Subj: F/O John Brookman's Letter to the PIT Pilots
Date: 9/8/04 9:09:15 PM Eastern Daylight Time
From: Garland Jo
To: U-Boston-Pilots@yahoogroups.com
BOS Pilots,
Copied below is John Brookman's letter to the PIT pilots.
What he fails to mention is that once we enter bankruptcy without an agreement and its resulting 1113 waiver letter, the company will, according to a consensus among our professional financial and legal advisors, ask that the judge abrogate our existing contract and impose one that increases the company's ask by 125%-150% of what it is today.
Additionally, John fails to mention that our investment banker agrees with Bruce Lakefield's assessment that without the pilots on board with a TA prior to bankruptcy, the odds of USAirways liquidating are significantly greater than our odds of survival.
Glaring omissions, and obviously intentional, for if it were not for both of these rather significant caveats nobody, and I mean nobody, would have suggested that the company's last offer be sent out for a membership vote!
It is the collective judgment of 8 members of the MEC that the best deal, no matter how distasteful, is to be struck prior to bankruptcy, and as of Monday night, Sept. 6, the only deal that was available to this MEC was brought to us by the NC as the company's latest "proposal." Call it what you will, run from calling it a TA if you like, but that "proposal" was the result of a 3 month negotiating process by our NC, and as of Monday night was the best "deal" that they could get.
And Monday was the last day that the MEC could have voted to send this "proposal" out to the pilots and still have it ratified by Saturday, Sept. 11, at which time the 1113 waiver offer was dropped by the company, as they were unable to enter a potential bankruptcy after that date and still be able to guarantee us 1113 protection.
And that, as usual, is the "rest of the story."
Indeed, "where do we go from here?" It appears from the PIT F/O Rep's letter that they are not too pleased with our Communications Chairman, Jack Stephen, and in fact there is a Special Meeting called by Crocker, Von Bargen, Brookman and Freshwater for this Friday in PIT addressing this very issue:
---------------------
The agenda for the meeting is as follows:
1) Opportunity for member pilots in good standing to address the MEC.
2) Negotiating Committee Update.
3) Review of Communications Committee strategy and operations.
----------------------
So what's the RC4 up to now? Let see. Brookman firsts bitterly complains about how much our MEC Meeting cost in DCA while we tried to fashion a TA for this pilot group prior to a potential bankruptcy, but has no qualms in calling a Special MEC Meeting of his own only 4 days later, and at a cost of $16,000 a day, and to do what?
1. Hear from members in good standing? We heard from many members in good standing for the last 2 weeks in DCA, an experience that the RC4 will never forget, and it looks like they want to pack the house with their fans from PIT in order to boost their morale some.
2. Hear from the NC? The NC went home after Monday, and nothing has happened since that would require an update. You wouldn't be trying to recall Don Hollerbach on this agenda item, just because he said to you that... "His Dad was right...you can't fix stupid!"... or would you?
3. Review of the Communications Committee. Would this mean that you intend to recall Jack Stephen as our Communication Committee Chairman? And on what charge, might I ask? Because he has consistently told this pilot group the truth?
And if recalls are the order of the day, than the very least that you owe this pilot group is to state exactly that in your agenda. Anything else would be, again, simply more deception.
What a freak show you RC4 are orchestrating. First you fail to tell your pilots about the seriousness of our situation, then you attempt to silence all dissension by recalling those who disagree with your omissions and deceptions, and finally you deprive the line pilots their right to vote on their own futures.
See you in PIT. This should be quite a circus.
Garland