The Myth of Separate Operations
"How Am I Affected By Who Wins?"
March 13, 2008
Fellow Pilots,
The current bargaining agent has settled upon the myth of separate operations as its most recent theme. This issue of “Separate Operations†is vitally important as it brings together the two main issues of Contract and Seniority, which are essential to understand in order to successfully answer the all-important question, “How am I effected by who wins the NMB election, USAPA or ALPA.â€
Even more important to the US Airways pilots is that a thorough understanding of separate operations will clearly demonstrate how only USAPA can successfully meet the needs of both our more senior pilots (right up to #1 on the list) who may be more interested in a quality contract, and our junior pilots who are keenly interested in preserving their pre-merged career expectations.
A brief history into separate operations will help lay the groundwork. Recall that the Rice Committee was tasked with exploring solutions involving the US Airways and America West pilot issues. Separate operations as a permanent solution never got off the ground in committee discussions, as the committee quickly noted that the concept of ‘Separate Operations’ did not comply with either the Transition Agreement or ALPA National’s Constitution. More recently when the AAA AWA steering committees met, union officials were briefed on separate operations, and although the Transition Agreement can be amended, the permanent concept does not comply with ALPA’s Constitution. Simply put, ALPA could not accept ‘Separate Operations’ as a solution to the issues facing the US Airways and America West pilots.
Another concerned party involving separate operations is the Company as they bear an increased cost of operation due to separate fleets and crews. If it were not for the upcoming NMB election and their neutral role, management would not tolerate ALPA’s recent assertions regarding separate operations. The benefits the Company realizes from depressed pay rates are short-term; the synergies available from merged operations are significant and long-term. In addition, separate operations would conflict with the Company’s strategic planning, whether it is consolidation or internal expansion, international or otherwise.
All this brings us to the meat of the topic. Anytime ALPA brings up ‘Separate Operations,†it is followed by the need for dual negotiations.
First there is the need to negotiate seniority issues with the AWA MEC which will be incorporated into the ‘Comprehensive Counter Proposal.’ This negotiation is of particular interest to our less senior pilots.
Secondly, the Joint Negotiating Committee has to present the proposal to management and negotiate the terms of the agreement. After an agreement is reached, both pilot groups, separately, are required to ratify the Tentative Agreement. If the pilots are unable to ratify, the process will most likely start over. This negotiation, although important to all, is of particular interest to our more senior pilots.
USAPA Support for our less senior pilots:
Let’s look at negotiation #1, and why our less senior pilots benefit with USAPA. In ten months, throughout ALPA’s entire attempt to find solutions for the AAA/AWA pilots, the West strategy has been unwavering and it’s been successful. Their position with ALPA is, “Enforce ALPA policy or we will file a Duty of Fair Representation lawsuit (DFR) against you.†ALPA has yielded time and again under this pressure. A successful outcome for the East pilots under ALPA will be more than difficult, if not impossible. The AWA position can be characterized by a recent statement from AWA’s Merger Committee Chairman, "Make it crystal clear to ALPA, that should they win the election, there will be NO MORE ad-hoc committees to discuss seniority issues. Those days are over. The Nicolau Award stands untouched!" We believe though, that pilots in the West will quietly tolerate the fiction of durable separate operations during the election process, but only to the extent that this fiction might improve ALPA’s odds in the upcoming NMB election.
The US Airline Pilots Association has a better path. USAPA’s Constitution calls for a date of hire seniority integration with reasonable conditions and restrictions in order to protect one’s pre-merged career expectations. West pilots will fully realize the protections that the Constitution offers. Durability is not an issue as USAPA’s Constitution will be the controlling document, and USAPA is fully prepared to defend that position in any litigation. The pilot seniority integration will be almost identical to all the other unions who merged during the US Airways/America West merger.
USAPA Support for our more senior pilots:
Now let’s look at negotiation #2 and see why our senior pilots have a long wait for a quality contract under ALPA’s plan. The second negotiation is between the joint MECs and management and is dependent upon the unlikely completion of the seniority negotiations reviewed in #1. But even if a tentative agreement was reached with management, each pilot group is required to ratify the tentative agreement separately.
If only slight changes were made to the Nicolau award, East ratification would not be likely. Concurrently, if significant changes were made to the Award, West ratification would not be likely. Within ALPA, we remain in a stalemate and all of our pilots, East and West, will be denied a quality contract into the foreseeable future.
The US Airline Pilots association again has a better path. The USAPA Constitution requires combining the AAA and AWA MECs into a single Pilot Board which represents all the pilots. The East and West pilots will vote together on a Tentative Agreement with the Company which dramatically increases the likelihood of ratification. Without question, USAPA offers all of our pilots the quickest route to a quality contract.
The transition agreement ALPA is party to requires that the process lead to merged operations. In summary, separate operations can only be offered temporarily, and can only lead to either the implementation of the Nicolau Award (which is not likely to be ratified), or ‘stalemate’ that will result in aggressive legal action by ALPA, leading, again, to implementation of the Award. (Remember that, no matter what you hear, ALPA is required to defend the Award, so any solution under ALPA always leads to the Award.) Either way, a quality contract will be hopelessly delayed, and the US Airways pilots will be stymied under ALPA’s legal framework.
USAPA on the other hand, offers all the US Airways pilots a better path. Seniority issues will be quickly settled per the USAPA Constitution based on established union tenants, with protections built into the Constitution that will benefit West and East pilots alike. USAPA’s professional negotiators can engage in contract negotiations with the company in short order as per the Transition Agreement that USAPA will inherit.
It’s important that all of us are able to make an informed decision beginning March 20. The fiction of separate operations as promoted by ALPA has not promoted intelligent discourse on this critical decision.
We have built a better union for the US Airways pilots. We look forward to serving all of you beginning in mid-April.
