LETTER TO ALPA PRESIDENT JOHN PRATER

[john john]

Can anyone answer me why they would agree to binding arbitration and not accept the award that is legally binding on them?

Because US/EAST knows/knew that they are the majority in any vote and any process

 

[LCC_#1]

After reading what can only be described as regurgitated BS over the last few days, I am convinced more than ever this merger should have never taken place. We “moronsâ€￾ at AWA would have continued to grow and prosper while you SOBs in the East continued to rot in hell. Oh how I wish I could change the past.


I’ll never fly with an arrogant East prick.

Let me tell you something Callsign,

I lived through the Piedmont/USAir merger and attitudes like YOUR (PIISS POOR) will bring this company to it's knees. Most of the biatching THEN was done by pilots after the arbitrators made their decision. BOTH sides found something to be angry about. In my heart of hearts I believe the disconnect caused a horrible series of crashes resulting in poor PR and CRM and bringing the old US to its knees.

As far as flying with East pricks? I hope I am NEVER a f/a on one of your flights or I will have myself removed and call the FAA on you as well as the company. Attitudes like that are unsafe in the cockpit and an endangerment to the customer and have NO place in aviation.

I love how you rewrite history. The East employees were elated after merger because we were finally rid of the streak of CEO's that only profitted from US. We were excited about Doug Parker. He seemed to care about us and opened his arms to us. WE HAD HOPE, ASSSHOLE!!!!

Your brilliant whiz kids have done NOTHING but make one stupid decision after another. Maybe when you are barigaded in your AWA cockpit with your AWA flight attendants working on your AWA airplanes configured to make sense with their AWA glassware ( I mean US glassware) for first class, you dont SEE the insane decisions that have been made and discussed here thoroughly. They have only taken the WORST of both companies and are now trying to do the same with contracts. THAT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE EAST!!!

NEWS FLASH!!! OUR CEO SUCKS!!!!! He has alienated the West employees, lied to the East FF's, and has lied to the East employees. His alienation of the frequent fliers has cost hundreds of thousands in revenue and a threat from a large chunk of FF's. THEY contribute the most to YOUR salary. He tried to interfer with union business by misleading the West f/as.

What you see here are people sick and tired of incompetent management. Are you so stupid as to think that our response on the East side would be any different if management was in Arlington? This isn't about the AWA employees. Had the majority of the new US Airways been old US AIrways and the HQ been placed in Arlington, I would expect you guys to speak up if there was a decision you didnt like.

To suggest that the East is somehow to blame for the ills of the new US Airways is simply unfounded. Our CEO is there to lead. He is here to fix this carrier and make it strong and NOT JUST FINANCIALLY!! He has made us stronger financially but in essence PARKERS actions...not the EAST employees...have made us weaker. The East employees were not responsible for the breakdown of kiosk in CLT, PHL, and every other East station. IT WAS DOUG PARKER! The East employees didnt reduced the pitch on the planes by cramming in more rows and pisssing off the customers. IT WAS DOUG PARKER! It wasn't East that has taken closets out of the ac and wasting $$ because it took him THREE tries to get it right after placing Oxygen mask beside the FC ovens (BOOM). IT WAS DOUG PARKER!! It wasn't the East that FOOLISHLY tried to buy an airline that he KNEW was a poor fit and underestimated their resolve AND made us look hostile and cold. IT WAS DOUG PARKER!! It isn't the East dragging their butts to settle joint contracts. IT IS DOUG PARKER!! AND it was DOUG PARKER who placed himself in a high profile situation and was careless by getting a DWI and embarrassing the 32,000 employees.

Doug Parker WORKS in the HQ!! The HQ is in Tempe! This is not a reflection on the West employees so stop thinking it is. The is simply about poor managment.

I feel the arbitrating decision was unfair however as I post on this thread, the EAST pilots played DEAL OR NO DEAL and they lost! The decision could had easily been against YOU so how about cooling your jets abit. They will deal with it, but NOT in the cockpit!! It happened in 1989 and guess what? It can happen again! The results could be devestating. I don't want and will NOT fly with a cockpit in turmoil. I have been with a cockpit crew where the captain told the f/o he was not to speak to him unless it is about the operation of the a/c and /or an emergency. I can only HOPE you...like many that you judge for venting...ARE just venting!! Your post made me VERY uncomfortable.

 

[ClueByFour]

I disagree. The rules are now poorly written and nebulous. Even so, the merger rules as written state that windfalls should be avoided. When you completely disregard DOH, or length of service, or longevity, or even date of ALPA; then the other party realizes a huge windfall.

Also, agreeing to accept the arbitrator's ruling presupposes that the ruling will be rational. This ruling demonstrates the need for mandatory retirement criteria for arbitrators.

If I were a 30 year old again and a 55 year old who was doing this job twenty years longer jumped ahead of me for captain upgrade, I would be dissapointed, but I would get over it quickly knowing that my time would come, that he payed his dues and that the system is basically fair.

