2015 Pilot Discussion.

[nevergiveup]

In regard to the contract:
 
A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.
(The west had the NIC in their hands, but greed caused them to lose it all)
 
Lessons learned. 
 
Vote often.

 

[nevergiveup]

When the east committee hands over its list and repeats endlessly that "Date of Hire is the only acceptable result,"  and the west committee hands over its list and says "No list that fails to incorporate the NIC list will be acceptable," then here's a snapshot of a couple of the members of the APA committee and the arbitration panel:
 

Why didn't they just let APA decide the list!

 

[luvthe9]

JCBA from My Seat

Captain Mike Burr

Chairman-LGA

The Lost Decade

To give my critics their first bit of ammunition, I’ll start with a brief recap of what we’ve lost at the hands of misguided management since 2003 and beyond. Post 9/11, we began an era of pay cuts, furloughs, failed AA initiatives with cute marketing names and a leadership succession which followed the brilliant business strategy of “shrinking to profitability.” We were along for the ride as we watched the greatest airline in the world slide backwards in ranking and prestige.

2003. 23% pay cuts to preserve our pensions followed immediately by 23% raises for top level managers and the SERP that protected executive pensions even in liquidation. 2011. Bankruptcy of convenience. Pensions frozen. 1113 term sheet threats. LFBO1. LFBO2. Bankruptcy contract. Profit Sharing sold for $12 Million (after a decade of hidden profits, hard to criticize).

Exit Bankruptcy. MTA, MOU to get us to JCBA. Common shareholders receive equity. Dividend declared for the first time since the early 1980s. Record profits. Declining oil prices. BABOOM!! Finally the cannon shot we’ve been waiting for. New Management Team that we were instrumental in recruiting. New Culture!! Out with the old, in the new!!

Oops, Not so fast.

The New Bosses

Make no mistake, service at the National level is tiresome, thankless, and often takes its toll on the personal lives of those involved. Regardless of differing opinions, my hat is off to each member that has dedicated their time at the expense of their families in the service of our pilot corps.

Mr. Parker visited the BOD at APA’s request on the second day after the board grew to 22 with our new CLT, PHL, and PHX brothers. On display was unity that made me proud as the “New Boss” told the new boss, “ABSOLUTELY NO TO SCOPE CHANGES.” That yielded fruit and Scope was eventually off the table thanks to membership and BOD solidarity augmented by the tenacity of Scope Chairman Tim Hamel. Unity goes a long way and we must use this leverage to our advantage moving forward.

Membership Ratification? The MOU clearly defines the JCBA as an amendment, outlined the 30-day post single carrier determination timeline and set the arbitration guidelines. According to the APA Constitution and Bylaws, amendments shall be ratified by the BOD. DFW, LGA, and MIA wanted to ensure 45 days for membership ratification as a provision of the 30-day extension. The other domicile representatives didn’t want to “muddy the water” with added details beyond the 30 days. The “Division of the House” started to take shape as the extension deadline approached in mid October.

The APA granted a 30-day extension. Management agreed to allow time (45 days) for membership ratification. Their much-anticipated offer was presented and it looked like the offer was contrived in haste and scribbled on a cocktail napkin in the eleventh hour. Insulting to say the least. Certainly there was nothing business-like in their first proposal. Concessions? Who ever said anything about concessions? Delta’s pay once we have Delta’s revenue was the new management mantra. Concessions?!? The new boss with the new culture had arrived.

With lines being drawn in the sand, the BOD began to make Congress look like a well-oiled machine. Both sides had the same goal, to achieve the best outcome for the membership. Membership ratification was bounced back and forth like a Ping-Pong ball at the Olympics. The slim majority believed more could be gained in areas of pay and work rules. The minority believed we were finished and any further counter was “regressive.”

President Wilson took the last proposal to Kirby on December 17 and when questioned, responded, “I have a new boss and they aren’t happy.” The company sensed a divided board and seized the moment.

Valuations

The membership has been quite vocal in two areas, membership ratification and valuations. The valuations do not come close in value to the wages being offered. It’s not just about pay in my opinion. Contract concessions should only be traded for contract gains and should not be weighed against the offer of market wages being offered. I will not provide details here as valuation data is available on the APA website. Valuations become a critical aspect of the arbitration process should we proceed down that road. The company and the APA differ in valuations on almost every front. We’re regarded as a cost unit and not the leaders of the operation. The valuations are a red herring being utilized to distract us from the seemingly innocuous asks in the company’s proposal.

Fork in the Road

Yogi Berra said it best, “If you come to a fork in the road, take it.” Here’s some food for thought to aid your decision as we approach the fork.

