Today is Memorial day. A day we pause to give thanks to those who those who died in the service of our Nation, a Nation built upon the principles of Freedom and Equality. We thank them for their sacrifice and are obliged to ensure that their sacrifice was not in vain. We must continue the fight to preserve the values they died protecting.
Every one of those who served and died took the following Oath:
I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen; that I will support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I will bear arms on behalf of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform noncombatant service in the Armed Forces of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform work of national importance under civilian direction when required by the law; and that I take this obligation freely without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; so help me God"
Notice what I bolded. There are enemies to Our Constitution in very high places in our Government, those who despise freedom and even more so, equality. There are those in our Courts and in our Government that are working very hard to curtail the rights of citizens while at the same time seek to grant legal persons ie corporations, rights above and beyond those of human citizens. The spectrum is broad, from those that endorse and promote trade agreements that strip us as a nation to require that our citizens compete on a level playing field, to those who try and find ways to deny citizens of their right to vote, but I want to take this opportunity to discuss one blatant abuse of government power that has affected many airline workers and can affect all of them. What I want to discuss is the fact that the courts have segregated Airline workers Unions from all other stakeholders for especially harsh treatment in C-11. While the law in its entirety needs to be reformed due to abuse one particular part is especially oppressive to airline workers unions and must be fixed right away before any more damage is done. What Im talking about here is only Unions in the airlines can be forced to accept contracts in C-11 Bankruptcy. Instead of being treated like all other creditors they are treated like criminals by the court, essentially blamed for the financial difficulties of the carrier without any proof whatsoever. In C-11 bankruptcy the courts allow the company to set whatever terms it wants, without limits, under current court interpretations there is nothing preventing an airline from imposing a permanent contract that would never become amendable or subject to section six negotiations. No other contract holder is subject to such terms. Every other contract holder, including non-union workers have the right to reject, terminate their contract and engage in self help. Except Unions.
This condition arose in 2007, when in order to avoid a strike the appellate court made a terribly bad ruling, and that ruling stands to this day. This is a crime and flies in the face of everything this country stands for, everything the people we pay tribute to today died for. The perpetrators of this crime were Judges Jacobs, Walker and Raggi of the Second district court. These people have no business sitting on the bench, their Juris prudence would better be suited to some despotic Junta than the democratic USA.
Their ruling came three decades after an equally bad ruling was made concerning the treatment of Airline workers under the Railway Labor Act (RLA). That ruling concerns Sect 1167, of Chapter 11 which is merely a reaffirmation of what is stated in the RLA, however when the courts disregarded the explicit language of the RLA and expelled us from 1167 they did not infringe upon the rights of Unions to reject terms offered by Bankrupt companies, in fact Unions were permitted and did engage in self-help when a carrier did attempt to impose new terms. The Court decided on their own that we were half in-half out of the RLA. In during regular negotiations, out when a carrier filed for C-11 Bankruptcy.
It wasn't until 2007 that the court determined that not only would Airline Workers not be subject to the status quo protections provided by the RLA but that C-11 would allow a carrier to impose whatever they wanted and the Union could not refuse or resort to self help. Unions were effectively stripped of all rights by the court. When your Union has been stripped of its rights then you as Union members have been stripped of your rights. This is the type of law making that those we honor today fought against, and its our duty to fight against it here at home.
We mustn't allow Judges to write the law based on what their Country Club buddies tell them they think it out to be. The Law should be what the people intend for it to be and the intent of the RLA was clear. We are either all in or all out, and that decision was made 80 years ago that we are all in. That includes in bankruptcy because bankruptcies were common before, during and after the RLA was crafted. If the authors of the law had intended an exclusion for bankruptcy they would have included it, in fact they wrote :
"No carrier, its officer, or agents shall change the rates of pay, rules, or working conditions of its employees , as a class, as embodied in agreements except in the manner prescribed in such agreements or in section 156 of this title"
And;
"Notwithstanding section 365 of this title, neither the court nor the trustee may change the wages or working conditions of employees of the debtor established by a collective bargaining agreement that is subject to the Railway Labor Act, except in accordance with section 6 of such Act."
