Dec 2012 / Jan 2013 US Pilots Labor Discussion

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AAviator said:
Rates come with a merger transaction.

You can thank APA now if you'd like....

:)
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The East pilots are busy thanking the america west pilots for saving them, I am sure they will get back to you soon.

"I once had a problem ... so I tried group sex. Now I have a new problem - who to thank."

Rodney Dangerfield
 
Claxon said:
The East pilots are busy thanking the america west pilots for saving them, I am sure they will get back to you soon.
Click to expand...
He is right. The APA got onboard with the MOU and collectively, with our NAC, made $87 million worth of improvements to it. Continue to munch on that turd which is LOA93 if you wish.
 
cactusboy53 said:
And it's all ALPA's fault!!
Click to expand...

MEC Chairman’s Message

January 26, 2008
This is MEC Chairman Jack Stephan with a Chairman's message to the pilots for Saturday, January 26th.

This past week, your union has been involved in several activities, addressing many issues that are of importance to you.

On Tuesday, the Council 90 officers held an informational meeting in Charlotte. This briefing was well attended, and it gave our pilots the chance to talk to the CLT reps, MEC Officers, ALPA staff and advisors, and several of our MEC committee chairmen. It also gave me the chance to talk to many pilots—both ALPA and USAPA supporters, face to face. It is always good to get our important issues right out on the table. As I have stated many times, I respect the right of pilots to choose their union representation. However, when making a decision that will have such far reaching effects on your pay, benefits, your working conditions, and ALPA’s current efforts to reach consensual modifications to the Nicolau Award that would survive future mergers, it's crucial that you receive and analyze all the information required in making the right decision. Too much is at stake to rely on rumors—you need the facts, and plenty of pilots were on hand Tuesday in CLT to get the facts and talk about your concerns.

Rumors are what lead me now to talk about some very serious misinformation that was recently posted on the US Airways pilots web board alleging that ALPA attorney Jeffrey Small had stated that if USAPA is voted in and the Nicolau Award has not been implemented, that the Nicolau Award will not survive.

This information is legally inaccurate and the subsequent web board posts have been very misleading. ALPA attorney Jeffrey Small not only denies ever making such a statement, he also states very clearly that:
“A change in union representation does not nullify or modify the Nicolau Award, regardless of which union serves as the bargaining representative.”

The most likely result if USAPA or any bargaining agent attempted negotiations with the Company to mitigate some of the effects of the Nicolau Award would be to secure some protective contract language; protective language that would some day be amendable. I’m sure you all share my skepticism over the permanency of any such contractual fixes. That is why the ALPA process is seeking consensual solutions with the AWA pilots that can be made a permanent part of the Award itself.

You can read what ALPA's legal counsel has to say about the renegotiation of seniority lists under the January 13th entry of What's New. It has also been emailed out to all pilots.

Also this week, as reported on the code-a-phone, the US Airways MEC three-man panel, made up of Garland Jones, Don Iorio, and Rocco Spartano, met with their AWA Steering Committee counterparts in Las Vegas and determined that sufficient common ground exists to continue discussions. With both Steering Committees agreeing upon protocols and rules of engagement, they have now agreed to meet in an extended negotiating lock–down session that will begin next week for substantive discussions in order to address the issues of importance to both pilot groups.

Relative to the Steering Committee, I would like to address some confusion that may
exist about previous MEC resolutions and how they relate to our current Steering
Committee activities. Our Negotiating Committee members, who are also JNC members,are offering advice and support to the Steering Committee as is our Merger Committee.

To ensure that our Steering Committee is not restrained in any way during this process,
they enjoy full access to the expertise and technical knowledge of any and all of our
committees, including all of ALPA National’s resources. This process is simply too
important not to provide our Steering Committee with everything they need to arrive at a
solution.

