Charlotte Domicile Update
Fellow CLT pilots,
This is our first Domicile letter since beginning our new term of office. First and most appropriately, we want to acknowledge and thank the outgoing CLT representatives. We can tell you without hesitation that they were driven with dedication to serve you, the line pilot. Their willingness to stand up to powerful and overwhelming opposition from both the Company and at times, our own union, is the sole reason that you are earning retrospective pay right now. This is even more valuable due to the delay from the DOJ lawsuit. When others faltered - they did not. When you see them on the line, please take the time to say, “Thanks.”
Next, we would like to thank each and every one of you that took the time to vote and support us. It is enormously important that you participate in the decision making process of your careers. We have your livelihood in our hands, and we want your input. Your input gives us authority! The more input we have, the more authority we can convey. Even though we have three votes on the Board and command over 1,550 votes for a division of the house vote, it carries far more weight when we can tangibly show hundreds of documented positions on various subjects of concern to you, the line pilot. But before you can give us your input, you need
unbiased, uncensored, relevant information, and that is what we are going to
try to give you. We emphasize the word “
try” because all information dissemination is cleared by the Communications Committee, which reports directly to the President. If we find we are being overly censored, we will take appropriate action to stop it. With the exchange of unbiased information from us and input from you, we want to earn your trust. Trust is very important because
both the Company and various union entities will test your power through us.
We know it is not easy for you to attend BPR meetings, and even if you do, they sometimes can be so monotonous and fragmented with irrelevant information, that it is hard to gain anything of value unless you attend each and every one of them. We are going to try to change this with technology. Soon we will have an online survey site to canvas only the CLT pilots. This site will be running continuously with relevant ever changing information and follow on questions for your feedback. It will not be like your typical Wilson poll survey. The information and questions will not be designed to get any particular result, but to simply allow you to stay informed and give your opinion on the day’s hot topics in a convenient way. There is also an Apple application you can download to allow you to take the survey on your IPhone or IPad for even more accessibility. So while you are out on a trip between flights, you can let us know how you feel. This will not be an official USAPA site, but it will be the official CLT domicile canvas site. The objective is to give you the tools you need to help us help you.
Our Immediate Goals
Our immediate goals are two fold - restore the level of integrity back to the union and return the authority and decision-making process back to the Board of Pilot Representatives, as mandated by the
USAPA Constitution and Bylaws. With those two objectives complete, all other union business will naturally follow in a democratic way.
Integrity is paramount in any organization; it’s even more important in an entity structured like USAPA, since there is no higher authority (other than the Federal Government) to oversee improprieties such as ALPA has with a national officer make-up. If there were corruption in the officer ranks (we are not saying there is), it would be very difficult to uncover or prove, since they control everything. This is why it is vitally important that the Board have the majority of the power. It is far more difficult to have eleven people scheme a diabolical plan than one or two. Again, we are not implying that anyone is doing any such thing, but it is critical that we do not create or allow an environment where such things could happen. Actions that look innocent enough on the surface can turn into much bigger issues. A good example is our President’s current medical condition. Our President and Officers’ position is that
the President of USAPA is treated as a full time, salaried employee of US Airways.(taken from a memo from USAPA General Counsel. 09/10/13) He is paid by the Company, not USAPA, and therefore is not bound by the
USAPA Constitution and Bylaws in regard to his medical status. We disagree, and believe the language in the Constitution is clear and uncontested. We will let your mind wander from there, but suffice it to say if true, it is not the ideal relationship for your best interest’s to be furthered. It makes us wonder if they don’t feel the President has to comply with this section of the Constitution, are there other sections where they feel the same?
The Board of Pilot Representatives was designed to be the governing body of the union. Our job is to bring to the Board your concerns and interests and lobby to make them a reality. In order for the Board to direct the various committees that will implement what you have asked for, we must have the power to affect their job. Currently the
Constitution and Bylaws can be interpreted (and is currently interpreted by Captain Hummel) to imply that only the President can hire or fire committee members. We have argued the exact wording, but we find the wording controversial. The original intent and drafts from those that wrote our
UOM and
Constitution and Bylaws never intended it to be a one-man show. We believe the intent was for the BPR to select and the President was then to officially appoint committee members. As it stands right now (and our President’s position is) if all eleven board members have an issue with a committee member, they would be helpless to do anything about it. As one committee chairman put it, when we asked what our recourse is, he stated “You would need to recall the President!” Is that the way you want your union to work?! Do the pilots need to endure the politics and expense of a presidential recall just to change a committee member who the President may like? We can go down that road if necessary, but we would rather not. Too much power in one person’s hands is not good. Even if the current or future President is doing things you like, don’t look the other way at the broken system. At any moment he/she could directly and permanently change your career and life without any recourse.
The 3[sup]rd[/sup] Quarter BPR Meeting Show of Resolve
Last week we attended and participated in the Regular 3[sup]rd[/sup] Quarter BPR meeting. Notwithstanding the above topic of excessive presidential power, we, along with the outgoing CLT representatives and with the mutual support of the PHL representatives introduced several resolutions. These resolutions were meant to correct perceived problems within several committees and reassert the Board’s authority. Without getting into the blow by blow, it was clear that we had the will and power to overrule the Chair and pass any resolution we chose.
We
voluntarily tabled all but one resolution in order to allow the dissenting side more time to evaluate solutions to our concerns and further investigate others. The one committee resolution that we did take affirmative action on was the Scope Committee. This position has been unfilled for way too long and in this ever changing and critical time; a resolution was submitted over 11 days prior to action being taken. The BPR gave President Hummel 10 days to talk to us or at least address the issue and we never heard from him, so a Scope Chairman was added to monitor the actions of US Airways and our regional affiliates. With PSA signing a contract that could possibly be in violation of our contract in regards to small jet seating capacity, the BPR appointed previous Chairman and experienced Scope Committee member DeWitt Ingram.
After the meeting, President Hummel extended an apparent olive branch by offering to sit down and discuss our concerns in the very near future. We accept his offer and are hopeful that we can mutually agree to resolve issues for the benefit of our pilot group. One thing we are not willing to do is relinquish our authority to govern your union. We hope that we can work with the officers, but we believe that our pilots come first, and will do everything in our power to protect and further the careers of the Charlotte and US Airways pilots.
We look forward to your feedback and input and please remember you can reach us at any time,
Chairman Bob Frear (352)-639-0815
bfrear@usairlinepilots.org
Vice Chairman Ron Nelson (330)-776-8315
rlnelson@usairlinepilots.org
Vice Chairman Courtney Borman (240)-463-9003
cborman@usairlinepilots.org
Or email all three CLT BPR representatives at:
CLT@usairlinepilots.org
