What's this all about, RR?
October 14, 2013Fellow Pilots,
I am writing to let you know there is a dispute between me and certain members of our Board of Pilot Representatives as to the interpretation of our USAPA Constitution and Bylaws. This dispute arises out of an interpretation of the duties of the President under Article III, Section 8, (3), of the USAPA Constitution. That Section of our Constitution pertaining to the duties and responsibility of the President states:
3. He shall, subject to approval of the Board of Pilot Representatives, appoint and remove committee members; employ, discharge, and fix the compensation of all servants, agents, and employees of USAPA other than duly elected officers; and cause to affix his signature to USAPA membership cards.
As your President, I read this to mean that I appoint and remove committee members and that my appointments and removals are subject to the approval of the Board of Pilot Representatives. Simply put, this is how we’ve always done business. This is a necessary balance of power incorporated into our Constitution and is similar to the President of the United States appointing Cabinet Secretaries and Justices, subject to the approval of the Senate.
At our last BPR meeting, the PHL Domicile Chairman brought to the BPR a resolution directing the President to appoint an individual as Chairman to a committee. I ruled this resolution out of order because appointments to committees are the duty and privilege of the President and not a duty vested with the BPR. My ruling was challenged by the PHL Chairman and his challenge was sustained by a 6-5 vote of the BPR.
The USAPA BPR, acting in their majority capacity, has overruled the President with a 6 to 5 vote. This “challenging or overruling” is referred to in Roberts Rules as a “Challenge to the ruling of the Chair,” and while it is a legitimate and appropriate tool to be used when the chair commits an error in parliamentary procedure, it was never designed for, and can never be used to overrule our Constitution and system of governance.
Your USAPA Constitution, like the Federal Constitution, envisioned the possibility of disputes within the organization and safeguards were put in the document to preserve the orderly conduct of our affairs. One of these provisions is a balance of power arrangement between the three branches of our union’s governance. We have three separate branches of governance just as the Federal Government does. They are the Executive, the Legislative and the Judicial. As an example, the Officers do not vote; only the BPR can vote. This is exactly as it is in the Federal House and Senate. The President has specific enumerated powers as does the BPR. The elected Appeal Board can hear disputes submitted to it by the membership or any branch of the union leadership.
The USAPA Officers, the BPR, and the Appeal Board have all been elected by you, our membership, and their elected positions give them distinct representational authority under our Constitution. A dispute has arisen between the BPR and me over the interpretation of our Constitution, and that is why I have filed a complaint with the USAPA Appeal Board and asked for a ruling on the validity of the resolution in question.
Under the leadership of our prior bargaining agent, ALPA, disputes such as this simply went to majority rule. The Officers in that organization simply had to bow to the majority legislative rule of the MEC, not necessarily the line pilots. Unlike that organization, in USAPA only you, the USAPA members, can change the makeup of the elected leadership of this union. Only you, the membership of this union, can ratify an agreement or change the Constitution. The final authority rests with the line pilot. You can always petition your representatives for a recall ballot of any Officer or BPR member.
If two branches of this union are in some kind of dispute, the third branch, the Appeal Board, can render a decision. Even then, the collective voice of the line pilots can override that decision of the Appeal Board and recall an Officer or BPR member if the majority of the line pilots deem this to be in the best interests of the union. Ultimate power rests with the membership. To that end the Officers support the contention that the line pilots have ultimate control over the union and not any particular branch of the leadership.
The most important thing to understand is that an orderly process of dispute resolution was designed into our Constitution to deal with situations such as this. As your President, I will not allow this dispute to interfere or derail the important business and work of this union. We are closely monitoring the proposed American and US Airways merger, the attending litigation filed by the Department of Justice, and many other areas of important work for our pilots.
An example of our dedication to the work for our membership lies in the fact that we have been involved in litigation with members of the West pilot class for several years, in several forms, and that dispute lies in the Federal Courts; not in our union headquarters. West pilots serve all USAPA pilots on many committees and other positions of leadership. Because of this separation and an orderly dispute resolution method via the courts, we have been able to negotiate an MOU and manage many other important aspects of this merger and new contract that benefit everyone.
Rest assured that your union will resolve this issue in an orderly and timely manner while we continue to deal with important issues of the day.
Regards,
Gary Hummel, President