US Pilots Labor Discussion
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USA320Pilot
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Eric Ferguson and Jeff Koontz have created blogs on their website. To review their informative website click here.
In addition, both candidates have links to blogs at the bottom of their homepage. On February 15 Jeff wrote an interesting column tilted East and West - R.I.P., which can be read by clicking here.
The article is cut and pasted below; however, I encourage all US Airways pilots to visit their blogs for important information and the facts versus inaccurate information that has been provided by some of the candidates for USAPA officer positions.
An important point Jeff discusses is the important protection eliminated by the East pilots by electing USAPA, without separate MEC's and separate ratification voting rights, for any new contract. This decision was a huge huge mistake made by the East pilots. ALPA outside general counsel Mike Abram, from Cowen, Weiss, & Simon, wrote to all US Airways pilots on the importance of keeping ALPA as the Pilot's CBA with two separate MEC's and separate voting rights, which could have been used as a tool to mitigate the Niccolau Award for East pilots, but this protection was eliminated when USAPA was elected.
When the AWA MEC was eliminated during the representation election, USAPA took on the responsibility to fairly represent all US Airways pilots, including its PHX-based pilots. This included administering all sections and LOA of the contract, including LOA 96, the Transition Agreement, Section 4, paragraph 1, which requires USAPA to implement the Nicolau Award. And, with that responsibility USAPA was required to negotiate a SLI that included the Nicolau Award or be DFR.
___________
East and West – R.I.P.
Thanks to those pilots on the East who have taken the time to email their thoughts and ideas as to how we can end this seniority dispute. First off, we agree that the dispute is harming all of us. There is only one clear winner in this and that is Doug Parker, who continues to harvest hundreds of millions of dollars a year from the East/West strife. Eric Ferguson and I have had enough. Therefore, we built our entire campaign around a platform that will break the impasses between East and West thereby paving the way for a much needed joint contract. Here are the facts.
USAPA was formed in the summer of 2007 with the express purpose of avoiding the Nicolau Arbitration and instead integrating the East and West via DOH. Meanwhile, ALPA’s approach was to facilitate a solution to the East’s objections to the Nicolau through discussions between the separate East and West bargaining agent representatives. What resulted was a competition between ALPA’s plan and USAPA’s “DOH cram-down” plan. As the months wore on, the USAPA plan seemed to hold sway with more and more on the East, which is not surprising given how the plan was being sold by its supporters. The founding legal counsel trumpeted again and again that the law clearly allowed for the majority to force its will onto the minority. It seemed that all the East had to do was to make USAPA the bargaining agent and leave the rest up to Lee Seham. In the confident pronouncement of Scott Theuer, “USAPA doesn’t need a plan B.” What the founders of USAPA didn’t tell you was that they didn’t need a plan B was because they were taking the USAirways pilot groups down a dead-end road with no alternatives.
To cram down DOH on the West, USAPA had to get rid of the separate ratification provision of the Transition Agreement. They could have done that in two ways: (1) propose an amendment to the T/A which eliminated separate ratification and have all parties – East, West, USAPA and the company – sign off; or (2) just eliminate the bargaining agent distinction between East and West which would then eviscerate the separate ratification provision. Choice (1) obviously would have never passed on the West, so USAPA went with (2).
Almost five years later, we now fully feel the effects of that fateful decision. Here is another fact the founders of USAPA never told you – by eliminating separate East and West bargaining agents, USAPA – unlike ALPA – would never be able to negotiate a compromise solution as between East and West. The reason is found in none other than the Rakestraw v. United Airlines decision. Rakestraw was a consolidation of two cases, one being the “539” suit against United and ALPA and the other was a DFR case filed by the Ozark pilots against ALPA. What is relevant in this discussion is the principal fact cited by the 7th Circuit to uphold the dismissal of the Ozark pilots’ case; the Ozark pilots themselves approved by a majority vote the Wraparound Agreement (their name for our Transition Agreement ):
“All of the Ozark pilots’ remaining contentions, variously expressed in terms of the Railway Labor Act, the LMRDA, and the wraparound agreement, founder on their own vote in favor of the merger and the ensuing new collective bargaining agreement. ALPA did not give the consent required by the wraparound agreement until Ozark’s pilots voted in favor of the merger with dovetailed seniority lists.”