Left Fork - Current Proposal, Yes Vote:

Take a good look at the wealth of information on the APA website. You’ll find everything you need to do a quantitative and qualitative analysis: JCBA Education Material Overview, By The Numbers - JCBA Pay Review, JCBA Contract Language Overview, JCBA Contract Language, Valuations, MTA January 2016 Mid-Contract Pay Rate Adjustment Interactive Calculator, Arbitration Explanation Letter From APA Legal, Excise Tax Summary, MOU and the APA Contract Comparison. You’ll have all the current information on which to base your decision.

Vote "Yes" for at least one of these reasons; you want the pay increase now, the contract concessions either don't effect you or do so very little, you care little about the AA pilots behind you, you will retire before the end of this contract.

Right Fork - No Vote, Proceed toward Arbitration:

Vote "No" if you do not want to trade permanent contract concessions for a market rate of pay because over time, that diminishes your contract, which reduces your future negotiating leverage. Vote No if you believe any contract concessions should be traded fairly for contract improvements, especially in this environment. Vote No if you are worried about the nebulous language in the Excise Tax provision. 60% of our pilots have the non-contractual, most expensive, Value Plan medical insurance. Guess which one can go away at any time, especially with the threat of a 40% excise tax? The large pay increase is only a reflection of how far below the market rate your pay is today and the present contract has a built in market rate adjustment in less than one year.

Bear in mind that the top six executives have 2,193,230 restricted stock units that vest when certain 2015 thresholds are met. That’s $31.3M for Parker at $50/share. Step one is completion of the JCBA process. He also committed to ”maintain his annual target total compensation below his peers at Delta Airlines and United Airlines until the compensation payable to the Company’s larger work groups are adjusted in line with such peers.” He has a personal incentive to pay us without concessions to our contract. Next step is the seniority integration and obtaining single carrier certification. Then comes the AAL board determined synergies from the combined single carrier. Time equates to money NOT in their pockets.

Should we proceed to arbitration, under the terms of the MOU, the arbitrator cannot grant the company many of the things they are demanding. This puts them in a situation of having to deal with us to attain their goals - but ONLY if we are willing. We can proceed to arbitration with a closed Green Book and a demand for implementation. Any contractual gives must be balanced with gets, e.g., HBT for duty rig fix.

My Vote

I’ll be voting NO. I voted No to approve the final JCBA on January 3rd. My reasons are simple. I firmly believe we should not trade pay for concessions regardless of the imbalance. We were promised market rates of pay when we handed Parker and Kirby the keys. There was no mention of contract gives. Any company contractual asks should be balanced with contractual gains. The pay proposal is generous but doesn’t nearly make up for lost wages, lack of profit sharing and will only have us above our peers at Delta for less than one year. In going for great, we deserve to be paid the greatest.

Secondly, I voted No because the APA BOD failed to adhere to policy manual procedures with regards to TA ratification. We rushed, met unnecessary company deadlines, voted without contract language, ignored vice waived policies I believed should have been followed. The justification was we are not in section six negotiations and therefore the MOU and C&B Article XII.F applied.

I will vote NO. I do not fear arbitration. I will forgo one month’s retro and my 2015 raise to protect what’s left of our bankruptcy riddled contract. Our proposal of December 17 was affordable and reasonable. They said No and gave everyone else a raise.

If you don't have the time to peruse the information about the JCBA (LBFO3) or can't attend a roadshow, just ask yourself this one question; Has management ever wanted a deal that turned out was good for you? It's only as complicated as you want to make it. Good luck with your vote, you will live with it well past this contract. Some of us won’t see another.

The New Team will live with the New Culture at the New American. You and your vote determine the flight plan.

It’s Not over with Unity and a NO Headwind. Ask any Flight Attendant.

In Unity,

Mike

 

[luvthe9]

Sure seems most of the reps think this deal still needs a lot of improvements.

 

[luvthe9]

Funny, I remember some 30 plus years ago as a new guy the senior guys going to retire always wanting to leave this place in better shape for the next group, sure seeme that philosophy has gone out the door.