The very first PEB reaffirmed that the only way to change rates of pay was through the section six process, during a recession in 1938 Railroads attempted to impose a cut in wages as a response to a recession, the PEB said that workers under the RLA should not be;
"indirectly taxed to keep the roads running[that during] sudden crises of short duration the shock must be taken by the ownership and not the wage structure."
We must not let this injustice go unchallenged. We owe it to those we honor today. The Pilots tried to change this back in 2009. Obviously they did not get far, that time they appealed to Congress sense of fairness and asked for protection, Congress did nothing, this time we must all go in and demand our rights, and be prepared to take action if we are not treated the same as everyone else, airline workers must not be willing to remain in the back of the bus. Since the Judges cant read then we need to fill in the blanks. We need for our legislators to make it as clear as possible we need for them to amend sect 1167 as follows;
"Notwithstanding section 365 of this title, neither the court nor the trustee may change the wages or working conditions of employees of the debtor established by a collective bargaining agreement that is subject to the Railway Labor Act, Subchapters I and II, except in accordance with section 6 of such Act".
The first step in this fight is education. Read the RLA yourself, read the appellate court decision in the NWA vs AFA case (483F3d 160) and the minutes of the Hearing (Serial No.111-61 dec 16 2009) where Congressmen facetiously mocked Capt Sullenbeger as he testified as to why this law needs to be corrected. Spread the discussion to co-workers, friends and family. This way if we are forced to take action people will have a pretty good idea why.
Then demand that your Unions start to aggressively pursue having the Government modify Sect 1167 to include the Airlines as was the intent of the RLA. Last time the Pilots did not get much support, the other Unions were more intent on changing the whole bankruptcy process and obtaining special protections for Unions instead of first at least making sure that all Unions are at least afforded the same rights. It is unlikely that Unions will get special protections after all only 7% of the private sector workforce belong to Unions, but everyone should have the same rights.
Finally, if our attempts at gaining equal rights in Bankruptcy fail then we need to pressure our Unions into talking organized action to disrupt the economy by selectively coordinating the withdrawl of our labor. That is exactly what led to the creation of the RLA and much of our Civil Rights legislation, it is a proven method. Why should we support a system that does not treat us as equals? That treats our desire to provide an acceptable and commensurate standard of living as subservient to a corporations desire for ever increasing profit margins?
They died to protect our rights and way of life. No one ever said because they died the fight would be over.
Every one of those who served and died took the following Oath:
I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen; that I will support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I will bear arms on behalf of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform noncombatant service in the Armed Forces of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform work of national importance under civilian direction when required by the law; and that I take this obligation freely without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; so help me God"
Notice what I bolded. There are enemies to Our Constitution in very high places in our Government, those who despise freedom and even more so, equality. There are those in our Courts and in our Government that are working very hard to curtail the rights of citizens while at the same time seek to grant legal persons ie corporations, rights above and beyond those of human citizens. The spectrum is broad, from those that endorse and promote trade agreements that strip us as a nation to require that our citizens compete on a level playing field, to those who try and find ways to deny citizens of their right to vote, but I want to take this opportunity to discuss one blatant abuse of government power that has affected many airline workers and can affect all of them. What I want to discuss is the fact that the courts have segregated Airline workers Unions from all other stakeholders for especially harsh treatment in C-11. While the law in its entirety needs to be reformed due to abuse one particular part is especially oppressive to airline workers unions and must be fixed right away before any more damage is done. What Im talking about here is only Unions in the airlines can be forced to accept contracts in C-11 Bankruptcy. Instead of being treated like all other creditors they are treated like criminals by the court, essentially blamed for the financial difficulties of the carrier without any proof whatsoever. In C-11 bankruptcy the courts allow the company to set whatever terms it wants, without limits, under current court interpretations there is nothing preventing an airline from imposing a permanent contract that would never become amendable or subject to section six negotiations. No other contract holder is subject to such terms. Every other contract holder, including non-union workers have the right to reject, terminate their contract and engage in self help. Except Unions.
This condition arose in 2007, when in order to avoid a strike the appellate court made a terribly bad ruling, and that ruling stands to this day. This is a crime and flies in the face of everything this country stands for, everything the people we pay tribute to today died for. The perpetrators of this crime were Judges Jacobs, Walker and Raggi of the Second district court. These people have no business sitting on the bench, their Juris prudence would better be suited to some despotic Junta than the democratic USA.
