2014 Pilot Discussion

[luvthe9]

Obviously another pissed off senile old man who couldn't grasp the virtue of USAPA's argument. 
 
How much has this wild goose chase cost us?
 
Four million dollars?

What a hypocrite, go tell your scab buddies in PHX about all the money they have wasted and have cost us all on their "wild goose chase".

 

[nevergiveup]

Anyone that gives credit to the current President for the DOW, is yet another example of why we need more money in public education! 

 

[traderjake]

What a hypocrite, go tell your scab buddies in PHX about all the money they have wasted and have cost us all on their "wild goose chase".

 
What a dimwit, how's that East West DOH seniority list coming?
 
Too bad you wasted so many of the best earning years of your career on LOA 93 not to mention 50 vacation days.  

 

[snapthis]

 

A group of people thought it would be wonderful to have an african american as president. Joy filled the land as their racist agenda was fulfilled. They took someone unqualified and used him to show how wonderful they were. Black, white, male, female, democrat, republican, I could car less. Just put in someone that can fulfill the needs of the position.

+1

If this was an experiment then I think a military man such as Colon Powell would have a better handle on things in the middle east.

 

[traderjake]

 

[nycbusdriver]

 
What a dimwit, how's that East West DOH seniority list coming?
 

 
It's actually been going strong now for the last 9 years since the merger was announced.
 
And, it appears that it will continue on for at least the next 5 years.
 
Capture of the attrition is, was and always has been the PRIMARY goal of the east pilots.  Pay was always secondary, since attrition will eventually make up the difference for the junior pilots who have taken the brunt of all the mismanagement, dismanagement and cutbacks.
 
99.99% of the east first officers are grateful for the support of the senior pilots in this effort.  Any guess who the 0.01% is, traitor?
 
Yes, thank you for asking.  Just ask those one-year captains and wide-body first officers.  DOH is going SPLENDIDLY!

 

[Claxon]

What's an interesting display of UEL and hardcore USAPAian psychology is how the union's supporters attack the messenger versus the message. Why? They USAPAians cannot dispute the message or the facts.
 
It's truly a sad state, but interesting nonetheless, because the USAPAians and their supporters fear the messenger.  
 
Moving forward there are 3 compelling points:
 
1. USAPA has brought on the Pyrrhic victory:
 
2. USAPA = Judicial Estoppel, which = Pyrrhic Victory or a UJEPV.
 
3. At least we know APA is taking US out of USAPA. Or APA = USAPA minus US.

Mr. Munn is telling you how he wants you to agree with him. He insisted on telling a 767 it was somewhere it wasn't also. That is way.

 

[nycbusdriver]

 
Disraeli famously said: "There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics."
 
If the next president is a Republican, my bet is that each of these will apply to him (certainly not a her) at the end of his first term, too.
 
My guess is that taking these apart might reveal some interesting foundations.  Like #10.  Of course there is a larger percentage of Americans receiving one or more forms of federal benefits.  At age 65, Americans get Social Security and Medicare almost automatically.  As the population ages and the birth rate stagnates, this statistic makes logical sense.  
 
Are you saying that Americans should cut their parents and grandparents off?  If this is such a horrendous statistic, maybe you should euthanize your father to get the ball rolling in the right direction, traitor.  

 

[Claxon]

+1If this was an experiment then I think a military man such as Colon Powell would have a better handle on things in the middle east.

Tony, Colin Powell is the correct spelling of the generals name.

 

[nevergiveup]

 
It's actually been going strong now for the last 9 years since the merger was announced.
 
And, it appears that it will continue on for at least the next 5 years.
 
Capture of the attrition is, was and always has been the PRIMARY goal of the east pilots.  Pay was always secondary, since attrition will eventually make up the difference for the junior pilots who have taken the brunt of all the mismanagement, dismanagement and cutbacks.
 
99.99% of the east first officers are grateful for the support of the senior pilots in this effort.  Any guess who the 0.01% is, traitor?
 
Yes, thank you for asking.  Just ask those one-year captains and wide-body first officers.  DOH is going SPLENDIDLY!

Bravo; Life is good!

 

[traderjake]

99.99% of the east first officers are grateful for the support of the senior pilots in this effort.  Any guess who the 0.01% is, traitor?

 
You should try talking some the Captain's who are having to retire now. 

 

[Phoenix]

Disraeli famously said: "There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics."
 
If the next president is a Republican, my bet is that each of these will apply to him (certainly not a her) at the end of his first term, too.
 
My guess is that taking these apart might reveal some interesting foundations.  Like #10.  Of course there is a larger percentage of Americans receiving one or more forms of federal benefits.  At age 65, Americans get Social Security and Medicare almost automatically.  As the population ages and the birth rate stagnates, this statistic makes logical sense.  
 
Are you saying that Americans should cut their parents and grandparents off?  If this is such a horrendous statistic, maybe you should euthanize your father to get the ball rolling in the right direction, traitor.  

I would not equate productive citizens who worked a lifetime with swimmers.

 

[nycbusdriver]

 
You should try talking some the Captain's who are having to retire now. 

 
You should talk to the junior pilots who spent a decade or more on furlough to save the company and your job.

