2014 Pilot Discussion

[Al Legheny]

Here is a little item from a labor lawyer. Roger Pollack, from the law firm of Bredhoff Kaiser in Washington DC discussing the arbitration clause in the APFA MOU.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yUuAygwIPs

 

[Phoenix]

Here is a little item from a labor lawyer. Roger Pollack, from the law firm of Bredhoff Kaiser in Washington DC discussing the arbitration clause in the APFA MOU.

Without an accurate valuation of concessions he is pissing in wind, and that's ok, but one should know if it's a tailwind or a headwind.

 

[Freighterguynow]

The bottom seniority group of west pilots ( Ferguson, Vaselino, Koontz, Doyal) crushed the west more senior group. The senior west pilots must look away when they see all those 330s in PHL. And they will not fly them for years to come.

PHX 'hub' promise expires 2016.

First employee group to get a joint merge, Flight Attendants, was 2016 now 2017.

Do the math.

 

[Claxon]

PHX 'hub' promise expires 2016.
First employee group to get a joint merge, Flight Attendants, was 2016 now 2017.
Do the math.

west pilots merely lurk here now.
Yes, the math will tell the story. Glass and Parker will hamstring all the groups. The APA so far has only been able to mildly react to what they are up against. This will drag on for years.

 

[EastUS1]

west pilots merely lurk here now.
 

 
Pretty much. One almost wistfully misses all the cute adolescent threats, "righteous" chest pounding, rabidly drooling on keyboards, and of course, the "T minus" countdown clocks set to mark the always imminent demise of any who opposed the "spartans" little ..umm..."army".
 
"The APA so far has only been able to mildly react to what they are up against." Well...We did try to warn them....."There are none so blind as those who will not see."

 

[EastUS1]

The pilots gave excessive amounts allowing the company to make tremendous profits, yet the company would not even pay the 3%. Quality is not important. The employees are not important. DP will be visited by three spirits on Christmas Eve. Guess what will happen? (This ought to be good)

 
"DP will be visited by three spirits on Christmas Eve. Guess what will happen? (This ought to be good)" Well, it's sadly (for "doug") pretty much a sure bet that if any past "spirit" dare offer the valid observation that "MANKIND was my business!!!", that it'll be met with a thrown beer botttle, and him then hiding under the sheets...while likely calling a lawyer.

 

[GuntherA320]

 
"DP will be visited by three spirits on Christmas Eve"

 
 
Glenfiddich, Glenlivet, and Johnny Walker?

 

[Phoenix]

Glenfiddich, Glenlivet, and Johnny Walker?

The only way your post would have been more perfect is if your avatar pic had a bottle in his right hand.

 

[Claxon]

Pretty much. One almost wistfully misses all the cute adolescent threats, "righteous" chest pounding, rabidly drooling on keyboards, and of course, the "T minus" countdown clocks set to mark the always imminent demise of any who opposed the "spartans" little ..umm..."army".
 
"The APA so far has only been able to mildly react to what they are up against." Well...We did try to warn them....."There are none so blind as those who will not see."

Tony Anger T Bone the Biker on Twitter pretty much sums it up. Tony Anger starred in many east attack videos. The rants against the POTUS and Muslims are pretty scary.
This is what fueled the videos that bordered on sociopathic.

 

[luvthe9]

letter to the APA ORD rep........


Todd,

Allow me to respond to your recent APA Update to the ORD pilots; I write from the perspective of a legacy US Airways pilot. While it is obvious that the APA Board is portraying the notion that they feel pressure to let the pilots have a vote, I see that position as a bit self-serving and frankly a dereliction of their collective duty. Board members are getting daily, if not hourly updates, we Line Pilots are not, therefore I respectfully disagree with your analysis. Based on history, your early “white flag” continues to pave the road to career degradation, in the long term, in exchange for money in the short term. Have we not learned anything from the past? Parker and Kirby are not offering more money now, simply because they think we deserve it. No, they are aware that if we as pilots bite on their offer, we have given our services on the cheap, as compared to the amount mandated, (thank you, Delta Pilots) – in about 13 months time.

What Parker is proposing is clear cut concessions wrapped with a bribe. Make no mistake, what we give up we will NEVER get back. While I know that Board says they are in a "box", it is all by their own design. We, at legacy US, had no ability to alter the MOU, by the time it came to us; a product of a secret deal between Parker and APA. As a vocal minority, we LUS pilots tried to warn APA how the MOU was fundamentally flawed. With the lack of a large lump sum (not to mention lack of vacation parity for 2014) – our pilots still overwhelmingly voted "yes" leaving millions of dollars on the table. What lessons can we learn about the psychology of a pilot group blinded by raises? Sadly, it is a lesson that management has mastered.

Since we have a guaranteed- Delta Parity +, in 13 months time, isn’t now the time to educate your rank and file, to counsel a bit of strategic patience and in that way make a stand for true pay and benefit increases? Viewed from the Line Pilot’s perspective, APA President Wilson’s early and solid confidence in getting, “Delta Rates, by the end of 2014” – now smacks of the “fix” being in, from the get-go. That is consistent with legacy US pilot’s experience with Doug Parker.

The fact we are in this position, unfortunately, comes as no surprise to anyone, at least on the legacy US side. As stated above, this is classic Doug Parker. Doug’s focus is numbers and profit. His only paradigm in running the airline is to do so off the backs of the employees. He depends upon a desperate and gullible labor force, and this has always worked well for him in the past. I am sure you saw his recent DFW Crew News video. With smug condescension, Parker insisted that, "Gee guys, we are offering the highest pay in the industry." He did a great job of making pilots look like a bunch of ingrates, while conveniently, failing to mentioning what he demands in return and what automatically awaits us, with patience. To top it all off, he is standing there spewing this insincerity to a room full of pilots, and doing it all with a straight face. Now that takes talent! I implore you; do not fall for the ruse. He is insulting to our collective intelligence and baring no significant changes to the current proposal, the members of the board need to just say NO!

