Nov/Dec 2013 Pilot Discussion
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Yes west pilots, the same negotiators that brought you the A330 contract for west only in April 2008. payne and dotter, are still at work for you.
"Leonidas Update December 17, 2013
As we continue to wait for the results of the Addington II trial, the West Pilot legal team continues to stay busy working to protect your rights. The final pleadings to the case record were submitted on November 6th, and there were numerous post-trial Motions that required briefs to be filed, including those pleadings regarding USAPA and Airways’ Motions for Summary Judgment. All of these relevant filings can be found on the public access Leonidas Web site at cactuspilot.com.
We are charging toward a final solution to the conflict that has plagued us for so many years, but there is still much work to be done. The merger of American and US Airways was consummated last Monday, December 9th finalizing the Plan of Reorganization or POR. The MOU specifies a thirty day “Protocol Period” to begin on the POR date so the thirty day clock is ticking right now. New American has called for a meeting of the pilot parties to the McCaskill-Bond process outlined in the MOU for this Friday, December 20th in Washington, D.C. to discuss the Protocol Agreement. The company has invited the West Pilot Class to be participants in this meeting. Your nine West Class Representatives have chosen five West pilots to be your West Merger Committee representatives: former PHX Domicile Chairman First Officer David Braid; current Leonidas member and Business Intelligence Committee member, First Officer Johan DeVicq; former ALPA negotiating committee member Captain Doug Dotter; founder of Leonidas First Officer Eric Ferguson; and former ALPA merger committee member Captain Russ Payne. Along with this committee will be the legal team consisting of Polsinelli Attorneys Jennifer Axel and Dr. Andy Jacob along with Marty Harper of Marty Harper, PLLC. It is our understanding from the West Merger Committee that New American and APA will be in attendance at the December 20, 2013 meeting. USAPA has not committed to attend to the best of our knowledge.
The West Merger Committee members all have an outstanding history of West Pilot advocacy and experience, and we are proud to announce their willingness to serve the pilot group in such an important role.
We will provide updates as events unfold during the coming weeks and months, and we thank you for your desire to stay informed.
Sincerely,
Leonidas, LLC"
You (west pilots) are the first pilot group that fell for a management scheme that dangles a large airplane in front of you to hypnotize you. (sarcasm)
"youse" guys fell for it. doug parker had a shiney model of an A330, your west leaders sat in a circle with the fold out of the A330 in a montly airbus magazine and''''''''''''''''''''
Afterwards they (west) sat down with the company and demanded the same A330 contract the East pilots had in hopes they could scab them out of their wide body jobs. scabs.
http://www.reformusapa.com/A330_LOA.pdf
Boeing Driver
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Easy no vote.
Anything the west scabs want so badly is definitely not good for the east pilots.
Boeing Driver
Anything the west scabs want so badly is definitely not good for the east pilots.
Boeing Driver
luvthe9
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Specific Grievances against Gary Hummel and Steve Bradford
This list was compiled by BPR members who have served while Gary Hummel has been President.
Lack of integrity: 9 of the 11 sitting BPR members have lost all confidence in the President and Vice President. The dishonesty, manipulation of the rules, and political word-games played by these men has created a total lack of trust in our Union leadership. This situation can only be fixed by removing them from office, because the BPR has tried every conceivable alternative that would cause Hummel and Bradford to run the union as it was intended. They simply refuse.
Dishonesty: In the opinion of many, Hummel is a pathological liar that refuses to communicate honestly with the BPR, or the Pilots, about his activities. There are no notes or written reports of numerous conversations regarding MOU negotiations with management, and deals were made without BPR authority or NAC knowledge that ended up in both MOU 1 and MOU 2. Both documents suffered greatly because of his dishonesty and sloppy, undisciplined union work.
Violating the USAPA Constitution/lack of Medical Certification and Qualification: Union rules, “Section 5(IV)(e) of the Constitution clearly state that a pilot must remain current and qualified on his equipment to be eligible to receive flight pay loss money. If the pilot fails to maintain currency he must notify the Secretary Treasurer and ultimately the BPR who will either approve or disapprove continued pay and service. There is a provision that allows an officer to remain in office for up to one year (at the discretion of the BPR) if the reason for the disqualification is due to medical reasons. Since May 14, 2013 Gary Hummel has remained in office in violation of union rules on full pay status without a valid FAA Medical Certificate. During this 8 month period he has used only 9 days of sick leave and continues to accrue sick time against Union rules and guidelines. Would you receive the same benefit?
Failure to follow the rules: The Officers of USAPA continually ignore the UOM and Constitution to fit their political expediency. Noted above is just one example. Another recent example, was the self-promoting letter mailed to your homes on USAPA letterhead. This letter was created by a public relations firm who bypassed the Communications Committee, which is a violation of our communications policy established in the UOM: All communications to pilots are required to pass through USAPA Communications, and there are numerous important reasons for this. Hummel bypasses the Communications Committee and other committees when it fits with his agenda, and in this case he probably spent $50,000 or more of your dues money – without any authorization from the Board -- to do it. Negotiating directly with management without BPR/NAC knowledge is another example of “The Gary Hummel” leadership style. He has done this in several instances. Our relatively shameful $8400 signing bonus is one example, and another, less-publicized incident was interjecting himself in Group 1 (E190) pay discussions in Dallas. It’s a big reason we’ve ended up some $50/hour short of Delta pay for similar aircraft. Our Group 1 pilots have been irreparably harmed because of Hummel’s undisciplined behavior. These officers do whatever they want, and damn the rules, the BPR, or the Committee Chairmen who have the authority and charge to deliver the product.
