Step back and look at the big picture. Why is USAPA in Court? Not by choice. Is that how the NMB process and the RLA works? There is an impasse in labor negotiations and a certain group of pilots gets management to intervene with their option (Siegel, AMR, Parker, etc.?) and goes to Federal Court, where a Judge like Silver now becomes a mediator? Don’t think so.
And I am not reading Silver’s actions like most of you. This is Harper’s last chance to present evidence USAPA is acting under the tenets of a true DFR. He was unable to do so today, he has a week to consolidate his feces. But he has a problem, his clients are NIC or nothing. And he cannot use anything in history until after the Wake dismissal by the Ninth. What is his bad faith, 4 guys in a van? Really?
Why the assumption USAPA will, or has to come off DOH? Judge Silver read enough to know that track alone is not a DFR by definition. What will be interesting (but predictable) is if the West Class comes off the NIC. Not going to happen, assuring a ruling of ripeness and dismissal by Silver. That is my prediction.
The Judge can do what she wants, but it will be only her decisions that will trigger a review, and only then her actions leading up to that become relevent to the higher courts. She is not going to get too goofy, looks bad on the resume’. Good judges try and fix problems, but in the end they follow the law.
Consider this…Marty and Pat reach an agreement on Monday on how to merge the two pilot groups, and walk into Judge Silver’s court holding hands and smiling. Is that the list? Nope, there has to be a vote by the pilots in a CBA East/West. And that vote has to pass. But wait, its ripe, we already voted on a new CBA! (at least according to Harper and the West Class) So does this new mediated list now simply become the list? No way, in fact to use such logic means the pilots could NOT have voted on a final list ratifying the MOU. You have to vote on what you are voting on. No subtitutions after an election allowed. Ever.
Greeter