If an agreement is reached by the two Steering Committees that results in a potential
comprehensive counter proposal to management, that proposal would first have to be
accepted by both MECs for JNC negotiations to resume. And consistent with our past
resolutions, that counterproposal would not only have to adequately address our issues
with the Nicolau Award, but parity and retroactive pay as well. If the proposal is found to
be acceptable, our MEC could then, through resolution, re-assign our Negotiating
Committee members back to JNC duties in order to engage in JNC negotiations with
management.
Later next week, AWA MEC Chairman John McIlvenna and I will send all AAA and
AWA pilots a letter that outlines the process both Steering Committees will be engaging
in and explains the communications protocols that both sides have already agreed to.
I'm pleased to say that both the AAA and AWA MECs are supporting this process, as is
ALPA National, both financially and through their considerable technical resources. With
the advent of these talks, we are entering an important stage for both pilot groups, and it's necessary to give this process every chance to succeed. This may very well be our last chance to address our seniority and contract concerns in a consensual manner.
Yesterday, MEC Vice Chairman, Kim Snider, met with ALPA’s Merger Policy Review
Committee. Kim spent a considerable amount of time detailing his experience with
mergers as well as explaining how current policy could be improved. The Committee has
also asked for my input and I will be meeting with them next month as well as attending a meeting called by Captain Prater of the Chairmen of the largest MECs in ALPA to
discuss the current trends and events in industry consolidation.

There is no doubt that things could unfold rather quickly, so continue to look for the
latest information in the MEC code a phones, NewsDirects, Chairman's messages, and
Chairman's letters. We remain in uncharted waters but your MEC through many
meetings, long hours of hard work and debate, has taken great care to chart our course.
We are fully prepared and we ask that you stay informed and dismiss rumors for what
they are during this process.

As always, fly safe and thanks for listening.
 
Well to you westies throwing us off the jumpseat I think you will be hearing from Skinner soon or at least one Capt on flt 560 MCO-PHL the other day. An east pilot trying to get to work was refused jumpseat while leaving the cockpit both were laughing about, real class act these two.
 
MEC Chairman’s Message January 18, 2008

This is MEC Chairman Jack Stephan with a Chairman’s message to the pilots for Friday, January 18, 2008.

As you know, the US Airways MEC and America West MEC have appointed members of Steering Committees to address the major issues between us, including our issues with the Nicolau award. On January 11, 2008, all US Airways and America West pilots received a letter from ALPA President Captain John Prater, pledging his support and the support of the Association for the steering committee process. We have also received support from ALPA’s Executive Board, and this week, ALPA’s Executive Council is working on a resolution that would financially commit the Association to further funding this important work.

For the second week in a row, I have worked with the members of our Steering Committee who are charged with directing this process. These pilots have the responsibility of “exploring consensual approaches that promote mutual career protections and mutual success, as part of achieving acceptable collective bargaining outcomes that improve pay, benefits, work rules, and career security for both pilot groups.” Captain Prater also went on to write in his letter to us that in order to satisfy the requirements for membership ratification, “the proposed joint contract must address the concerns of both pilot groups.” Addressing the negative effects of the Nicolau Award and mitigating its damages is our concern.

The Three Man Steering Committee will be meeting next week with their AWA counterparts to determine if there is enough common ground to move forward to a “lock-down negotiating session.” If the discussions next week with the AWA pilots are successful, we would then agree to meet at a neutral location for a period of no less than 10 consecutive days to work through issues important to both pilots groups. I believe it is safe to say that implementing the Nicolau Award and contract advances are important to the AWA pilots. And we know that along with much-needed contractual advances, we need to address and resolve our issues with the negative effects of the Nicolau Award.

The success or failure of our endeavors will fall squarely on whether or not we can address the Nicolau Award in a manner that is acceptable to both pilot groups. We will find out in short order during our lock-down negotiations with AWA if such actions are possible. If they are, we will continue in this process that would also address all open outstanding JNC issues. The final product, if acceptable to both Steering Committees, would then be presented to each MEC for their approval and review. If both MECs are satisfied that the entire package adequately addresses the issues that are important to each, JNC negotiations would resume with management.