 

[USA320Pilot]

o

 

[USA320Pilot]

USAPA Pension Investigation Committee Update: June 20, 2014
 
Today, June 20, 2014, 16 months after the February 2013 trial, Judge Frederic Scullin issued a decision in favor of the PBGC, and dismissed our claim that the PBGC breached its fiduciary duties as the statutory trustee of our failed pension plan.  A copy of the Decision and Order can be found here and in the Legal Library under USAPA v. Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC).   
 
Judge Scullin based his decision on a finding that the PBGC “made all reasonable attempts to investigate the financial affairs of the Plan to identify any possible fiduciary breaches and thoroughly investigated any claims that were brought to its attention.”  (Decision, page 17).  We disagree with the Judge’s conclusions, and with the BPR's approval, intend to appeal his decision.
Judge Scullin’s decision is remarkably short given the size of the factual record, and fails to address a number of legal issues that were raised during the case.  That said, we are pleased  the judge largely adopted our position concerning the legal duties the PBGC undertakes when it volunteers to serve as trustee of a terminated pension plan, including the duty to investigate potential claims on behalf of the plan and, “if in the best interests of the plan participants, to bring suit.”  (Decision, pages 4-5). 
 
Despite having largely adopted our formulation of the legal standards that apply, the judge held that the PBGC satisfied its fiduciary duties under the facts of our case.  Specifically, the judge held that through the original PBGC’s initial plan asset audit, and then through a subsequent investigation conducted by a staff attorney at PBGC, and finally through a second plan asset audit conducted by an outside accounting firm, the PBGC had fulfilled its statutory duty to investigate the financial affairs of the failed Pilots Plan.  In reaching that conclusion, the judge ignored the PBGC Inspector General’s findings regarding the inadequacies of the agency’s plan asset audit process, and the PBGC’s subsequent steps to address those inadequacies, and didn’t even reference those significant facts in the decision.  The opinion also fails to address the findings of the PBGC’s own experts in the US Airways bankruptcy proceeding, which identified some of the reasons for the plan’s failure, and the potential claims arising from those failures.  These were all part of the evidence we presented at trial.
 
Again, with the BPR's approval, we intend to appeal the decision.  Our appeal will likely focus on the significant portions of the trial record that are ignored in the decision, including key admissions by the PBGC, the PBGC’s Inspector General, and PBGC experts in the US Airways bankruptcy proceeding, as well as a challenge to the Court’s dismissal of several factual issues without adequate support in the record.
 
The briefing schedule for the appeal will be established by the Court of Appeals, but the opening brief is not likely to be due for several months.
 
The Pension Investigation Committee. 
 
USA320Pilot comments: I told you so (again). At least there are some things to look forward to -- SCC, a 1.45% pilot net pay increase, and a union who does not sue everybody in sight and then when the union loses more wasted money spent on fruitless appeals. Question. Do USAPA and their supporters ever get tired of losing over-and-over again?  

 
In the mid 90s the IRS's Financial Accounting Standards Board created new accounting rules for DB Pension Plans. These rule changes caused pension plans to become underfunded. With US Air struggling with the highest CASM in the industry and its network under assault by Southwest, other LCC's, and RJs the company stopped funding the DB Plan.

US Air CEO Seth Schofield saw the writing on the wall and he came to the MEC offering to freeze the DB Plan and create a DC Plan. This would have given the pilots an "A" and "B" Plan. 

However, this information was never public to the rank-and-file during ALPA's tenure because via "roll call" vote the MEC kept this information close held with all of the discussions taking place in "closed session." The Reps involved were the first set of people labeled the RC4, which is an acronym for "roll call 4." If my memory serves me correctly the RC4 was PIT Captain Rep John Davis, PIT F/O Rep Frank Starnes, PHL Captain Rep Bill McKee, and PHL F/O Rep Frank Kelly (later on John Brookman and Mark King were elected as PIT Reps during this time frame).

In closed session against the advice of ALPA National R&I, against the advice of the MEC R&I Committee lead by Rick Moseley, Rich Altar, and Mark Minor, against the advice of the Officers, and against the advice of the majority of the MEC Reps, who urged the MEC to take Schofield's offer, by "roll call" vote the RC4/UELs said "no" keeping the underfunded DB Plan in place.

Why? The plan had a lump sum option that would have provided a pilot about a $1.5 million lump sum payment or an annuity upon retirement and the RC4 wanted to preserve this option even though they risked losing the whole enchilada if there was an economic downturn. Then 911 happened, the company filed for a formal reorganization, and the DB Plan was terminated. The Plan was underfunded by about $600 million and the ATSB and Creditors Committee were not going to provide the company an additional $600 million to save the plan as part of US Air's Plan of Reorganization (POR). 

After USAPA was elected and ALPA confidentiality requirements no longer existed the truth came out with what the RC4 UELs did to the pilots in closed session without the rank-and-file knowing what really happened. It's sickening, but these four Reps were the beginning of the angry mob who took over the ALPA MEC and now run USAPA. And, I believe the same type of damage that was done to the retirement plan by the union's leaders is being done to the pilot group over the Nicolau Award, where a group of selfish people are taking actions to benefit a portion of the pilot group at the expense of others.