Response to USAPA ad in USA Today – A Message from COO Robert Isom
July 22, 2011
Dear Fellow Employees,
By now some of you may have seen an advertisement in today’s USA Today paid for by our pilots’ union, USAPA. As you know, USAPA has been embroiled in an intra-union seniority dispute for several years and is also working to negotiate a joint contract. Those efforts have been severely complicated and delayed by their inability to resolve the seniority dispute, and because of this dispute, USAPA has embarked upon a smear campaign that in reality is all about contract negotiations, not safety. Today’s move is simply the latest in a series of misguided efforts to put pressure on the Company as part of those negotiations, and while we are disappointed that USAPA has chosen to use safety as a negotiating tactic, I can tell you unequivocally the union’s claims are outlandish, false and a disservice to the 32,000 hard-working employees of US Airways.
Safety has been and always will be the top priority at US Airways, as it is at any airline. On the specific issue that the advertisement focuses on, I’d note that USAPA’s account is highly inaccurate and its claims about the aircraft in question were wrong – it flew that day and performed flawlessly, and has done the same ever since.
Simply put, our safety facts stand for themselves:
•US Airways has just passed the International Air Transport Association’s highest worldwide standard for safety and security – the IOSA audit – with flying colors. This audit, the airline industry gold standard for safety, shows that we are in compliance in every safety area.
•Our safety team also knows how well we are doing on all safety measurements. Our Flight Safety Index, which measures how we’re doing in all areas, is at the highest level in the history of the company. Aircraft damages are 50% better than industry average, and deferred maintenance items are at an all-time low.
•The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has cited US Airways as the model for other airlines to follow with our significant investment of time and resources into the voluntary Safety Management System (SMS) program. We are one of only two airlines to implement SMS in every area of the airline. We also are the first U.S. airline to have our SMS program validated by the International Civil Aviation Organization.
That exemplary record is due to you – the 32,000 outstanding aviation professionals of US Airways who put safety first every day. Please keep that focus and don’t be dissuaded by the misguided and outdated negotiating tactics of a labor union. We will continue to work with USAPA to get to a joint contract, but as they well know, they must resolve their internal seniority dispute before that can happen. We are attempting to facilitate that effort, but expect it will take some more time. In the meantime you will likely hear more defamatory and baseless language from USAPA, but please consider the source and keep doing your jobs in the exceptionally professional and safe manner that you always have.
We have a great team of aviation professionals at US Airways and I am proud to work with you. Thank you very much for all you do and please keep up the great work.
Robert
July 22, 2011
Dear Fellow Employees,
By now some of you may have seen an advertisement in today’s USA Today paid for by our pilots’ union, USAPA. As you know, USAPA has been embroiled in an intra-union seniority dispute for several years and is also working to negotiate a joint contract. Those efforts have been severely complicated and delayed by their inability to resolve the seniority dispute, and because of this dispute, USAPA has embarked upon a smear campaign that in reality is all about contract negotiations, not safety. Today’s move is simply the latest in a series of misguided efforts to put pressure on the Company as part of those negotiations, and while we are disappointed that USAPA has chosen to use safety as a negotiating tactic, I can tell you unequivocally the union’s claims are outlandish, false and a disservice to the 32,000 hard-working employees of US Airways.
Safety has been and always will be the top priority at US Airways, as it is at any airline. On the specific issue that the advertisement focuses on, I’d note that USAPA’s account is highly inaccurate and its claims about the aircraft in question were wrong – it flew that day and performed flawlessly, and has done the same ever since.
Simply put, our safety facts stand for themselves:
•US Airways has just passed the International Air Transport Association’s highest worldwide standard for safety and security – the IOSA audit – with flying colors. This audit, the airline industry gold standard for safety, shows that we are in compliance in every safety area.
•Our safety team also knows how well we are doing on all safety measurements. Our Flight Safety Index, which measures how we’re doing in all areas, is at the highest level in the history of the company. Aircraft damages are 50% better than industry average, and deferred maintenance items are at an all-time low.
•The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has cited US Airways as the model for other airlines to follow with our significant investment of time and resources into the voluntary Safety Management System (SMS) program. We are one of only two airlines to implement SMS in every area of the airline. We also are the first U.S. airline to have our SMS program validated by the International Civil Aviation Organization.
That exemplary record is due to you – the 32,000 outstanding aviation professionals of US Airways who put safety first every day. Please keep that focus and don’t be dissuaded by the misguided and outdated negotiating tactics of a labor union. We will continue to work with USAPA to get to a joint contract, but as they well know, they must resolve their internal seniority dispute before that can happen. We are attempting to facilitate that effort, but expect it will take some more time. In the meantime you will likely hear more defamatory and baseless language from USAPA, but please consider the source and keep doing your jobs in the exceptionally professional and safe manner that you always have.
We have a great team of aviation professionals at US Airways and I am proud to work with you. Thank you very much for all you do and please keep up the great work.
Robert