We mentioned in a previous blog that it was Lee Seham who filed the application with the National Mediation Board to have the US Airways and America West pilot groups recognized as a Single Transportation System by the NMB. (See 35 NMB 20, 2008.) The company supported the application but ALPA opposed it:
“ALPA asks the Board to undertake a ‘complete analysis of all relevant factors, including the state of operational pilot integration, before making a final determination as to single carrier status’.” 35 NMB 20 at 67.
Think for a moment why ALPA was opposing the application yet USAPA was vying for Single Transportation System (STS) status. In the context of what was happening in the Fall and Winter of 2007, it is easy to see why ALPA and USAPA had divergent views on the matter. USAPA needed STS to eliminate the separate ratification provision of the T/A. ALPA on the other hand, knew that the only path to a negotiated solution would be through separate MECs; what spared ALPA from a DFR from the Ozark pilots was the fact that the Ozark pilots had their own MEC and voted as a separate bargaining unit.
Separate bargaining units provide a buffer between an act and the national union. Any deal on seniority is nothing more than USAPA dealing with itself; there would be zero buffer between the act and the union. By eliminating separate East and West bargaining units, and thus separate ratification, the founders of USAPA effectively strapped a DFR bomb to the chest of the union. ALPA had separate TWA and Ozark MECs for this reason, and it worked for ALPA in defending against the Ozark DFR. Clearly, ALPA was drawing from their experience when they argued to the NMB for keeping East and West as separate units, otherwise there could never be a compromise. This, fellow pilots, is precisely why nobody wants to get close to USAPA – not the Teamsters, not ALPA and definitely not the company. Nobody is going to come anywhere close to the DFR blast radius. This is why there is no “plan B.” Ruminations about what could have been a compromise are nothing more than whispers from the grave. East and West no longer exist.
We are now down to two options: Nicolau and an industry-leading contract, or non-Nicolau and status quo. Eric and I vote for an industry-leading contract containing the Nicolau. What about you?
Sincerely.
Eric and Jeff
In addition, both candidates have links to blogs at the bottom of their homepage. On February 15 Jeff wrote an interesting column tilted East and West - R.I.P., which can be read by clicking here.
The article is cut and pasted below; however, I encourage all US Airways pilots to visit their blogs for important information and the facts versus inaccurate information that has been provided by some of the candidates for USAPA officer positions.
An important point Jeff discusses is the important protection eliminated by the East pilots by electing USAPA, without separate MEC's and separate ratification voting rights, for any new contract. This decision was a huge huge mistake made by the East pilots. ALPA outside general counsel Mike Abram, from Cowen, Weiss, & Simon, wrote to all US Airways pilots on the importance of keeping ALPA as the Pilot's CBA with two separate MEC's and separate voting rights, which could have been used as a tool to mitigate the Niccolau Award for East pilots, but this protection was eliminated when USAPA was elected.
When the AWA MEC was eliminated during the representation election, USAPA took on the responsibility to fairly represent all US Airways pilots, including its PHX-based pilots. This included administering all sections and LOA of the contract, including LOA 96, the Transition Agreement, Section 4, paragraph 1, which requires USAPA to implement the Nicolau Award. And, with that responsibility USAPA was required to negotiate a SLI that included the Nicolau Award or be DFR.
___________
East and West – R.I.P.
Thanks to those pilots on the East who have taken the time to email their thoughts and ideas as to how we can end this seniority dispute. First off, we agree that the dispute is harming all of us. There is only one clear winner in this and that is Doug Parker, who continues to harvest hundreds of millions of dollars a year from the East/West strife. Eric Ferguson and I have had enough. Therefore, we built our entire campaign around a platform that will break the impasses between East and West thereby paving the way for a much needed joint contract. Here are the facts.
USAPA was formed in the summer of 2007 with the express purpose of avoiding the Nicolau Arbitration and instead integrating the East and West via DOH. Meanwhile, ALPA’s approach was to facilitate a solution to the East’s objections to the Nicolau through discussions between the separate East and West bargaining agent representatives. What resulted was a competition between ALPA’s plan and USAPA’s “DOH cram-down” plan. As the months wore on, the USAPA plan seemed to hold sway with more and more on the East, which is not surprising given how the plan was being sold by its supporters. The founding legal counsel trumpeted again and again that the law clearly allowed for the majority to force its will onto the minority. It seemed that all the East had to do was to make USAPA the bargaining agent and leave the rest up to Lee Seham. In the confident pronouncement of Scott Theuer, “USAPA doesn’t need a plan B.” What the founders of USAPA didn’t tell you was that they didn’t need a plan B was because they were taking the USAirways pilot groups down a dead-end road with no alternatives.