As you can see, there are a lot of “ifs” in this process. There are no guarantees here, just a commitment on the part of your MEC to engage in a process that might produce something that would be acceptable to you. If it is not, we are no worse for trying. If we fail in our efforts, both pilot groups will resort back to separate operations under their current contracts.

So that’s where we are right now. If our meeting next week is successful, the individuals participating in this process (right now, that is our Three Man Steering Committee—Garland Jones, Don Iorio and Rocco Spartano; our Merger Committee; our JNC, including Dean Colello; MEC Vice Chairman Kim Snider and myself) will pack our bags in preparation for the 10-day lock down negotiations with the West pilots. At the conclusion of that lock down, we will let you know whether or not there is anything for your MEC to consider and whether or not there is any chance that JNC negotiations would resume. Until then, all we ask is that you give this process every chance to succeed.

In the meantime, as always, fly safe, continue to look out for each other and thanks for listening.
 
Right after the following message, alpa national did not allow a recall in CLT. alpa national recalled the PHL reps and took over the lec.

MEC Chairman’s Message

February 8, 2008

This is MEC Chairman Jack Stephan with a chairman’s message to the pilots for Friday, February 08, 2008.

After nine days of talks between the US Airways and America West Steering Committees, the America West contingent has chosen to stand down talks. At this time they are not prepared to address seniority implementation issues, specifically, mitigating the damages caused by the Nicolau Award.

Recall that we met to determine if we had enough common ground between us on important issues to come up with a comprehensive counterproposal for both MECs to review. As we told you, this counterproposal would have to adequately address not only all open JNC issues, but more importantly for the AAA pilots, pay parity and seniority protection. We came to the neutral site at Wye River, MD with these goals in mind, and within these goals we developed certain thresholds needing to be achieved for the benefit of the US Airways pilots. Despite what you may have heard or read, none of that changed during the meeting.

While we respect what the AWA pilots were there to accomplish, the US Airways MEC’s position remains the same and our MEC’s Steering Committee members did not compromise that position. We never wavered from our goal of protecting you from the Nicolau Award, and our threshold for meeting those goals never changed.

I’ll be calling the MEC into session for a special meeting next week. While there is no comprehensive counterproposal to bring back to the MEC, they'll receive a briefing on the process, and I plan to add two other items to the agenda: developing a distribution methodology for 2007 Profit Sharing and Stock Options and to review an agreement extending the timeframe for filing disputes concerning flow-through issues.

The MEC will now review our options. Keep in mind that the odds of any plan we develop succeeding are greatly diminished by members of this MEC continuing to cower behind their fear of failure and seeking to sabotage any process we elect to pursue. You can see that all of the noise and accusations coming out of PHL Council 41 about the work of our Steering Committee was unfounded and disingenuous. When it came time to meet directly with our AWA counterparts, we did exactly what we said we would, AAA pilots working with AWA pilots trying to mitigate the damages of the Nicolau Award.

Excuses and alibis will not replace leadership. We made a promise, and we kept it. There was no cramdown, no end-run deal, no deal chasing and no back room conspiracies. I hope you did not fall for these contrived ideas spread in order to try and scare you. The majority of this MEC and your MEC officers are not afraid of failure. We said we were going to look under every stone to find solutions and we meant it. My only fear is that some of our MEC fear the search may actually produce something that would require them to lead rather than criticize. I can tell you that the majority of your MEC was willing to continue the search. Although this process has not worked so far, we are no worse off for engaging in the exercise.

You would have been extremely proud of our team of pilots who met at the Wye River Conference Center. These are men of honor and integrity and they are most importantly, men of their word. Their commitment to the process and to you was rock solid. Threats and intimidation attempts by some minority disenchanted MEC members and paper tigers did not sway these men of honor from pursuing the direction that the majority of the MEC had set. They did their best trying to reach a solution to the Nicolau Award. At this time the AWA pilots are unwilling to address our seniority concerns.

