Do You Want a Leader, or a Politician?
Dear US Airways Pilots,
The difference between a Leader and a Politician is that a Leader will tell you what he thinks you need to hear while a Politician will tell you what he thinks you want to hear. It appears there are plenty of Politicians participating in this election, but very few Leaders.
From the beginning of this campaign, Jeff Koontz and I have made it clear: If elected, we will work to bring an end to the seniority litigation and include the Nicolau Award in Section 22 of a joint contract in order to negotiate an industry-leading contract for this pilot group. We must move on, get the company back to the negotiating table, and finish negotiations for a joint contract.
Many have said that taking this platform was “political suicide.” Well, we are not politicians. Instead, we are proven leaders and we will tell you what you need to hear. During this campaign, most of the other candidates have been engaged in an “I’m more DOH than you” contest, thinking that it was what the voters want to hear.
It is our view that the US Airways pilots are tired of politicians, and ready for real leadership. We have been receiving feedback from East pilots who, although not necessarily happy with the Nicolau, recognize the truth that the only way to negotiate a new contract is by accepting the Nicolau Award. Many have either already voted, or have pledged to vote for Ferguson, Koontz and Holmes.
Few things are more entertaining during an election than watching a Politician change his tune after realizing that his original approach isn’t working. At the beginning of the campaign, most chose to attack each other, exchanging accusations of misbehavior or incompetence while in office and emphasizing the fact that they were going to continue to fight for Date-of-Hire. Publish a few of emails to that effect, cut and paste the job description of the specific Officer position right from the USAPA Constitution, and then add in a few buzz words such as “together,” or, “new approach,” or, “taking it to the company!” From there it had to seem that the election was pretty much “in the bag.”
Imagine their surprise to discover that this pilot group is tired of waiting, tired of watching the continuous union drama and infighting, tired of working under the worst contracts in the industry, tired of falling ever further behind our peers, and tired of a union that spends over 40% of its annual dues on lawyer fees but has yet to create a proper Merger or Strike fund.
What does a politician do when he has to change course? He does what the guy ahead of him in the polls does. We have written blogs about how to address the concerns of our “Third-Listers,” how a future merger might turn out, and a large number of other topics central to the concerns of all US Airways pilots. Many of these topics have been about subjects which far too many US Airways pilots have sought to ignore over the last few years. They are not easy, and they certainly are not what we think people want to hear, but it is what we believe they need to hear whether they find it pleasant or not. Contrast this with our competitors and see how most have simply been telling the pilots what the conventional wisdom would dictate they want to hear.
When a Leader tells you what he thinks needs to be done, he does so because he believes it to be true. When a Politician tells you what he thinks you want to hear in order earn your vote, he tends to make mistakes because what he says and what he really thinks may be two very different things. The majority of the candidates in this election are no exception.
Several candidates have stated that, if elected, they would “listen to the pilots and abide by all applicable laws and the USAPA Constitution and Bylaws.” Is this something that needs mentioning? How does a statement like this help a voter decide? Are there candidates promising to “ignore pilots and violate laws” in order to get elected? Leader or Politician?
We have one Presidential candidate who has preached about unity and “moving forward” while touting his organizational capabilities, yet he doesn’t seem to know (or won’t acknowledge) that he has three competitors, rather than two for USAPA President as was stated in his first campaign email. Leader or Politician?
There is one candidate in particular who tries to explain the fairness of Date-of-Hire by pointing out that our compensation is based on that metric, oblivious to the fact that our pay rates are based on many factors, including length of service, but not date-of-hire. Leader or Politician?
Another candidate decided to address the merger concerns by stating that “overall health of the carrier and financial matters; US Airways financial health is sound.” This precisely echoes George Nicolau’s statements in the Arbitration Award, only he was referring to the solid health of America West. Apparently he wants you to forget how, for the last five years, this particular “Founding Father” has relentlessly proclaimed that “Date-of-Hire is the Gold Standard” and that the overall health of a merging carrier is nothing more than “a snapshot” which should not be considered when merging seniority lists. Leader or Politician?
Some candidates have pledged that they “will not show up unprepared for Negotiations.” We are not aware of any candidates vowing to show up late or unprepared. We ponder the sudden need to state the obvious. Leader or Politician?
By now it should be clear that most of the candidates are Politicians. Not only this, the majority represent Politicians who have held some sort of office or committee chairmanship ever since they helped found USAPA. Some of them are directly responsible for the dysfunction, inefficiency, and turmoil that has characterized this union for the last four years.
The actions of these politicians have cost us dearly. It has been over 1600 days since the East Joint Negotiating Committee was ordered to cease its participation in the joint negotiations by the AAA MEC in August of 2007. The quantifiable financial losses to the pilot group, as of February 18, 2012 have been listed below. Please bear in mind these losses are conservative in their estimation. The real harm is much higher because this chart does not account for items such as increased vacation, higher retirement contributions, or the time value of money, etc.
Mounting Losses for US Airways Pilots
If elected, we will begin to initiate sweeping changes immediately. We will work to accomplish the goals laid out by Eric nearly two years ago during his EVP Campaign (see Campaign Consistency, Eric Ferguson EVP Campaign Message 19MAY10). You may notice that several other candidates mention similar goals in this election even though some have been in a position to have already been taking steps toward these goals for some time now, yet haven’t bothered. These goals (as quoted verbatim from that 2010 campaign message) include:
1. Work to gradually reduce membership dues obligation to 1%
2. Eliminate the LOA 95 special compensation for USAPA volunteers
3. Create a “satellite” USAPA office near company headquarters in PHX
4. Staff a full-time Grievance Committee for the PHX domicile for the administration of “Contract 2004” while under separate contracts
5. Bolster the resources of the NAC to included another pilot currently working under Contract 2004
6. Hire a professional stenographer to create actual transcripts of all negotiating sessions
7. Ensure that committees are properly “balanced” to reflect views from all geographies and seniority ranges
8. Work Together!
Regarding item five (5), above, please note that in light of the total absence of a West negotiator on the NAC, we will need to add more than one. In fact, it is our plan to staff the NAC with an equal number of pilots working under each existing contract to ensure that only the best, most advantageous sections from either contract are used as the baseline and we will have the NAC work to improve those sections from there.
Regarding item seven (7), above, it is our intent to appoint a proportional number of volunteers and committee chairs from both contracts throughout the overall committee structure. We will begin accepting resumes from volunteers and suggestions from the BPR the moment the outcome of the election is known. We will begin screening candidates and will be ready to move ahead with BPR interviews and new committee appointments soon after taking office. No matter your background or previous union history, we welcome your interest in serving your fellow pilots of USAPA.
While the list above is not inclusive, please imagine where the pilots of US Airways would be today had there been an opportunity to accomplish our longstanding goals. Remember, this list dates back nearly two years and is not a recent contrivance aimed at convincing you we have a plan. We have always had a plan to improve USAPA and very soon we believe our pilots will give us the opportunity to make positive changes happen.
The choice is clear: We can no longer afford to have this union run by Politicians for another three years. Instead, the pilots of US Airways need LEADERS and we need them now.
If you agree with the above, then your support is required now. In order to break the cycle of failure, we need to prevail in this election with a commanding lead in the first round. This is required so as to send a clear message to the BPR, and management, that you are no longer satisfied with the status quo. Do not wait for others to decide your fate.
Now is the time to vote for Ferguson, Koontz and Holmes and choose PROVEN Leaders over Politicians.
Thank you for your support!
Eric Ferguson
Jeff Koontz
Ken Holmes
