Report: US Airways to terminate ALPA pension today

[chipmunn]

Reports within ALPA indicate the company will file to terminate the pilot pension plan today. This will begin the 60-day PBGC notice for a distressed termination and ALPA and its advisors will meet in Special Session tomorrow in Washington to formulate a response.
According to the January 24 ALPA code-a-phone message, ALPA believes, In essence, the Company has developed a business plan that would sacrifice our pilots pension benefits while at the same time effectively shifting 500 million dollars from the pilots pension plan to all the other employee pension plans to maintain and preserve their original benefits.
The pilot anger to take a third cut to fund other labor group pensions is boiling over and the airline is now in a crisis unlike ever before.
It is now clear that the rank-and-file members agree with the January 24 code-a-phone message that said, US Airways pilots have provided significantly more concessions that any other employee group—in fact more than all combined—to help this company survive and emerge from bankruptcy. We are now being rewarded by solely facing the termination of our defined benefit retirement plan, while the cost reductions for our pension plan are in effect shifted to preserve the full benefits of all other employee groups’ pension plans at increased funding costs.
ALPA is formulating its response and more information should be made public on January 28 or 29.
Chip

 

[chipmunn]

[FONT face="Times New Roman"][FONT size=3][STRONG]Alabama's Bronner sees need for US Airways speed[/STRONG] [BR][/FONT][/FONT][FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3][BR]NEW YORK (Reuters) - Alabama investors, federal officials, and even US Airways Group Inc.'s own pilots are cracking the whip behind the airline as it tries solve a pension dilemma and emerge quickly from bankruptcy. [/FONT][BR][BR][FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3]But while pilots still held out hope that Congress would save their retirement plans, David Bronner, chief executive of the Alabama pension fund chosen as US Airways' main financier, agreed with the airline that it must fix its underfunded pension plans within days to stay on track.[BR][/FONT][BR][FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3]Complete Story: [/FONT][A href="http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=2119194"][FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3]http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=2119194[/FONT][/A][BR]

 

[pitguy]

It is sad that it has to be done. Hopefully the company can come up with something that is affordable and beneficial for the pilots too. We all need to start focusing our attentions to turning this place around. Who knows maybe in 5 years we will be the envoy of other companies and even a good place to work for us and others.

- There is no place to go but up.

 

[FlyingHippie]

Chip yeah I am angry but that doesn't mean I am unsafe at doing my job. you write like the pilots are flying unsafe. You are doing us all a grave injustice with these innuendos.

 

[oldtimer]

Chip, don't feel as though the pilot group is being singled out having their "pension" eliminated or radically modified. Clearly remember the agent group, during another financial crisis in 1991, had their pension quickly eliminated forever. And it is that meager pension that had already been funded prior to its elimination, that the company is now worried about paying. On average, I would say the agent pensions would range from perhaps $1000 to $1800 a month - hardly compares to pilot pensions, does it?

 

[mlt]

Stewart,
Dave has said alot of things that are not worth anything. I would not put faith in his promise that he will fund the pilot pension dollar for dollar. Nor do I believe him when he says the other pension plans are safe. Remember we are dealing with Union Busters!

 

[usfliboi]

So Chip what do you expect the company to do ? Without curing this pension problem, we risk losing rsa 200 million as well as gov loan backing? We cannot risk the company going under at this point, either we solve this problem or not only will our pilots be without a pension or job but all of us employees will be out of work. This whole thing is nasty and no body likes it less than i do but we have to look at the big picture. Dave has said the pilots will have a pension he has made that clear and that dollar for dollar the company will make the same contribution.

 

[usfliboi]

I agree about the union busters, but name one alternative.... Were in a corner.... backed to the wall... so what are options?

 

[mrplanes]

Stewart:

Dave's committment in our last giveback that was MUTUALLY agreed to was that we give up our lump sum, go from 65% FAE to 50% FAE and change the multiplier from 2.4 to 1.8. He agreed to it. So did we. That was less than 1 month ago. If he committed to it then, why does he not want to commit to it now. When he does what he said he would do, however he needs to do it, the problem is solved. It is that simple. We are NOT budging on this issue. Comparisons of other plans are irrelevant.

mr

 

[Cosmo]

[blockquote]
----------------
On 1/28/2003 7:24:03 AM mrplanes wrote:

If he committed to it then, why does he not want to commit to it now.
----------------
[/blockquote]
Aren't you leaving out one little detail? The US-ALPA agreement was predicated on the aggressive assumption that the PBGC would approve a 30-year payment schedule of the pension plan underfunding which, as we all now know, did not happen. While US management must take a share of the blame that the pension funding plan was not approved (and a large share if it was their idea), ALPA must take at least some of the blame as well. After all, where was ALPA's financial advisor when this risky assumption was being discussed and agreed to?

In the end, the fact remains that the pilot's pension plan is underfunded by approximately $2 billion. Even if we assume that all of the other employees' pension plans have been terminated, that $2 billion liability still exists. Given that a legislative change to the ERISA law is unlikely, and thus the PBGC's 7-year payment schedule must still be adhered to (meaning an average annual payment of almost $300 million), what course of action would you suggest that would enable US to avoid terminating the pilots' pension plan?

 

[delldude]

 

[wings396]

I have felt all along that that is part of the so called
" Big Picture". They will get us as low as possible and then try to mesh the UA people into our workforce with our workrules to go along with it. There had to be a reason beyond our sights to all of their madness. Liquidation was nothing more than a threat to hang over our heads to get what they wanted for this all to come together. Case in point is the painting of our a/c starting up again. If were were on the verge of CH-7, why would RSA permit us to spend a cent on this. This also points to US being the surviving carrier....get it.

 

[wts54]

There seems to be some similarities to the
things they are asking for at U.S.Air and U.A.L.
Does anyone think they are trying to get both
companies lined up as far as pay,benefits,and workrules
are concerned to try a merger again?I get this feeling
thats what the long range plan might be.

 

[767jetz]

Here we go again...

There is reason to believe...

You guys are hanging on by a thread, and still want to dream about picking at UAL's carcass. Unbelieveable!

The industry is still in meltdown. Haven't you heard? AMR is in deep KimChi also. Why don't you try fragmenting them with all the money you have, while you're at it. "Denial is not a river in Egypt."

Right now everyone is in survival mode. Not merger mode. Not aquisition mode. Not secret corporate transaction mode.

Now please go back to fixing your own problems and leave UA out of it. Especially this pension issue. What ever happens with that will set a precident for all other major airlines.

 

[diogenes]

On the Street

Amen, and amen. Well said, sir.