Sorry if the format isn''t perfect. I am only trying to offer our side and can''t spend hours doing so. We exchanged articles 3 and 13 with the promise of fair treatment. Please read this Skyword issue and understand why we trusted fellow union members to act like brothers and sisters. P.S. I hope that our win will help the Reno f/as also.
Skyword • issue one • 2001 15
n mid 2000, and in response
to the possibility of a merger
between American and
Northwest the APFA appointed
a committee to research mergers
and acquisitions and to
make recommendations to the
Board. The committee members
are Susan French IDF, Judy
(Milne) Huckaby (IDF) and Anne
Loew (JFK), all long-time Union
advocates who have served in
various positions including
Division Representative, Base
Chairperson, Ad Hoc and the
AirCal Merger Team. Our committee
met with APFA General
Counsel, obtained research
material and began to study the
issues involved. Within a few
weeks, the prospect of any
imminent merger or acquisition
dimmed, and our Merger and
Acquisition Committee became
temporarily inactive.
With the recent news of a
potential merger with TWA,
and with possible other such
transactions on the horizon, the
Merger Committee was quickly
reactivated. This report will
touch upon some of the issues
our Union will face should this
acquisition proceed, but is by
no means intended as a comprehensive
summary.
Despite all of the concerns
each of us has, it is important
that we keep a few facts at
the forefront of our minds.
First of all, given the probable
merger of United and USAir, a
merger or acquisition between
American and another carrier
represents an understandable
competitive response by
American. So in that sense,
this acquisition is not a bad
thing, but is instead a benefit.
Secondly, although we each
consider every second that we
have put in at this company to
be sacred, we must acknowledge
that the myriad of seniority
integrations that have come
down over the past decades
as a result of arbitration
awards, and (rarely) agreements,
have not usually resulted
in the acquired carrier’s
workers being stapled to the
bottom of the seniority list.
You can be assured that this
Committee and your Union
will do all in its power to
responsibly protect your rights.
To briefly recap our history,
American Airlines has
acquired three other airlines.
Seniority and the other issues
were dealt with in the manner
that was considered appropriate
in the context of each of
those transactions. In the
1970s American purchased
TransCarribean Airlines. All of
those Flight Attendants were
given date-of-hire bidding
seniority. In the 1980s
American acquired AirCal, and
those Flight Attendants were
likewise given date-of-hire bidding
seniority by agreement
with the APFA. The most recent
acquisition was Reno Air.
There, the 300 or so very
junior Flight Attendants were
placed at the bottom of our
seniority list. A lawsuit challenging
that result was filed. It
was dismissed by the Federal
District Court and has been
appealed.
In those instances in which
Arbitrators have determined the
method of seniority integration,
among the factors considered
are the relative size and seniority
of each carrier, the financial
health of each carrier and the
benefits each carrier brings to
the other. The decisions have
ranged from granting full dateof-
hire seniority to no seniority,
with variations in between
those extremes, including for
example “ratio integrationâ€
meaning merging on a fixed
ratio, such as 1:3, 1:4, and so
forth, and “equal position†or
relative percentage integration.
Our committee will be studying
these decisions and other available
information on seniority
integrations with great care,
and we will not be rushed into
making hasty recommendations.
While bidding seniority is
uppermost in our concerns,
there are three other kinds of
seniority that must be considered
- pay seniority, company
seniority and credited years of
service for pension seniority.
Aside from the all important
“Where will I be on the seniority
list†question, a merger or
acquisition raises many important
and complex issues which
may include the need to negotiate
a merged collective bargaining
agreement, a “fence†-
meaning that the Flight
Attendants for each airline
would remain totally separate
and work under different work
rules, and be stationed at discrete
bases for a certain period
of time. While unlikely in
the American - TWA acquisition,
such transactions often
include the issue of which
union will survive and which
will disappear and whether
that decision will be made by
the National Mediation Board
or by election of the work
groups at each airline.
Our committee is looking forward
to this complex and difficult
task. We appreciate the
confidence placed in us by the
APFA Board, and we welcome
your questions and suggestions.
Finally, we would like to
remind you that whatever the
eventual seniority list outcome
is, we will be working side by
side with former TWA Flight
Attendants for many years,
whose careers have been
fraught with strikes, bankruptcy,
base closings, and many other
difficulties. It is our hope that
each of us will gain much from
the wisdom of our collective
experiences.
merger and acquisition page of TWA The Acquisition by the Merger and Acquisition Committee
Contact the
APFA Merger Committee:
APFA Headquarters
(800) 395-2732, ext. 8751
Susan French - ext. 8491
Ann Loew - ext. 8493
Judy Milne-Huckaby - ext. 8492
E-mail:
[email protected]