US Pilots' Labor Discussion 11/17-11/30..ALL Pilot Labor Issues Discussed HERE

[boeingplt]

The living in the past is over.

We do not have a monopoly on the old Eastern routes anymore.

WN is here and we are lucky to be here.

Become more efficient or perish.

There is a reason why they call them the "good old days".

Maybe they were TOO good to last.

To me, the period mentioned signaled the beginning of the end.

Parity plus 1 for a regional?

Maybe Alaska knew better.

You are missing the point. The lesson has nothing to do with history or the old "Eastern" routes. It is a comparison of the power of making sound business decisions on a corporate level versus feeding off employees. One behavior leads to competitive success, the other leads to competitive atrophy and weakness.

 

[Freighterguynow]

Just got a recorded message from Cleary, asking me to show up in BOS for info picketing.

Question 1. Where is Mike's domicile?

Question 2. Where is the LAS support?

It was the BOS reps who did the leg work so here is your answer from the LAS rep:

I will tell you that I am a little stunned with the speed at which BOS Chairman and Vice Chairman have been able to make things happen in their fight to save the Boston domicile. Perhaps they are just trying to make me look bad, but I doubt it.

 

[nycbusdriver]

The living in the past is over.

We do not have a monopoly on the old Eastern routes anymore.

WN is here and we are lucky to be here.

Become more efficient or perish.

There is a reason why they call them the "good old days".

Maybe they were TOO good to last.

To me, the period mentioned signaled the beginning of the end.

Parity plus 1 for a regional?

Maybe Alaska knew better.

It's not the employees, their efficiency, or lack thereof.

It is strictly poor management, mismanagement and lack of management.

Or, maybe a better way to say it would be poor leadership, malfeasance and lack of leadership.

It's really is difficult to compare us to SWA. It's not so difficult to compare us to Continental. Why do they do so well with a great fleet, and reasonably well paid employees? What's the difference?

Competent management. Nothing else. They have it, we don't.

 

[luvn737s]

The official USAPA response to the order deferral was to predict US's further decline in the Zagat survey. USAPA offers no solutions, only feral monkey criticism.

The response of a proactive union would be that the spirit of the the employees will have to overcome the lack of new equipment and that they can do it. The union will contribute to the future success of the airline. Instead they foster negativity in hopes that they can drive away the very passengers the airline relies on to make it through the economic downturn.

"Once the inlet covers are placed on the last airplane in Marana, then they'll see the power of unionism!" seems to be USAPA's strategy.

Competent labor leadership can continue to look after the interests of it's constituents irrespective of the competence of management. There is ample proof that the shortsighted leadership on Fairview Road makes the leadership in Tempe look like visionaries.

 

[electricjet98]

New AOL update provides some interesting reading. Legal documents are available in USAPA's Legal Library.

What are the chances that USAPA could go after SSM&P for inappropriate legal advise?



"This litigation would not have occurred but for the fact that East Pilots refused to abide by an arbitrated integrated seniority list (the “Nicolau Awardâ€￾). Going into the arbitration, the East Pilots agreed that the arbitrated award would be final and binding and would be used in Operational Pilot Integration. Coming out of the arbitration, the East Pilots unjustifiably refused to abide by that agreement. Instead, they took many actions to prevent Operational Pilot Integration using the Nicolau Award, culminating in the creation of USAPA for that purpose.

After shopping several law firms, a group of East Pilots found a law firm willing to guide, indeed promote, a scheme of advancing East Pilot seniority rights to the detriment of West Pilot seniority rights. This law firm, Seham, Seham, Meltz & Petersen, LLP, advised the East Pilots that, with majority status, they could create USAPA and use it to promote their seniority interests in disregard of the Nicolau Award. Mr. Seham told them, relying on his tortured reading of Rakestraw, that USAPA could advance East Pilot interests to the detriment of West Pilot interests so long as there was any rational relation to a legitimate union objective, regardless of USAPA’s actual motives.

USAPA, while guided by its legal advisor, left quite an evidentiary trail of bad faith. Much of that trail was apparently created to garner political support among East Pilots who wanted a union that would advance their majority interests over those of the West Pilot minority. USAPA, with legal guidance, acted while motivated by that bad faith. It drafted a constitution intended to create a pretext defining a duty to disregard the Nicolau Award. It made campaign promises to disregard the Nicolau Award. Once elected, it embarked on a preordained course to disregard the Nicolau Award. It did all these things solely for illegitimate motives.