I am not under any illusion as to what "Cost Neutral" Arbitration will entail. Considering the fact that we have seven concessions staring at us, we should not lose anything we currently have, but we would not really gain anything in the process, either. Our, (LUS) – experience with arbitration tells me that we shall certainly lose the pay raise, currently offered on the table. I say, “No Thanks!” I will take the 3% in January, keep our current language, and next January wait and see what we can get. Bottom line, we still get a raise.

Over the last few days I have been reading on various social media outlets, that some of our pilots are starting to look at the concessions being demanded and saying (and I am paraphrasing here), "Well, if I going to be upset over what I am giving up, I might as well do it with an extra 18% in the bank." Or, "Gee, I will just hope I am off reserve soon so I do not have to worry about the 2 hour call out." And, "This scope concession sucks, but we really need put our emotion aside, and move on." The company never went broke betting on how long it would take for the greed and short-sighted logic to seep into the ranks of pilots. Especially once they start spending their raises they see on the horizon. Once again we are witnessing history repeating itself.

In the spirit of the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday, I am reminded of two things the legacy AA pilots should be thankful for; such as a frozen DB plan - legacy US pilots have none. Legacy AA pilots received substantial equity pay out - legacy US pilots received $8,829. Clearly, your pilots got what they negotiated for, all under the gun of bankruptcy. On the other hand, legacy US pilots voted over 70% for a flawed MOU that left millions on the table, all while US Airways was make record profits. My point here is that we had better start working together by standing strong against the unrelenting selling off our profession for the next raise. Someone once said, "You will make a stand on the beach, or in the water, but you will make a stand!"

You are in the unenviable position of leadership, and I respect your service and opinion. However, trust me when I say I know what you are going through because I, too, was a pilot representative at a regional airline during 9/11. You are one of two, whom your fellow ORD pilots have entrusted to have a seat at that table and be engaged with all the briefings. Todd, you must never forget that this is a process in which the spoils go to the patient and haste always costs money for your pilots. It is absolutely your duty to be cautious and not to let pressure from those with different agendas rush you to poor judgment. Your Line Pilots are simply not privy to all the information and yours is a grave responsibility for that reason.

Once the Board has carefully considered all options, and your collective votes are taken, then and only then the pilots should have their vote, on whatever the Board has decided is worthy. Anything less will give the company a sense of what the masses may just find marginally acceptable, (in the vernacular; a free peek under our metaphysical financial skirts) - thus undercutting any leverage and progress the Negotiating Committee may have made. With that said, I would always support the rank and file having the right to vote. Yet, giving the current concessions on the table, all during a time of record profits, the current proposal is seriously lacking. As it stands now, the Board needs to step up to the plate and collectively just say, NO!

 

[Al Legheny]

Since we have a guaranteed- Delta Parity +, in 13 months time, isnt now the time to educate your rank and file, to counsel a bit of strategic patience and in that way make a stand for true pay and benefit increases?

This statement is not correct.

Supplement A to the Merger Transition Agreement states the following:

2. Industry Comparable Pay Rate Adjustment procedures and standards:
a. The Industry Comparable Pay Rate Adjustment will be based on Industry Comparable
Pay Rates. Industry Comparable Pay Rates will be the ASM weighted average for the
Industry Comparators of the hourly base pay rates that will be in effect on January 1,
2016 for twelve (12) year Captains for B737-800 or A320 aircraft types (the "Comparable
Pay Rate"). If a comparator identified in paragraph 1 has ceased to operate as of January
1, 2016, it will not be included in the calculation of Industry Comparable Pay Rate
Adjustment.
c. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the application of the Industry Comparable Pay Rate
Adjustment to any aircraft pay rate grouping of the Company will not cause such average
hourly pay rate to exceed the average of the aircraft weighted average pay rates for such
aircraft pay rate grouping at United Continental and Delta Airlines, calculated as set forth
in i. below (the "Adjustment Maximum").
(1) For each aircraft pay rate grouping, the aircraft weighted average pay rate for each of
United Continental Holdings and Delta Airlines will be calculated as follows:
There is a complex formula based on the number of aircraft, and the number of block hours those aircraft fly against the American Airlines System. Therefore the Industry Comparable Pay Rate, which does not include Delta Profit Sharing, will be some type of average between United and Delta. United pay rates go to 2017, so it is unlikely that those rates will be different from what they are now.

The Delta rates may in fact increase. However we dont have Delta Parity we have an Industry Comparable Pay Rate.

Supplement A to the merger Transition Agreement is available on the USAPA website in the NAC library section. Its a 4 page document with all the calculations and comparison formulas.

 

[Claxon]

The ever present Spinthis has also fled. The Spartans have been soundly defeated and removed from the field. The PHX reps visibly blanched when told by APA counsel that " The Nic is dead..."
They merely show to drop a minus vote, then flee. The Army of Leonidas has truly lived up to its name. Defeat.

 

[Claxon]

america west pilots, in their own words, on a video.
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpSFvQ-0p2I&list=PL21C1C7D32B996827

 

[Claxon]

Legacy American Pilots, this is what the "west merger committee" will offer you if you want to improve your seniority.
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kh9TFUZ8lBM

 

[Claxon]

america west pilots have played the victim card many times.
 
black top (reference to a US Airways former airplane paint job of blue on top, white on bottom) pest video. 
 
http://vimeo.com/53220477