USAPA Update For Tuesday, May 13th, 2008
BPR Meeting Update for Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Professional Negotiator Appointed
Staffing of the Negotiating Committee
Staffing of Merger Committee
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The Board of Pilot Representatives (BPR) met today in CLT for day one of a scheduled three day BPR meeting. The meeting is taking place at the Marriott Charlotte Executive Park, 5700 Westpark Drive, Charlotte, NC. For free transportation from the airport call 704-527-9650. The meeting will convene tomorrow at 9:00am and will adjourn at 5:00pm or at the close of business. All USAPA members are invited to attend.
The following is a summary of today’s events which started with a brief update from the officers to the BPR:
President Steve Bradford discussed the resumes that have been received for the various committee positions followed by Vice President Mike Cleary’s brief discussion on the agenda items for the meeting, along with a short discussion of candidates for the open committee positions.
Secretary/Treasurer Mark King reported that the first dues payment from the Company is expected in the middle of May and that lines of credit have now been secured solidifying the financial position of your union. All pilots will receive invoices updating their accounts, even if enrolled in dues check off. For those pilots not enrolled in dues check off, USAPA will begin dues billing. Since dues check off is not retroactive to date of certification, all pilots utilizing dues check off can anticipate a balance due on their first invoice. With the exception of checks that say "donation" on them, USAPA will hold on to all checks dated after 17 April and will eventually apply them to dues. Anyone that wrote a check after that date, and does not want it cashed should contact Secretary/Treasurer Mark King at mking@USAirlinePilots.org.
Executive Vice President Gary Bauhan briefed the BPR on new IT infrastructure coming in the days ahead which will give USAPA new and enhanced capabilities. He also briefed the BPR on ineffective attempts by non supporters of USAPA to overload USAPA resources. At this point Agenda item 08-22 Resolution was passed by the Board, authorizing legal action as necessary to protect the Association’s representational rights and obligations.
The Board then addressed the increasingly hostile workplace and discussed the need to involve Professional Standards in a desire to handle issues internally if at all possible.
It was also brought forward by the BPR that the Officers are seeking to improve internal communications amongst the Officers, the BPR and committee structure.
Regarding membership to USAPA, a motion was passed wherein the BPR approved for membership all individuals listed in the Membership Report that was distributed to the BPR by the Secretary Treasurer on May 11, 2008.
During today’s meeting, Negotiating Advisory Committee Consultant Doug Mowery briefed the BPR on JNC talks which ended August 2007 and negotiations in general. Also the Board interviewed a number of Negotiating Advisory and Merger Committee candidates.
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Attorney Scott Petersen, from the Law Firm of Seham, Seham, Meltz and Petersen, was appointed USAPA’s Professional Negotiator. Mr. Petersen is a former U.S. Air force Pilot who served as In-house and General Counsel for independent pilot associations at two of the major domestic airlines for many years. Mr. Petersen is a founding member of the National Transportation Safety Board Bar Association (“NTSB-BAâ€), and has extensive experience in labor/management relations, federal aviation law, NLRB hearings, employment discrimination law, internal union affairs, DOT regulatory issues and ERISA/pension matters. Mr. Petersen specializes in working with independent organizations such as USAPA.
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The Board appointed First Officer Paul DiOrio Chairman of the Negotiating Advisory Committee. First Officer DiOrio is a graduate of the New England School of Law and is a member of the Bar in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. His union work includes being an elected pilot representative and extensive grievance committee work representing pilots to management and throughout the arbitration process.
The Board will be considering other candidates for positions on the Negotiating Advisory Committee.
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The Board partially manned the Merger Committee by appointing Captain Randy Mowery as Chairman, and First Officer Kevin Barry as a Merger Committee Member.
Captain Randy Mowery’s experience in merger committee work includes responsibility for producing a merged seniority list during the US Airways/United Airlines corporate integration in the late 1990’s. He was also involved in the US Airways/Trump Shuttle seniority arbitration.
First Officer Kevin Barry has been involved in merger committee work since 1993 with both the Trump Shuttle and US Airways.
The Board will be considering other candidates for positions on the Merger Committee.
To reiterate, the meeting will reconvene tomorrow at 9:00am and will adjourn at 5:00pm or at the close of business. All USAPA members are invited to attend.
