Most US Airways pilots believed the Nicolau Award would not be over turned.
Let’s review some quotes from today’s news made by key players, which can put a little more perspective into yesterday's ALPA EC news.
- Yesterday US Airways Communication Committee Chairman Richard Obermeyer said, “The work of the Rice Committee and the MEC’s decision to address the injustice of the (Nicolau) award through litigation will continue.â€
- “The (Nicolau Award) seniority list will not be implemented until a single joint contract is reached, which requires ratification from both the AAA and AWA pilot groups,†Obermeyer said.
- In a letter to dated September 21 from ALPA President John Prater to US Airways MEC Chairman Jack Stephan and John McIlvenna, Prater said, “Under Part I, Section N.2. of the ALPA Merger Policy, when significant issues remain unresolved between the pre-merger pilot groups, the President is required to convene the Joint Negotiating Committee to resolve these issues. At this point, it appears that such issues remain between the US Airways and America West pilot groups and that these issues require resolution, particularly in order to make progress in achieving our joint goals of parity and parity plus. Unless these issues are resolved, further progress will not be possible and the pilots of both groups will continue indefinitely under agreements resulting from bankruptcy and ATSB restrictions.â€
- AWA MEC Chairman John McIlvenna said, “I will say that the hard work has yet to come. I fully expect to be in a representation election in a matter of days. And we will need all US Airways pilots - east and west - to pull together else we may not make it over the next set of hurdles. There is a very long road ahead and it will require a lot of dedication and effort to navigate this road.â€
- US Airways spokeswoman Andrea Rader told the AP, “National Mediation Board-sponsored vote on union representation would throw the entire contract negotiation process into limbo. If one union is decertified and we have to start all over with another one, then that's pretty clear.''
- AWA ALPA MEC Communications Chairman Tania Bziukiewicz said, “If he (USAPA Interim President Stephen Bradford) gets his way, two years of contract negotiations will be likely thrown out. “There's no expectation that the company's going to take all the work that's been done and go ahead.''
- According to the AP National Mediation Board guidelines, a majority of a union's members must agree to authorize the federal agency to take action. The NMB typically conducts an investigation to ensure that the request for a vote on new representatives is valid. The agency will then supervise an election. The majority of union members must participate for an election to be valid. The union that receives the most votes will be recognized as the collective bargaining agent for the pilots (50%+1 of the total East and West pilots must sign an Authorization Card to hold an election, but just the majority of pilots who vote will elect the new collective bargaining agent).
- According to the AP Pilots from the former US Airways felt they got the short end of the deal. They said America West pilots were given equal footing with US Airways pilots who had more years of service. “You have to understand how important that is to a pilot,†Bradford said. “In many other job classifications, the seniority issue boils down to who gets vacations. In the case of an airline pilot, you're talking about opportunities (to be promoted) from co-pilot to captain.†“We're talking hundreds of thousands of dollars per year†in salaries, he said. “It's a huge impact.†If he succeeds, Bradford said he would take another look at seniority. “It would be revisited,†he said. “We're not bound by that award.â€
Finally, the US Airways MEC held a conference call today, with every major player (including ALPA National Attorneys) participating. It is my understanding there will be an announcement of Special East MEC meeting to work on the strategy going forward, which will be announced shortly.
Regards,
USA320Pilot
