- Sep 26, 2002
- 629
- 1
I was sent this and was wondering if someone could explain it to me.
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Blocked vote on offer angers some US Airways pilots
Wednesday, September 08, 2004
By Michael A. Fuoco, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
US Airways pilot Richard Paul yesterday missed seeing his daughter off to her first day of kindergarten in Charlotte, N.C., because he was concerned for her future. Today, he's even more concerned.
Paul was among a group of pilots who tried and failed on Monday to sway union leaders from Pittsburgh and Philadelphia from blocking rank-and-file pilots from voting on the airline's latest cost-cutting offer. Now Paul, a first officer based in Philadelphia, worries that the fate of the airline may be out of his and fellow pilots' hands.
"This group figures if they bury their head in the sand and say 'No,' that nothing will change," Paul said of the four Pittsburgh and Philadelphia representatives, who have come to be known as the "Roll Call 4."
"That's as realistic as clicking your heels and saying 'There's no place like home.' It's not realistic. The world has changed."
Paul and other pilots opposed to what transpired at the Arlington, Va., hotel where the 12 pilots union leaders met, say they are upset they were prevented from voting on their future.
Their view is that the proposal would have passed membership scrutiny, even though it included deep pay and other cuts, because it included the securing of jurisdiction, seniority and other major contractual protections even if US Airways goes into bankruptcy -- an option the company has indicated it will take.
Without such protections, they argue, their entire contract will be at the mercy of U.S. Bankruptcy Court if US Airways files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
To be sure, not everyone was opposed to the actions of Fred Freshwater and John Brookman of Pittsburgh and Dan Von Bargen, who also voted the proxy for fellow Philadelphian John Crocker. Even though the four were outnumbered by representatives from other bases, they were able to block any vote because they represented a majority of pilots.
Airline bulletin boards on the Internet yesterday included postings from some pilots who hailed what the four had done in not allowing a rank-and-file vote. Some praised them for having the gumption to stand up to the company's "take it or leave it" proposal, claiming the pilots had already given enough.
But Capt. Chip Munn, 49, of Cranberry, who has been based at New York LaGuardia's Airport for three years after 17 years in Pittsburgh, called the actions "morally wrong" and a "dictator approach."
"We had a bad feeling about what they were going to do, but we thought they would push it as far as they could to the ledge without falling off," Munn said. "They're denying over 3,000 pilots the right to decide their future."
He and other pilots upset over the 12-member US Airways Master Executive Council vote also complained that Freshwater and Von Bargen have a conflict of interest. The pair are among a group of about five dozen pilots who have a suit pending against Air Line Pilots Association for not allowing the membership to vote several years ago on a decrease in the pilots' defined benefit plan.
____________________________________________
Blocked vote on offer angers some US Airways pilots
Wednesday, September 08, 2004
By Michael A. Fuoco, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
US Airways pilot Richard Paul yesterday missed seeing his daughter off to her first day of kindergarten in Charlotte, N.C., because he was concerned for her future. Today, he's even more concerned.
Paul was among a group of pilots who tried and failed on Monday to sway union leaders from Pittsburgh and Philadelphia from blocking rank-and-file pilots from voting on the airline's latest cost-cutting offer. Now Paul, a first officer based in Philadelphia, worries that the fate of the airline may be out of his and fellow pilots' hands.
"This group figures if they bury their head in the sand and say 'No,' that nothing will change," Paul said of the four Pittsburgh and Philadelphia representatives, who have come to be known as the "Roll Call 4."
"That's as realistic as clicking your heels and saying 'There's no place like home.' It's not realistic. The world has changed."
Paul and other pilots opposed to what transpired at the Arlington, Va., hotel where the 12 pilots union leaders met, say they are upset they were prevented from voting on their future.
Their view is that the proposal would have passed membership scrutiny, even though it included deep pay and other cuts, because it included the securing of jurisdiction, seniority and other major contractual protections even if US Airways goes into bankruptcy -- an option the company has indicated it will take.
Without such protections, they argue, their entire contract will be at the mercy of U.S. Bankruptcy Court if US Airways files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
To be sure, not everyone was opposed to the actions of Fred Freshwater and John Brookman of Pittsburgh and Dan Von Bargen, who also voted the proxy for fellow Philadelphian John Crocker. Even though the four were outnumbered by representatives from other bases, they were able to block any vote because they represented a majority of pilots.
Airline bulletin boards on the Internet yesterday included postings from some pilots who hailed what the four had done in not allowing a rank-and-file vote. Some praised them for having the gumption to stand up to the company's "take it or leave it" proposal, claiming the pilots had already given enough.
But Capt. Chip Munn, 49, of Cranberry, who has been based at New York LaGuardia's Airport for three years after 17 years in Pittsburgh, called the actions "morally wrong" and a "dictator approach."
"We had a bad feeling about what they were going to do, but we thought they would push it as far as they could to the ledge without falling off," Munn said. "They're denying over 3,000 pilots the right to decide their future."
He and other pilots upset over the 12-member US Airways Master Executive Council vote also complained that Freshwater and Von Bargen have a conflict of interest. The pair are among a group of about five dozen pilots who have a suit pending against Air Line Pilots Association for not allowing the membership to vote several years ago on a decrease in the pilots' defined benefit plan.
