ on the side of various aircraft that were purchased for use by MidAtlantic.
Thus, the complaint suggests, “MidAtlanticâ€￾ never actually existed. The flight attendants and pilots were thereby paid at rates that would be expected at a small, new upstart carrier, rather than the wages and benefits they were receiving at US Airways. The complaint asserts that the flight attendants should have been deemed to be employees of US Airways who were recalled from furlough and should have resumed the pay and benefits called for in the US Airways collective bargaining agreements.
In most respects, the complaint mirrors allegations in a complaint filed earlier by more than 300 pilots against US Airways and the pilots union, known as the Air Line Pilots Association.
The complaint alleges that the Association of Flight Attendants, and US Airways together violated the Collective Bargaining Agreement, the Duty of Fair Representation owed by a union to its members, the Railway Labor Act, and the federal Racketeer Influenced Corrupt Organizations Act [RICO], as well as other federal statutes. Under RICO law, treble damages are collectible.
“By creating the fiction of MidAtlantic Airways,â€￾ a spokesperson for the plaintiffs said, “the company and the union took millions of dollars out of the flight attendants’ pockets and denied them the collective bargaining agreement that they had voted for and which should have protected them.â€￾

 

[Twicebaked]

Good Luck to you all!!!

I hope you get what is owed to you.

 

[FlyOnWall]

The company could stop this if they would just admit they or the past US made an awful mistake and at least credit these people with thier longevity. It really doesn't cost them anything and would help everyone start anew and put the whole awful ordeal behind them and focus on the new US Airways. An apology would go a long way. Has Doug Parker ever uttered the word "Midatlantic" publically?

Best of luck to the flight attendants, they are the best of the best, have been a class act until the end.... and should be welcomed with open arms back to mainline if they come. Let's hope the experience hasn't embittered them too much and at least some of them come back.

 

[rjh]

I can definitely understand the lawsuit, and I hope these people get what they are owed ..but $1.2 billion, for 130 people???? It gets more and more sickening to see way overpriced lawsuits in this country.

And I agree with Flyonthewall's suggestion--even if it doesn't work in getting rid of the lawsuit, it would go a long way towards showing good will. Hasn't Doug said before that Midatlantic was a mistake?

 

[EMBFA]

ya know what an aplogy would go along way but not far enough. if i understand doug could have stopped the republic sale and incorporated those 25 planes back into mainline. even if we all got furloughed that would have been the right thing to do. those are mainline planes and the whole thing was a sham... now they have ordered them again but its mainline with mainline pay---everyone is acting like its something new. the 190 is just a longer 170. if this happened to the senior mamas there would be hell to pay but no one cares because we are "junior" which is 7 years and because they gave it a made up name they dont know it was mainline & they still dont.

what if they did this with the new 757s? Called us back to work in PhillytoLisbon Airways, a DIVISION of US Airways, the 757ETOPS Division, with seperate, bad pay scales? And then sold the planes to someone else to pretend to be us "Express"? US Air Express operated by Regional Airlines 757 with service to London. betcha the rest of the f/as would notice then!!! and i hope people know they mean the way people at midatlantic were treated was the mistake, not the crews and the planes. we gave 100% and we still took care of our customers for half the pay and during all of the bks and even now as we get replaced by the republic. im disgusted by the whole situation but i will treat our customers well until my last day... too bad us airways doesnt care about that.

 

[BottomFeeder]

ya know what an aplogy would go along way but not far enough. if i understand doug could have stopped the republic sale and incorporated those 25 planes back into mainline.



I totally agree that the old mgnt put you all thru the ringers.
I heard that Doug did not want to sell the aircraft but the deal was already done.

 

[etops1]

parker could not have stopped the transaction. it was already a done deal. he would have wanted to keep the 170's in house because he likes the planes but the contract was already sgned befroe he took over as ceo.

 

[LCC_#1]

Maybe I'm getting old and have a bad case of skyheimers, but regardless of whether MAA was a subsiderary or part of mainline, NOBODY and I mean NOBODY put a gun to anyone's head to work for MAA....NOBODY!! The f/a's knew what they were getting into with regards to their wages and contract. Remember this was negotiated and voted on. What part of the "working at American Eagle contract" did these people not get? The f/a's that refused MAA just stayed furoughed. Regardless if THAT is true or not, the question to those furloughed US mainline f/a's is...Are you still on the US senority list? If so, you won't get a penny. Did ANYONE put a gun to your head to work at MAA...or whatever it was? NO!! You won't get a penny. Had you NOT had MAA as an alternative, what would you had done? Try to work for JBLU or SWA with the thousands trying to get on with them? Or would you had gone to another regional?