The Beginning of the End of Seniority

It is natural that we pilots are excited about the promise of an immediate pay raise (unfortunately that’s all some are focusing on), because nothing, especially in negotiations comes without a price. In the case of Mr. Kirby’s LBFO, some of the agreed to details are especially onerous.
Just one example, (of many): if you are a, “Yes”-vote you must ask yourself if you are willing to concede the holy grail of unionism, namely- seniority in order to get a raise sooner? Well, that’s exactly what’s going to occur going forward.
Specifically; under the new language, if there are not enough bidders for Group I Captain (last year 10% went unfilled)-then the Company will assign pilots to that position in inverse seniority order by the base the vacancies occurs rather than by system seniority. APA negotiators have already signed off on this usurpation of the seniority system. Below, see the attached language:

17 N.3. If there are no bidders for a Captain Vacancy, the Company will again proffer the Captain vacancy. If there are still no bidders for the Captain vacancy, the Company will assign the most junior qualified First Officer in that base to the Captain vacancy.


That’s right, unlike any other major airline that we’re aware of, if vacancies remain following a Vacancy Bid (Permanent Bid), then the Company will be permitted to abrogate a pilot’s system seniority and assign/displace out seniority to the Group 1 Captain position.
As if the Group I rate isn’t bad enough, now we are permitting the Company to force a pilot there by abrogating his/her seniority. What’s next, require Group I to help pay for the fuel? Again, please locate another unionized major airline anywhere that awards/assigns vacancies on status base seniority rather than system seniority. Good Luck.

When we approached the negotiating committee last week about this abrogation of seniority we were told, among other things, that this new language would result in less moving expenses for the Company and it was better for the pilots because it wouldn’t disrupt the lives of more junior out of base pilots. REALLY? Ok, let’s abrogate a cornerstone of unionism, seniority, so the company isn’t required to pay moving expense or not to disrupt the lives of a junior pilot(s) at the expense of a more senior pilot(s).

DO THE MATH
The aircraft with the fewest number of seats in Group II is the A319 with 124 seats and Group I allows for up to 117 seats (5.5% few seats than the A319). Couple this information with the fact that Group I Captain earns between 60-65% of a Group II Captain. With this win/win for the Company, does anybody truly believe that Group I is not going to get considerably bigger at the expense of Group II? In any case and regardless of the size or pay of Group I; as a union pilot, it’s just wrong to permit this seniority abrogation.

If we vote this agreement in, we predict a steady increase in EMB-195 or similar (Group I) airplanes while at the same time a proportionate decrease in Group II. Along the same lines, look for the A-321, (next generation) to be the single-aisle European airplane, replacing the B-757. Think about this, by voting yes, we are agreeing to replace a Group III aircraft (B-757) with lower paying Group II (A-321) and Group II (A-319) with the very low paying Group I (E-195 or similar).
.
ROADSHOW
In reviewing the negotiating committee slide show briefing we noticed this little seniority abrogation nugget was conveniently omitted from the presentation. We also noticed that slide 39 explains the deletion of the forced upgrade language. Does anyone see the inconsistency here? Slide 39 proudly proclaims that pilots will no longer be required to upgrade, yet the negotiating committee omitted a new provision that mandates out of seniority upgrades to Group I. We can only speculate as to why APA elected not to include the Group I seniority issue in the presentation.
Regardless of which side of the yes/no side you sit, we believe this last minute addition by the Company that abrogates a pilot’s seniority is a deal breaker. Other than the language that gives the Company the ability to arbitrarily reduce our medical benefits, we believe this provision, (from a union standpoint) - is just immoral. It certainly sets a dangerous precedent for the seniority system. We all want the raise a year sooner… but are we really willing to concede the cornerstone of unionism in order to get it?
As a reminder ,there will be 2 negotiating JCBA roadshows next week at the Airport Marriott.

NEGOTIATING COMMITTEE JCBA ROADSHOWS

Tuesday, January 20, 1:00 PM - 5:00 PM

Lunch begins at 12:00 PM (click here to enroll and/or to sign up for lunch)

Wednesday, January 21, 10:00 AM- 3:00 PM

Lunch will be served at 12:30 PM (click here to enroll and/or to sign up for lunch)

Please make every effort to attend one of the these very informative meetings.



In Unity,

Paul DiOrio and Paul Music

[email protected]

 

[nycbusdriver]

One way to stay unified , never take your extension , the way these trips are built if you are 45 minutes late , you usually are over your duty day without the extension.Just say NO !

 
Before sending our 6-digit badge and pilot numbers to dispatch on ACARS, I add a first line that reads: "NO EXTENSIONS"

 

[CactusPilot1]

EastUS.....

Eric would like to thank his biggest supporter and promoter of videos. USAPA has given him a lot of soap opera-like material for scripts. Others were inspired to mock Usapians for their blind stupidity.

For example:

USAPA the soap opera..

