Con Statement on the 2012 UAL Tentative Agreement
The UALMEC accepted the Tentative Agreement on November 12, 2012.
The Master Chairman reported to the MEC that he and the Negotiating
Committee would bring the UAL pilots an industry‐leading contract. Every
UAL pilot recognizes the difficulties of this trilateral negotiation but that
should not be used to justify a TA that falls short.
This TA hands management the key to the lock that serves to retain
international Pacific flying out of SEA. By eliminating language in our contract
that prevents scheduling W’s containing two or more legs (over 10 hours)
across the Pacific, flown by domiciles other than SEA, SFO, or LAX, this TA
opens the door to onerous Pacific pairings flown by pilots from any domicile
and exposes all three current west‐coast domiciles to a loss of Pacific flying.
The lost language was added to our CBA as a result of lessons we learned
about Pacific flying from Pan Am pilots and has been part of our CBA since
1991.
The four cornerstones of our contract are Scope, Compensation, Work rules,
and Retirement and Benefits (R&I).
Scope:
The 2012 TA Scope section represents a major concession by both pilot
groups. TA Scope is slightly tighter than Delta Scope, thus it could be argued in
that context, that this section is Industry‐Leading. However, it must be said
that the UAL MEC direction to the NC was clear: “nothing less than DAL pay
for DAL scope.” This TA falls short.
Compensation:
The TA Pay Rates fall short of Delta’s pay rates. This is not industry‐leading,
as UAL rates fall 8.5% behind Delta in the first year and will not match Delta
rates, under the current Delta contract, until January 1, 2016. Contrary to the
rationalizing spin, the fact is that DAL pilots will make more per hour for
flying the same equipment.
Work Rules:
While sections 5 & 20 of the TA are generally based on the current UAL book,
when scrutinized in detail, these sections fall short of industry‐leading
expectation, as it relates to securing quality of life issues. The sanctity of a
pilot’s scheduled private life has not been improved. In 2003 under BK, UAL
pilots consciously decided to give up pay in exchange for retaining the QWL
value of our work‐rules.
In this 2012 TA, no improvements are found, only monetary mitigation is
addressed. UAL pilots are, in effect, being encouraged to sell those rules for
add‐pay.
Additionally, because of the uniqueness of the merger, and while current
United pilots are on furlough, no contractual monetary incentive programs for
the purpose of modifying schedules, picking up open time, or otherwise
negatively affecting the manpower staffing requirements should be triggered.
Career security in this TA is only addressed for future furloughs.
Involuntary JRM/SRM in the TA is in direct contradiction with unanimous
MEC direction.
Overall this TA’s work rule section gives management contractual language
that allows them more control over our lives “at work” and “at home”.
Retirement and Benefits:
Medical insurance premiums once capped at 7% are now capped at 9.25%.
Premiums have increased, and deductibles along with out‐of‐pocket limits will
cost every pilot more. For example, current UAL PPO for employee/spouse =
$173; TA = $232 ‐ $237max. Current HMO participants will swallow the
hardest: cost now = $0; TA = $245. Pilots with extensive family health issues
will be hit very hard ($) under the TA.
Another example is the LTD which, under the TA, will be quite expensive to
each UAL pilot; The LTD is free at DAL.
In conclusion, UAL pilot’s expectation has always been an industry‐leading
contract and the MC and NC have repeatedly reinforced that expectation.
Finally, delivering a TA that fails to address the sacrifices of the last decade in
a meaningful way does not meet the justified expectations nor does it
recognize the essential role pilots play in the airline industry.
It is the responsibility of every United pilot to attend roadshows, educate
yourselves with the information provided, and ask questions of the
roadshow presenters until you are satisfied.
Use the tools provided on the MEC website www.unitedpilotagreement.com ,
and determine for yourself if this TA is truly industry‐leading; and, if it reflects
the responsibility borne by United pilots every day in the course of the service
you provide to UAL.
The UALMEC provided direction to the JNC, based on your input. There is no
reason to question the effort of the Negotiating Committee, advisors, or SME’s;
and, those MEC members who cast NO votes do not do so with this CON
statement.
The democratic process has concluded with the UAL MEC accepting this TA
and sending it to the members for ratification. As it should be, the pilots who
will work under this potential JCBA will have the final say.
It is with a vision to the future and recognition of the steep hill our profession
must climb to regain that which has been stolen, that we pass to the
membership our overall evaluation of this TA. We have specifically not
pointed to every provision that gives us pause; nor do we claim there are no
improvements.
The pilots of United will make their own decision on the acceptability of the
2012 TA. Together we win.
Fraternally and in Unity,
Captain Jeff Berg, SEA C27 Chairman
FO Ben Pangelinan, SEA C27 Vice‐Chairman
FO Carlos Rodriguez, ORD C12 Vice‐Chairman
FO Eric Popper, ORD C12 Secretary‐Treasurer
Captain Paul Welch, SEA C27 Secretary‐Treasurer