To cram down DOH on the West, USAPA had to get rid of the separate ratification provision of the Transition Agreement. They could have done that in two ways: (1) propose an amendment to the T/A which eliminated separate ratification and have all parties – East, West, USAPA and the company – sign off; or (2) just eliminate the bargaining agent distinction between East and West which would then eviscerate the separate ratification provision. Choice (1) obviously would have never passed on the West, so USAPA went with (2).
Almost five years later, we now fully feel the effects of that fateful decision. Here is another fact the founders of USAPA never told you – by eliminating separate East and West bargaining agents, USAPA – unlike ALPA – would never be able to negotiate a compromise solution as between East and West. The reason is found in none other than the Rakestraw v. United Airlines decision. Rakestraw was a consolidation of two cases, one being the “539” suit against United and ALPA and the other was a DFR case filed by the Ozark pilots against ALPA. What is relevant in this discussion is the principal fact cited by the 7th Circuit to uphold the dismissal of the Ozark pilots’ case; the Ozark pilots themselves approved by a majority vote the Wraparound Agreement (their name for our Transition Agreement ):
“All of the Ozark pilots’ remaining contentions, variously expressed in terms of the Railway Labor Act, the LMRDA, and the wraparound agreement, founder on their own vote in favor of the merger and the ensuing new collective bargaining agreement. ALPA did not give the consent required by the wraparound agreement until Ozark’s pilots voted in favor of the merger with dovetailed seniority lists.”
We mentioned in a previous blog that it was Lee Seham who filed the application with the National Mediation Board to have the US Airways and America West pilot groups recognized as a Single Transportation System by the NMB. (See 35 NMB 20, 2008.) The company supported the application but ALPA opposed it:
“ALPA asks the Board to undertake a ‘complete analysis of all relevant factors, including the state of operational pilot integration, before making a final determination as to single carrier status’.” 35 NMB 20 at 67.
Think for a moment why ALPA was opposing the application yet USAPA was vying for Single Transportation System (STS) status. In the context of what was happening in the Fall and Winter of 2007, it is easy to see why ALPA and USAPA had divergent views on the matter. USAPA needed STS to eliminate the separate ratification provision of the T/A. ALPA on the other hand, knew that the only path to a negotiated solution would be through separate MECs; what spared ALPA from a DFR from the Ozark pilots was the fact that the Ozark pilots had their own MEC and voted as a separate bargaining unit.
Separate bargaining units provide a buffer between an act and the national union. Any deal on seniority is nothing more than USAPA dealing with itself; there would be zero buffer between the act and the union. By eliminating separate East and West bargaining units, and thus separate ratification, the founders of USAPA effectively strapped a DFR bomb to the chest of the union. ALPA had separate TWA and Ozark MECs for this reason, and it worked for ALPA in defending against the Ozark DFR. Clearly, ALPA was drawing from their experience when they argued to the NMB for keeping East and West as separate units, otherwise there could never be a compromise. This, fellow pilots, is precisely why nobody wants to get close to USAPA – not the Teamsters, not ALPA and definitely not the company. Nobody is going to come anywhere close to the DFR blast radius. This is why there is no “plan B.” Ruminations about what could have been a compromise are nothing more than whispers from the grave. East and West no longer exist.
We are now down to two options: Nicolau and an industry-leading contract, or non-Nicolau and status quo. Eric and I vote for an industry-leading contract containing the Nicolau. What about you?
Sincerely.
Eric and Jeff
USA320Pilot
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Compass Correction Update: February 18, 2012
McKee Votes with PHX 66% of the Time
(And co-sponsors resolution with PHX to share Profit Sharing with West)
Fellow Pilots,
The forensic audit team of the Compass Correction Coalition has completed its preliminary audit of the voting record of CLT Chairman Bill McKee. Our Team has analyzed USAPA meeting minutes available from the USAPA web site from January through July of 2011, and from recent CLT Updates. Out of 131 votes taken in 2011, (not including motions to adjourn) McKee voted with one or both PHX Reps 87 times.
The following is a statement from Compass Correction Special Forensic Audit Counsel:
It is unfortunate that McKee has been so uncooperative with the voting audit. It has resulted in significantly higher costs to Compass Correction and delayed the progress of our review. However, we expect to be able to complete the audit and report on those findings to the Pilots, as we were retained to do. It does appear that the audit was not only sensible undertaking by the Compass Correction Team, but is likely to reveal, based upon our preliminary review of the detail voting record that McKee has voted with one or both of the PHX Representatives 66% of the time over the past year”.