Their ruling came three decades after an equally bad ruling was made concerning the treatment of Airline workers under the Railway Labor Act (RLA). That ruling concerns Sect 1167, of Chapter 11 which is merely a reaffirmation of what is stated in the RLA, however when the courts disregarded the explicit language of the RLA and expelled us from 1167 they did not infringe upon the rights of Unions to reject terms offered by Bankrupt companies, in fact Unions were permitted and did engage in self-help when a carrier did attempt to impose new terms. The Court decided on their own that we were half in-half out of the RLA. In during regular negotiations, out when a carrier filed for C-11 Bankruptcy.
It wasn't until 2007 that the court determined that not only would Airline Workers not be subject to the status quo protections provided by the RLA but that C-11 would allow a carrier to impose whatever they wanted and the Union could not refuse or resort to self help. Unions were effectively stripped of all rights by the court. When your Union has been stripped of its rights then you as Union members have been stripped of your rights. This is the type of law making that those we honor today fought against, and its our duty to fight against it here at home.
We mustn't allow Judges to write the law based on what their Country Club buddies tell them they think it out to be. The Law should be what the people intend for it to be and the intent of the RLA was clear. We are either all in or all out, and that decision was made 80 years ago that we are all in. That includes in bankruptcy because bankruptcies were common before, during and after the RLA was crafted. If the authors of the law had intended an exclusion for bankruptcy they would have included it, in fact they wrote :
"No carrier, its officer, or agents shall change the rates of pay, rules, or working conditions of its employees , as a class, as embodied in agreements except in the manner prescribed in such agreements or in section 156 of this title"
And;
"Notwithstanding section 365 of this title, neither the court nor the trustee may change the wages or working conditions of employees of the debtor established by a collective bargaining agreement that is subject to the Railway Labor Act, except in accordance with section 6 of such Act."
The very first PEB reaffirmed that the only way to change rates of pay was through the section six process, during a recession in 1938 Railroads attempted to impose a cut in wages as a response to a recession, the PEB said that workers under the RLA should not be;
"indirectly taxed to keep the roads running[that during] sudden crises of short duration the shock must be taken by the ownership and not the wage structure."
We must not let this injustice go unchallenged. We owe it to those we honor today. The Pilots tried to change this back in 2009. Obviously they did not get far, that time they appealed to Congress sense of fairness and asked for protection, Congress did nothing, this time we must all go in and demand our rights, and be prepared to take action if we are not treated the same as everyone else, airline workers must not be willing to remain in the back of the bus. Since the Judges cant read then we need to fill in the blanks. We need for our legislators to make it as clear as possible we need for them to amend sect 1167 as follows;
"Notwithstanding section 365 of this title, neither the court nor the trustee may change the wages or working conditions of employees of the debtor established by a collective bargaining agreement that is subject to the Railway Labor Act, Subchapters I and II, except in accordance with section 6 of such Act".
The first step in this fight is education. Read the RLA yourself, read the appellate court decision in the NWA vs AFA case (483F3d 160) and the minutes of the Hearing (Serial No.111-61 dec 16 2009) where Congressmen facetiously mocked Capt Sullenbeger as he testified as to why this law needs to be corrected. Spread the discussion to co-workers, friends and family. This way if we are forced to take action people will have a pretty good idea why.
Then demand that your Unions start to aggressively pursue having the Government modify Sect 1167 to include the Airlines as was the intent of the RLA. Last time the Pilots did not get much support, the other Unions were more intent on changing the whole bankruptcy process and obtaining special protections for Unions instead of first at least making sure that all Unions are at least afforded the same rights. It is unlikely that Unions will get special protections after all only 7% of the private sector workforce belong to Unions, but everyone should have the same rights.
Finally, if our attempts at gaining equal rights in Bankruptcy fail then we need to pressure our Unions into talking organized action to disrupt the economy by selectively coordinating the withdrawl of our labor. That is exactly what led to the creation of the RLA and much of our Civil Rights legislation, it is a proven method. Why should we support a system that does not treat us as equals? That treats our desire to provide an acceptable and commensurate standard of living as subservient to a corporations desire for ever increasing profit margins?
They died to protect our rights and way of life. No one ever said because they died the fight would be over.