You know, only the AAA pilots think it is either a windfall or not rational. It's relative seniority. That AAA was shrinking and bankrupt twice at the time of the merger is not the fault of the AWA pilots.

 

[javaboy]

MEC Letter to ALPA President Captain John Prater


May 8, 2007


Dear Captain Prater:

I understand that the AAA MEC has adopted a Resolution asserting that the merged AWA/AAA seniority list created by the Panel chaired by Arbitrator George Nicolau is not “fair and equitable†and calling on the “Executive Council [to] receive a presentation regarding the Nicolau Award from [the AAA] Merger Committee at its next regular meeting.†The purpose of this letter is not to debate the fairness of the Award – everyone is free to have their own personal view on that point. Rather, it is to state, in the strongest possible terms, the AWA MEC’s opposition to that request on much more fundamental grounds.

ALPA Merger Policy was specifically crafted to remove ALPA from substantive decision-making when it comes to the integration of seniority lists. The entire premise of that Policy is to leave to autonomous merger committees the task of merging seniority lists, with arbitration before a three-member panel chaired by a neutral as the ultimate “backstop†in the event the merger committees cannot reach agreement. Once a panel issues an award, that award – by Merger Policy’s express terms - “shall be final and binding on all parties to the arbitration and shall be defended by ALPA.â€

That commitment is the centerpiece of Merger Policy. It is the assurance that ALPA will not intervene in the decision-making process that establishes the integrity of the process. Any deviation from that important principle would wipe out decades of precedent and would entirely destabilize the seniority integration process, turning it into a contest over who shouts the loudest. More to the point, it would be a breach of faith with the ALPA membership that has come to rely on the integrity of the Policy and would be a breach of ALPA’s fundamental governing documents.

All that being so, the Executive Council’s acquiescence in the AAA MEC’s request for a meeting to receive a presentation on its perception of the fairness of the award will do nothing more than create mischief. It will create false hopes in the AAA pilot ranks when, in fact, ALPA cannot do anything to upset the award. And it will create needless anxiety among the AWA pilot ranks that the hard work of the last two years may be undone when, in fact, ALPA cannot undo it.

It is time for ALPA to state strongly, clearly, and quickly to both the AAA and AWA pilots, in terms each will understand, that the Nicolau Award is “final and binding,†that it will be that list (together with it Conditions and Restrictions) that will govern seniority at US Airways, and that ALPA will defend that list against any attacks that might be brought by anyone. Anything short of that clear and unambiguous statement will do the Association and the pilots it represents irreparable harm.

Please do not hesitate to call me if you have any questions about anything in this letter.

Sincerely,

MEMBERS OF THE AWA MEC.
<s>

lawsuit inevitable
you aint getting away with this one.

h34r:

 

[skyflyr69]

Right on. I see ALPA siding with the West and then a New York Air scenario. And they and the CAL pilots are welcomed back into alpa. Same thing will happen a few years down the road when AWA takes all the East attrition,
AWA welcomed back into alpa.

Wait a minute... I thought the AWA MEC also thought this award was unfair, and that they didn't get enough... What better way to get more, they should also demand this meeting so they can show all the inequities in the award to the AWA pilots....

 

[exB717Flyer]

lawsuit inevitable

Perhaps.

you aint getting away with this one.

Whom are you referring to by "you"? We, the AWA pilots, didn't get away with anything. Both sides went into arbitration knowing the risks. And BTW, I'm part of the TWA Pilots' DFR lawsuit against ALPA, now in its fifth year of litigation and depositions aren't even over. If you're putting your hopes on a lawsuit you'd better have a big bank account ready and close to a decade to wait...

 

[ussnark]

And a dollar doesn't equal a pound sterling... DOH policy as a sole measure was flawed and thus changed by a majority vote in ALPA for a reason- your views are inconsistent with ALPA policy and more specific to this case not in agreement with the arbitrator, the neutral pilots on the board and basic common sense.

It was changed by UAL in the face of a AAA-UAL merger. That is all.

Suppose AWA bought a two-year old commuter and now you, an eight year pilot at AWA is yanking gear for a 1.4 year commuter captain? Yeah, I feel snarkelly safe, but possible with the Nicolau ruling, as you argue for.

 

[aquagreen73s]

It was changed by UAL in the face of a AAA-UAL merger. That is all.

Suppose AWA bought a two-year old commuter and now you, an eight year pilot at AWA is yanking gear for a 1.4 year commuter captain? Yeah, I feel snarkelly safe, but possible with the Nicolau ruling, as you argue for.

If you think about it, your hypothetical illustrates the exact reason why an inflexible standard such as DOH is not the policy. The goal is to balance the equities and let a neutral tribunal decide. Think about what East would have argued had they been the airline, instead of AMR, that bought TWA out of BK. I seriously doubt you'd find a single AAA pilot advocating DOH then!