Again, we are no worse off for having engaged in this process. We remain right where we started and that is in separate operations with the West.

I thank you for your patience during the past few weeks. I know it’s been difficult. There will be other options at our disposal after the MEC gets the chance to strategize internally next week. While conditions and opportunities may change, the goal has not and our threshold for success has not. Our mission remains the same, to protect you from the damages caused by the Nicolau Award.

Thank you for listening. As always, fly safe and continue to look out for each other.
 
AIR LINE PILOTS ASSOCIATION, INTERNATIONAL
101ST REGULAR EXECUTIVE COUNCIL MEETING
January 15-17, 2008
SUBJECT
ALPA Support for AAA and AWA MECs and the Treatment of US
Airways Payments to ALPA Under the Transition Agreement
SOURCE
President John Prater
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
See Resolution.
FINAL RESOLUTION
1 WHEREAS both the AAA and AWA MECs have appointed steering
2 committee members to meet together, along with various other
3 committees and subject matter experts, to review all of the open issues
4 (pay, benefits, work rules, job security, career security, terms for
5 seniority implementation) and begin to devise solutions where possible,
6 and
7
8 WHEREAS the steering committees will work toward developing
9 comprehensive contract proposals that would be presented to the
10 respective MECs for review and approval, and
11
12 WHEREAS developing, negotiating and successfully ratifying a joint
13 contract for all US Airways pilots is the most important task that the
14 Association and its members are facing in today’s aviation market, and
15
16 WHEREAS, as stated by President Prater in a letter to the Chairmen
17 of the AAA and AWA MECs on January 11, 2008, “[t]he Association
18 commits to fully support these efforts with all the resources both
19 technical and financial that are necessary for the steering committee
20 members to oversee the development of a comprehensive contract
21 proposal for the joint negotiations that addresses the issues of both
22 pilot groups, including seniority implementation issues as well as pay,
23 work rules, benefits, and job security”, and
24
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25 WHEREAS the Executive Board in November 2006 approved a $2
26 million authorization from the Major Contingency Fund for joint strike
27 preparedness, communications and family awareness activities for the
28 AAA MEC and AWA MEC pursuant to a joint request “until such time
29 that a new contract is reached”, and
30
31 WHEREAS the Executive Council approved MCF budgets for the AAA
32 MEC and AWA MEC for activities supporting the joint negotiations
33 process for the October 1, 2006 – March 31, 2007, May 1, 2007 – July
34 31, 2007 and August 1, 2007 – September 30, 2007 periods, and
35
36 WHEREAS the Executive Council, at its September 2007 meeting
37 affirmed that the $2 million MCF allocation approved by the Executive
38 Board for the AAA and AWA MECs is only for strike preparedness,
39 communications and family awareness activities directly attributable
40 to joint contract negotiations, and, that upon resumption of the joint
41 negotiations process, the MECs should submit a new communications
42 plan and MCF budget under this current MCF allocation, and that the
43 application of such budget, as approved by the Executive Council, shall
44 be retroactive to the date of resumed joint negotiations, and
45
46 WHEREAS per Section IX.B of the Letter of Agreement between ALPA
47 and America West Holdings Corporation, America West Airlines, Inc.,
48 US Airways Group, Inc. and US Airways, Inc. (the “Airline Parties”)
49 dated September 23, 2005 (the “Transition Agreement”) the Airline
50 Parties agreed to provide $300,000 for each respective MEC “to help
51 defray Association costs associated with merger activities”, and that
52 each MEC “may distribute their portion of [these funds] to their
53 membership as they see fit or may use the funds to help defray
54 expenses, which would otherwise not be covered by the Airline Parties”,
55 and
56
57 WHEREAS the Transition Agreement provides that the referenced
58 funds are “payable to the Association following the submission and the
59 Airline Parties’ acceptance of a merged seniority list”, and
60
61 WHEREAS Section 60D 1d(1)(d) of ALPA’s Administrative Manual
