nevergiveup said:
Greed caused them to lose it all. History again repeats itself.
It's your greed and playing into Parker's hands that has left this pilot group without a contract. USAPA is an embarrassment to the pilot profession. You provided benefits to management while denying a pilot contract. Your fake union earned it's place in history. I'll go out of my way to make sure the AA pilots understand your sullied legacy to unionism. See you on the CR's.
The Source of US Airways Profitability
US Airways today is competing vigorously and earning record profits. Executives of both airlines have repeatedly stated that they do not need this merger to succeed.
That quote was the total extent of financial analysis on US Airways released by the Department of Justice. In reality, much of this profitability at US Airways has been the artificial result of a battle between employee groups which has left pilot wages frozen for a decade.
The US Airways we know today is the result of a 2005 reverse merger between American West and US Airways which was then operating under bankruptcy protection for the second time in two years. Although referred to as a merger, it was effectively an acquisition by America West. In 2004, faced with a possible liquidation in bankruptcy, old US Airways pilots had agreed to a concessionary contract which reduced their pay by 21 percent and eliminated scheduled annual increases. Since both pilot groups were represented by the same union (ALPA, the Airline Pilots Association), seniority integration pursuant to the merger was to be carried out in accordance with existing ALPA policy. Binding arbitration was agreed to by both pilot groups, yielding a blended seniority list reflecting relative seniority among the former America West and US Airways pilots and the economic position of each airline. These two groups came to be referred to as West and East pilots respectively.
The East pilots refused to accept this seniority list produced by binding arbitration. In general East pilots had more years of service than West pilots, reflecting more than anything the age and growth or contraction of the two airlines. The East pilots, outnumbering the West pilots, ousted their union representation, formed a new collective bargaining unit, USAPA (US Airlines Pilot Association), and then rejected the arbitration results they had once agreed to. The alternative seniority plan put forward by USAPA placed the vast majority of West pilots at the bottom of the seniority ladder. Not surprisingly, litigation ensued, and continues to this day.
C Bonilla