Preliminary Findings:
McKee Votes with PHX 66% of the Time
McKee co-sponsored resolution with PHX Rep David Braid to share Profit Sharing with West Pilots
McKee contradicts himself in minutes of investigation of Office incident involving Randy Mowrey/Rob Streble
McKee votes against prohibition of weapons in USAPA Office
McKee votes against In-house legal search
McKee votes against allowing BPR access to outside legal counsel
McKee votes to attain O’Dwyer and Bernstein Legal Services
McKee votes for Pat Day and Manny Lopez to the NAC
McKee request Hummel’s resignation
Fraternally,
The Compass Correction Ad Hoc Special Forensic Audit Team
Dave Ciabattoni
PHL AB 320
Doug Mowery
CLT AB 32
McKee Votes with PHX 66% of the Time
(And co-sponsors resolution with PHX to share Profit Sharing with West)
Fellow Pilots,
The forensic audit team of the Compass Correction Coalition has completed its preliminary audit of the voting record of CLT Chairman Bill McKee. Our Team has analyzed USAPA meeting minutes available from the USAPA web site from January through July of 2011, and from recent CLT Updates. Out of 131 votes taken in 2011, (not including motions to adjourn) McKee voted with one or both PHX Reps 87 times.
The following is a statement from Compass Correction Special Forensic Audit Counsel:
It is unfortunate that McKee has been so uncooperative with the voting audit. It has resulted in significantly higher costs to Compass Correction and delayed the progress of our review. However, we expect to be able to complete the audit and report on those findings to the Pilots, as we were retained to do. It does appear that the audit was not only sensible undertaking by the Compass Correction Team, but is likely to reveal, based upon our preliminary review of the detail voting record that McKee has voted with one or both of the PHX Representatives 66% of the time over the past year”.
Preliminary Findings:
McKee Votes with PHX 66% of the Time
McKee co-sponsored resolution with PHX Rep David Braid to share Profit Sharing with West Pilots
McKee contradicts himself in minutes of investigation of Office incident involving Randy Mowrey/Rob Streble
McKee votes against prohibition of weapons in USAPA Office
McKee votes against In-house legal search
McKee votes against allowing BPR access to outside legal counsel
McKee votes to attain O’Dwyer and Bernstein Legal Services
McKee votes for Pat Day and Manny Lopez to the NAC
McKee request Hummel’s resignation
Fraternally,
The Compass Correction Ad Hoc Special Forensic Audit Team
Dave Ciabattoni
PHL AB 320
Doug Mowery
CLT AB 32
Phoenix
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Eric F. strategy has been to divide, demoralize, and drag capitulation out of the East from day one. He sounds more and more like Uhaul as he thinks he is peaking. Unity is the last thing they want, always try to destroy, and at the same time always accuse that the leaders haven't produced it.... And of course they promise they have the skills to work with management (who wouldn't invite them to so much as a Tupperware Party).
high*flyer
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I say non- NIC and status quo...off to Roma... Arrivederci!
Lol. What have your leaders produced? Clown
Move2CLT
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You guys seem to be doing that to yourselves on your own. No need for us to help.
Res Judicata
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What F'ing idiot would believe that nonsense? The Law is the Law, the Truth is the Truth. Period. If that FACT divides, demoralizes, capitulates you then too frigging bad. Sorry the reality of your situation is so repellent to you but Not everyone has the luxury of wallowing in the Eastie cesspool of contrived, perverted reality.
Eric is trying to save you from yourself. He's a bigger man than I.
traderjake
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You want a raise then give up your fantasy of rewriting the seniority list.
Until then enjoy LOA 93.
Phoenix
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Arrivederci... I think. I am not sure now that I have learned I am a clown, and an unhappy one at that.
Where would I be without my West Unity cheerleaders?Enjoy knowing you are the lowest paid pilot crossing the Atlantic tonight. Clown.
fifidriver
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The opportunity for parity was on the table. It was called the "Kirby". It required the NIC. That offer was unilaterally rejected by the East, in favor of LOA93 ...... indefininately. After that, in the immortal words of somebody, "You're soaking in it, Madge!" Enjoy!
fifidriver
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Yep! You got yours, and good luck to all the rest of the poor saps!
Move2CLT
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Woop, there it is!
traderjake
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I work with Captains and the majority of them agree with me.
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