Failure to communicate, and intentional miscommunication: These men promised transparency in their election campaigns. Continual failure to communicate both internally with the BPR and USAPA committee structure is as prevalent as the lack of communications to the line pilot who is supposed to be the backbone of USAPA. Notice that the communication coming from USAPA about this presidential recall has been almost non-existent, compared with what the union put out when certain Domicile Representatives were facing recall. This is more than a failure to communicate; it is intentional miscommunication, and they’ve been doing this continually throughout their terms of office.
Failure to attain adequate returns in the MOU: The Officers’ rush to get Doug Parker his merger at any cost created an MOU that fell well short of delivering US Airways pilots appropriate value for the their 10 years of sacrifices and Scope language relief granted to the company. At least $398 million in value was left on the table; instead of getting a share of that, Hummel’s weak and undisciplined approach helped those monies go to American Airline Shareholders at the completion of the deal. During BPR closed sessions what was witnessed was a union President behaving more like a company VP, always attempting to diminish our leverage and put the BPR at a strategic disadvantage.
Illegal, direct negotiations with management behind the back of the pilots, BPR, and NAC: This began prior to beginning their terms when in March 2012 Hummel and his “team” went to PHX and were briefed by US Airways management without any witnesses or Committees present. And by the way, the week that Hummel was secretly in PHX was also the same week that APA was in PHX negotiating the Term Sheet. Coincidence? They clearly began their term cutting backroom deals and having private discussions with upper management, which is a violation of USAPA policy for a very good reason. But this is more than just a breach of our own rules and protocol; negotiating without the knowledge or permission of the BPR, our Professional Advisors, or the Committee in place that is trained to do this business is perhaps the worst judgment an alleged “union leader” can display. The cost to this pilot group is impossible to calculate, but it’s huge…. and it is ongoing.
Health Issue: While no one wants anything but a full recovery for Gary Hummel from his life-threatening medical issues, there can be no question that you have a right to the best representation USAPA can provide. This union takes in some $10 Million in dues annually. It is entirely inappropriate for someone who is personally distracted in any way to be leading an organization as complex as USAPA. Gary Hummel was absent at a recent court hearing because doctor’s orders were to avoid stressful situations. There is nothing about the job of USAPA President that isn’t stressful. The stress, distraction, numerous required visits to medical facilities for treatment, and the use of multiple prescription medicines, have left the US Airways pilots with a President who is operating at far less than 100%. During the next 18-24 months, USAPA needs a leader who places 5200 dues paying members ahead of his own desire to remain in power.
Please vote yes to recall Gary Hummel and Steve Bradford at https://www.BallotPoint.com/USAPA/
This list was compiled by BPR members who have served while Gary Hummel has been President.
Lack of integrity: 9 of the 11 sitting BPR members have lost all confidence in the President and Vice President. The dishonesty, manipulation of the rules, and political word-games played by these men has created a total lack of trust in our Union leadership. This situation can only be fixed by removing them from office, because the BPR has tried every conceivable alternative that would cause Hummel and Bradford to run the union as it was intended. They simply refuse.
Dishonesty: In the opinion of many, Hummel is a pathological liar that refuses to communicate honestly with the BPR, or the Pilots, about his activities. There are no notes or written reports of numerous conversations regarding MOU negotiations with management, and deals were made without BPR authority or NAC knowledge that ended up in both MOU 1 and MOU 2. Both documents suffered greatly because of his dishonesty and sloppy, undisciplined union work.
Violating the USAPA Constitution/lack of Medical Certification and Qualification: Union rules, “Section 5(IV)(e) of the Constitution clearly state that a pilot must remain current and qualified on his equipment to be eligible to receive flight pay loss money. If the pilot fails to maintain currency he must notify the Secretary Treasurer and ultimately the BPR who will either approve or disapprove continued pay and service. There is a provision that allows an officer to remain in office for up to one year (at the discretion of the BPR) if the reason for the disqualification is due to medical reasons. Since May 14, 2013 Gary Hummel has remained in office in violation of union rules on full pay status without a valid FAA Medical Certificate. During this 8 month period he has used only 9 days of sick leave and continues to accrue sick time against Union rules and guidelines. Would you receive the same benefit?