Exhibit A:

There have been at least two recorded physical attacks in our Union, both directed at Secretary Treasurer Rob Streble. The first involved Mike Cleary. He placed his hands around Rob Strebles neck in an argument over a billing for liquor on a credit card, which is against the USAPA Constitution. The second incident and more recent, involves Vice President Randy Mowrey pushing Rob Streble into a metal door frame over an argument regarding the ability of the Secretary Treasurer to call a meeting at the request of 1/3 of the Board of Pilot Representatives. This duty is clearly described and detailed in the Union Operating Manual. The most recent event was reported to the Charlotte Police. The BPR is aware of BOTH these allegations, as is USAPA outside legal counsel. Our current VP has a history of physical confrontation. He was tried but not convicted in FL of an incident involving the threat of violence. He was arrested for this event. They say where there is smoke there is fire, we dont need the likes of Randy Mowery bringing his physical confrontational style into our own offices. Both Cleary and Mowrey need to resign for the good our Union.
Source: Compass Correction

Shoving people into metal door frames inspired this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5iGAAAo2v0&sns=em

Knowing that the merger with AA doomed USAPA inspired the merger movie:

Exhibit B:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnWxyc4OxaQ&sns=em

It's been fun and with the departure of Usapians, the APA will be hard pressed to match the accomplishments such gifted bafoons.

 

[EastUS1]

It's been fun and with the departure of Usapians, the APA will be hard pressed to match the accomplishments such gifted baboons.

 
So you clearly have no defense whatsoever to offer up for the west's behaviors? What a surprise...and I don't much fear they'll see "you'se" as especially "gifted", but I certainly do hope they'll never match your fine troop's "accomplishments". Res Judicata:"Everyday you hate your new, bottom of the barrel contract, just remember that it is the personal price you'll be paying to provide the West's the Seat at the table. If the West didn't want you scabs and your fake union gone, this MOU wouldn't have passed. The West got what they wanted, and you got LOA93 v2.0...."

 

[nycbusdriver]

Sure seems most of the reps think this deal still needs a lot of improvements.

 
That's a bit hypocritical on their part, since the only item that kept them from a Board ratification of the company proposal was the lack of the long-rate rig.  Now EVERYTHING is terrible, as far as they are concerned.  What BS!

 

[CactusPilot1]

Oh I don't much fear they'll see "you'se" as especially "gifted", but I certainly do hope they'll never match your fine troop's "accomplishments". Res Judicata:"Everyday you hate your new, bottom of the barrel contract, just remember that it is the personal price you'll be paying to provide the West's the Seat at the table. If the West didn't want you scabs and your fake union gone, this MOU wouldn't have passed. The West got what they wanted, and you got LOA93 v2.0...."

Correction: buffoon

 

[EastUS1]

Correction: buffoon

 
Hmm...I suppose I must withdraw "your fine troop's" and instead use the proper plural term for a collection of buffoons versus baboons...either of which is far too kind a term in any case. After seeing just the following alone, well, it's likely best to simply stick with "useful idiots": Res Judicata: "The beauty is......stewing in your garbage contract that was shoved down your throat by a consumately unified west pilot group." Should that term seem at all unfair to you, then kindly do rise to the occassion, propelled by all the majestic might of "you'se" intellectual largesse and explain why, even how anyone could think otherwise of the west's mindlessly management adoring and supporting, pet little darlings?

 

[CactusPilot1]

Hmm...I suppose I must withdraw "your fine troop's" and instead use the proper plural term for a collection of buffoons versus baboons...either of which is far too kind a term in any case.

I guess you don't have to worry about autocorrect on your phone, so I won't bother trying to explain....View attachment 10572

 

[EastUS1]

I guess you don't have to worry about autocorrect on your phone, so I won't bother trying to explain....

image.jpg

 
"so I won't bother trying to explain"..? Big surprise there.
 
Don't be at all bashful here. Please DO even try to explain the well-purposed "logic" demonstrated by wearing "you'se" tongues out on management's shoe soles? I'm sure others would be equally interested in any attempted justifications for west behaviors there? No doubt that others of your "fellow pilots" are equally curious to learn where the true "beauty" resides in "...stewing in your garbage contract that was shoved down your throat by a consumately unified west pilot group."...?

 

[Zone5]

New East bid out tonight. Oh well, I will try to make the best of it. All this movement, very distracting. Decisions, decisions, decisions. Maybe it would be best to go ahead and upgrade to the little bus and make my own pay raise, so much to think about these days!


seajay

 

[nevergiveup]

 
Before sending our 6-digit badge and pilot numbers to dispatch on ACARS, I add a first line that reads: "NO EXTENSIONS"

One would be a fool to take an extension. Go off the end of a runway and they would nail you to the cross!