Whether it was dirty or not or whether a "mistake", the court will give you guys NOTHING because legally MAA WAS a part of mainline...kind of sorta (I contend this is how they got their Metrojet back) and yes it was typical "old" US management to be that slick, but it wasn't illegal. Twenty five aircraft out of 300 is not a high enough percentage to warrant taking the employees.

In that case, if we all got what we thought was fair, we would ALL be suing for what each of us thought was being wronged by management.

I'm sorry if I sound cold, but you are wasting money and time. Get over it. You made a choice that you KNEW you were getting into. We ALL knew!! Where were those 130 f/a's? As far as any off the street MAA folk, sorry, apply with US West. You don't have THAT much senority.

In this industry, luck many times works FOR you or AGAINST you. The former EAL/Trump fa/s were lucky ones as US bought the Shuttle knowing they had too honor the EAL senorities. Yes, many biitched about it because THEY had worked for EAL and got nothing. But there was a legal document and it LEGALLY had to be honored. So a few made out well.

If every airline employee sued on how they thought they were wrong, there would be no airline industry. Take a number kids.

 

[PHX-F/A]

Don't put Parker's neck on the chopping block for this. The previous mgmt did all this. He inherited the whole mess. MAA was already set up, and the sale was already signed before the official merger.

Yes it was probably handled like a dirty diaper, but it was'nt his mess either.

 

[xoxo]

LCC...,

You have no idea what you are talking about. Did you work for MAA...my guess is no..so maybe you should educate yourself before going off into a rant about it. Yes, the MAA people did know, but, they told us it was on a seperate certificate, and it would be seperate airline..not what it turned out to be. When they(management) found out they could not use the Potomac certificate for MAA that is when they should have notified us and then changed it all to mainline. These a/c are mainline a/c...they have always been. You were fooled too my friend. So, if you get a chance..have a conversation with someone who flies on these a/c. They will educate you a little more. Think of like this..when AWA gets put on the certificate..if they keep it seperate and just name them US WEST..they could keep them at their lower wages!!! WOW...sound like MAA doesnt it. Thats exactly what they did. OH, and by the way..we wont lose.

 

[N109UW]

Good luck to you all. Maybe I can get rid of that useless EMB170 section in my emergency manual. You all were jerked around enough. Maybe you could sue for Pref. Bidding also?

 

[MarkMyWords]

Before the first airplane arrived and before f/a training even started, it had to be determined that the airplanes would be on the US certificate and not on the "potomac" certificate. Once you accepted that job, you knew the working conditions and the contract provisions you would be working under.

Sorry, but I agree with LCC - the lawsuit is going to prove to be a waste of resources. I am not as up to speed on the entire situation but to file a lawsuit after you've worked there and accepted the terms of the contract that YOU signed, seems like a money grab to me.

 

[flyin2low]

The f/a's knew what they were getting into with regards to their wages and contract.

They did not know. The contract was supposed to be the American Eagle contract until one could be negotiated. Even after the contract was accepted nobody had a hard copy of to reference. But that situation pales in relation to the certificate status. MDA was operated on the USAirways certificate during its whole existence. FA's were hired with the understanding that it would be operated on a separate cert (Potomac). Which never happened. 'Back Pay up to the First Day" should be the motto for these unfortunate crewmembers.

 

[buckeyefan]

LCC...,

You have no idea what you are talking about. Did you work for MAA...my guess is no..so maybe you should educate yourself before going off into a rant about it. Yes, the MAA people did know, but, they told us it was on a seperate certificate, and it would be seperate airline..not what it turned out to be. When they(management) found out they could not use the Potomac certificate for MAA that is when they should have notified us and then changed it all to mainline. These a/c are mainline a/c...they have always been. You were fooled too my friend. So, if you get a chance..have a conversation with someone who flies on these a/c. They will educate you a little more. Think of like this..when AWA gets put on the certificate..if they keep it seperate and just name them US WEST..they could keep them at their lower wages!!! WOW...sound like MAA doesnt it. Thats exactly what they did. OH, and by the way..we wont lose.

I don't know enough about this to make a judgement as to whether the lawsuit is justified. But let's say it is. How do you justify $1.2 BILLION?

 

[xoxo]

I don't know enough about this to make a judgement as to whether the lawsuit is justified. But let's say it is. How do you justify $1.2 BILLION?

Honestly, I have no idea where that number came from..but, I will try to find out. i was also shocked to see billions too. But, my guess is the lawyer has his reasons and I know in just regular lawsuits they always ask for way more and then if it is settled out of court they will at least come up with a good settling number..but, i really do not know. maybe someone on here like the person who started this thread will know.