62 establishes Grant and Loan Provisions regarding OCF funding,
63 including
64
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65 As a condition of granting and maintaining loan(s), the Executive
66 Council will require the MEC to develop and maintain a financial
67 and operating plan that shall include how the MEC will reduce
68 expenses, reduce and/or eliminate funding requirements from the
69 OCF and repay the loan”, along with granting the Executive
70 Council the authority to “require the MEC to levy an assessment
71 under Article IX, Section 7C of the Constitution and By-Laws, on
72 the members of that airline in an amount necessary to repay the
73 loan. (60D 1d(1)(d)(v))
74
75 The Executive Council may require the MEC to levy an
76 assessment under Article IX, Section 7C of the Constitution and
77 By-Laws, on the members of that airline in an amount necessary
78 to repay the loan. The Executive Council shall determine both
79 the effective date and the duration of the assessment. (60D
80 1d(1)(d)(vi))
81
82 The Executive Council may approve conversion of all or part of
83 the outstanding loan to a grant. (60D 1d(1)(d)(vii))
84
85
86 WHEREAS the merged seniority list was delivered to and accepted by
87 US Airways on December 19, 2007, and
88
89 WHEREAS ALPA has received the $600,000 payment from the
90 Company consistent with the terms of the Transition Agreement, and
91
92 WHEREAS the Association has provided substantial financial support
93 directly to the AAA and AWA MECs for merger-related activities from
94 September 2005 through November 2007, including funding from the
95 Operating Contingency Fund (“OCF”) and Major Contingency Fund
96 (“MCF”) as follows:
97
OCF MCF Total
AAA MEC $1,646,574 $325,536 $1,972,110
AWA MEC $791,833 $589,610 $1,381,443
98
99 and
100
101 WHEREAS due to the extensive and repeated need for OCF funding to
102 bring the respective MECs up to 90% of Current Quarter Income, the
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103 Executive Council, and the Executive Board for OCF allocations above
104 $250,000, have provided a portion of such funding in the form of loans,
105 with current loan balances of $821,669 and $254,051 for the AAA MEC
106 and AWA MEC, respectively,
107
108 THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Executive Council fully
109 supports the efforts of the AAA and AWA MECs through the recently
110 established steering committee process to develop comprehensive
111 contract proposals for joint contract negotiations to address seniority
112 implementation issues and improve contract standards for the benefit
113 of all US Airways pilots and all of our members, and
114
115 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Executive Council commits to
116 provide to each MEC up to $200,000 in funding in the form of grants
117 from the OCF Contingency Fund to enable each MEC to dedicate the
118 necessary resources to maximize the outcome of the steering committee
119 process, and
120
121 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Executive Council recommends
122 the AAA and AWA MECs work with the Communications Department,
123 the Vice President-Finance/Treasurer and its Strike Oversight Board
124 members to develop and submit a new communications plan and MCF
125 budget under the MECs’ current MCF allocation, and that the
126 application of such budget, as approved by the Executive Council, shall
127 be retroactive to the date of resumed joint negotiations, and
128
129 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Executive Council determines
130 that funds previously distributed from the OCF to each MEC in the
131 form of both grants and loans provided funding to “defray Association
132 costs associated with merger activities”, and
133
134 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that, since the AAA MEC and the AWA
135 MEC have outstanding OCF loan balances of $821,669 and $254,051,
136 respectively, as of December 1, 2007, the Executive Council, per Section
137 60D 1d(1)(d) of the Administrative Manual, requires that the $300,000
138 for each MEC, which has been received from the Airline Parties, shall
139 be credited to the AAA and AWA MEC accounts, respectively, and such
140 funds shall be used as follows:
141
142 1. Provide funding, if necessary, to bring the respective MEC to the
143 Current Quarter Income as of December 1, 2007 per ALPA’s
 
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