USAPA left the West Pilots no option but to institute this litigation. Plaintiffs filed this action after the Airline announced plans to reduce service in a manner that would burden West Pilots far more than they would have been burdened if the transition to Operational Pilot Integration had occurred as intended. USAPA selected the Seham law firm to handle its defense. In essence, therefore, the Seham law firm was put in a position of defending both itself for advising USAPA to take the actions that led to this lawsuit and USAPA for following that advice.

 

[john john]

The response of a proactive union would be that the spirit of the the employees will have to overcome the lack of new equipment and that they can do it. The union will contribute to the future success of the airline. Instead they foster negativity in hopes that they can drive away the very passengers the airline relies on to make it through the economic downturn.

"Once the inlet covers are placed on the last airplane in Marana, then they'll see the power of unionism!" seems to be USAPA's strategy.

Competent labor leadership can continue to look after the interests of it's constituents irrespective of the competence of management. There is ample proof that the shortsighted leadership on Fairview Road makes the leadership in Tempe look like visionaries.

You sound like management 5 years ago

 

[Metroyet]

http://www.armyofleonidas.org/

Great update. I especially love the paragraphs highlighted in blue. If I were Seham, I'd be getting concerned that my license may be jeopardized. Will this ridiculous lawsuit be over when the ninth upholds Judge Wake? Probably not, USAPA seems to have a hard time not shooting themselves in the foot and actually learning from their mistakes.

 

[aquagreen73s]

It's not the employees, their efficiency, or lack thereof.

It is strictly poor management, mismanagement and lack of management.

Or, maybe a better way to say it would be poor leadership, malfeasance and lack of leadership.

It's really is difficult to compare us to SWA. It's not so difficult to compare us to Continental. Why do they do so well with a great fleet, and reasonably well paid employees? What's the difference?

Competent management. Nothing else. They have it, we don't.

I think we're on the same page here, but I'd extend your comments to encompass all of corporate america, namely the complete control banking has over just about every corporate board room. Long term planning has been supplanted by short term gains. Hence, outsourcing to the lowest cost becomes the singular strategy. It has been magnificent for the short term balance sheet, but disasterous in the long term - for America as a whole (where are we supposed to work for decent wages to then pay taxes?) and for the corporations (declining quality). Not all corporations have subscribed to this practice, and those happen to be the corporations that will weather this financial hurricane just fine. But, the wreckage across corporate america is going to be ugly, and its the citizens of this country who will be tasked with rebuilding it all. It'll take at least a generation and those that are nearing retirement now are totally screwed. My generation is basically going to be the indentured servants who will have to accomplish a lot of the rebuilding with no tangible return on our labors. Hopefully my kid's generation will find themselves in the same sort of position that the young people of the 1950s found themselves. In the meantime, it's going to get that bad for all of us.

 

[hp_fa]

Take it a step further. All the corporate and political titans, probably starting in the late 1980's and progressively getting worse, who outsourced American jobs for cheaper labor did this country a huge disservice. Gee, with fewer workers who did they think would be left to buy their products, the people in Asia and Mexico? Economies are supposedly predicated on being able to work for a wage and then being able to buy the fruits of somebody else's labors to make a product or deliver a service.

 

[exB717Flyer]

break

USAPA has released a video of Lee Seham re-explaining the tenets of the Addingtion lawsuit. Unlike his incoherent filings he actually clearly explains his legal rationale. Obviously, a federal judge disagreed with his legal interpretation and within a few months all rational thinkers expect the same from the appellate court. Enjoy:

http://hudson5.com/USAPA_Final/USAPA_Part1/USAPA_Flash.html

 

[hp_fa]

A judge's gavel on his desk? Priceless!!!!!

 

[Phoenix]

Featherbedding has it's price.

That's what an ALPA FPL-lifer told me. Word must be getting around fast.

 

[N924PS]

A judge's gavel on his desk? Priceless!!!!!

Perhaps the gavel could be used to knock some sense into the USAPA BPR if the 9th Circuit Court doesn't see it their way in December.

The latest round of financial decisions from the company just about assures that whatever position/airplane you currently hold will be yours for at least the next 4-5 years. No growth, few upgrades, and more career stagnation.

How are those contract negotiations proceeding this month?

 

[Metroyet]

A judge's gavel on his desk? Priceless!!!!!

BLAH, BLAH, BLAH,

Such much talking, so little success. Besides these three waterheads, does anybody actually believe this stuff?

 

[hp_fa]

Perhaps the gavel could be used to knock some sense into the USAPA BPR if the 9th Circuit Court doesn't see it their way in December.

Surely not by Seham. That would diminish his gravy train.