Failure to follow the rules: The Officers of USAPA continually ignore the UOM and Constitution to fit their political expediency. Noted above is just one example. Another recent example, was the self-promoting letter mailed to your homes on USAPA letterhead. This letter was created by a public relations firm who bypassed the Communications Committee, which is a violation of our communications policy established in the UOM: All communications to pilots are required to pass through USAPA Communications, and there are numerous important reasons for this. Hummel bypasses the Communications Committee and other committees when it fits with his agenda, and in this case he probably spent $50,000 or more of your dues money – without any authorization from the Board -- to do it. Negotiating directly with management without BPR/NAC knowledge is another example of “The Gary Hummel” leadership style. He has done this in several instances. Our relatively shameful $8400 signing bonus is one example, and another, less-publicized incident was interjecting himself in Group 1 (E190) pay discussions in Dallas. It’s a big reason we’ve ended up some $50/hour short of Delta pay for similar aircraft. Our Group 1 pilots have been irreparably harmed because of Hummel’s undisciplined behavior. These officers do whatever they want, and damn the rules, the BPR, or the Committee Chairmen who have the authority and charge to deliver the product.
Failure to communicate, and intentional miscommunication: These men promised transparency in their election campaigns. Continual failure to communicate both internally with the BPR and USAPA committee structure is as prevalent as the lack of communications to the line pilot who is supposed to be the backbone of USAPA. Notice that the communication coming from USAPA about this presidential recall has been almost non-existent, compared with what the union put out when certain Domicile Representatives were facing recall. This is more than a failure to communicate; it is intentional miscommunication, and they’ve been doing this continually throughout their terms of office.
Failure to attain adequate returns in the MOU: The Officers’ rush to get Doug Parker his merger at any cost created an MOU that fell well short of delivering US Airways pilots appropriate value for the their 10 years of sacrifices and Scope language relief granted to the company. At least $398 million in value was left on the table; instead of getting a share of that, Hummel’s weak and undisciplined approach helped those monies go to American Airline Shareholders at the completion of the deal. During BPR closed sessions what was witnessed was a union President behaving more like a company VP, always attempting to diminish our leverage and put the BPR at a strategic disadvantage.
Illegal, direct negotiations with management behind the back of the pilots, BPR, and NAC: This began prior to beginning their terms when in March 2012 Hummel and his “team” went to PHX and were briefed by US Airways management without any witnesses or Committees present. And by the way, the week that Hummel was secretly in PHX was also the same week that APA was in PHX negotiating the Term Sheet. Coincidence? They clearly began their term cutting backroom deals and having private discussions with upper management, which is a violation of USAPA policy for a very good reason. But this is more than just a breach of our own rules and protocol; negotiating without the knowledge or permission of the BPR, our Professional Advisors, or the Committee in place that is trained to do this business is perhaps the worst judgment an alleged “union leader” can display. The cost to this pilot group is impossible to calculate, but it’s huge…. and it is ongoing.
Health Issue: While no one wants anything but a full recovery for Gary Hummel from his life-threatening medical issues, there can be no question that you have a right to the best representation USAPA can provide. This union takes in some $10 Million in dues annually. It is entirely inappropriate for someone who is personally distracted in any way to be leading an organization as complex as USAPA. Gary Hummel was absent at a recent court hearing because doctor’s orders were to avoid stressful situations. There is nothing about the job of USAPA President that isn’t stressful. The stress, distraction, numerous required visits to medical facilities for treatment, and the use of multiple prescription medicines, have left the US Airways pilots with a President who is operating at far less than 100%. During the next 18-24 months, USAPA needs a leader who places 5200 dues paying members ahead of his own desire to remain in power.
Please vote yes to recall Gary Hummel and Steve Bradford at https://www.BallotPoint.com/USAPA/
exB717Flyer
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This is funny. Between AA and East you won't find more self-entitled pilots. Both sides feel the merger is an opportunity to gain seniority as restitution for past losses. There will be no negotiated agreement.Claxon said:
There always are. Do you feel lucky?
I'm sure you're referring to the Nicolau list so we're in perfect agreement.
A320 Driver
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With regard to post #3848, I will save the bandwidth of a quote and just say, BS! Six members of the BPR want your permission to take over USAPA. The PHL and CLT reps are now issuing joint communications. They want the roll call vote back so they can do anything they want unopposed. The PHX guys are going along with this because if the recall is successful, they have an excellent chance of taking one or both officer positions and re-staffing the committees any way they want. I've been to many BPR meetings and there really is a lack of integrity, but not by the officers. I was there for 4 days during the MOU debates...if you want to call it that. This union is more screwed up than Obamacare and if this recall is successful, it will be even more so.
Now is NOT the time. We should be focused on a reasonable outcome of the upcoming SLI but we are being distracted by a power grab based on nothing but anger, stupidity and lies. If we are not careful, we are going to have our clock cleaned. The last hail Mary we threw in a seniority arbitration cost us millions...and it's not even over yet. History is about to repeat itself boys and girls.
Now is NOT the time. We should be focused on a reasonable outcome of the upcoming SLI but we are being distracted by a power grab based on nothing but anger, stupidity and lies. If we are not careful, we are going to have our clock cleaned. The last hail Mary we threw in a seniority arbitration cost us millions...and it's not even over yet. History is about to repeat itself boys and girls.
nycbusdriver
Veteran
Years ago I heard that the NC refused to insist on complete and clear language for the contract because is would necessitate a contract "the size of a phone book." Well, now with the advent of our iPad technology, I vote for the "phone book" contracts.PullUp said:
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