TWA Seniority

[eolesen]

By the way, what the heck is a "senior vice president of people"?

It's the new PC-touchy-feely name for Human Resources...

Sorry..corrected:

If the Kasher agreement were used in the new AA/LCC merger, stations like DFW, JFK would get 100% the rest of AA system would get 25% or the effective date of the merger.. Is that right ?

Not even close in how I read Kasher's logic. Excerpts from the award:

As of April, 2001 American had 13,679,000 available seat miles (hereinafter “ASMs”) compared to TWA’s 2,919,000 ASMs. TWA’s ASMs represent 21% of American’s total ASMs. ASMs represent the relative size of each carrier, as measured by seats available for revenue passengers multiplied by miles in a flight.

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As noted above, TWA did bring certain valuable assets to the transaction. However, the record reflects that TWA had virtually no presence in and brought no work to the vast bulk of American’s system; specifically American’s major bases and hubs in Tulsa, Alliance Fort Worth, Dallas, Chicago and Miami.

Accordingly, it is this Arbitrator’s opinion that, to the extent TWA employees are permitted to use their TWA seniority to bid on positions in locations such as those referenced in the above paragraph, it is more than likely they would secure such work opportunities at the expense of American’s TWU-represented employees on the master seniority lists.

On the other hand, American had no presence at TWA’s overhaul facility in Kansas City and a very limited presence in St. Louis. As discussed above, the record reflects a general agreement that the St. Louis hub and the Kansas City overhaul facility were valuable assets which American assessed would contribute to the Carrier’s growth, and were the assets “at the heart” of American’s decision to acquire TWA.

This Arbitrator is also persuaded that no American TWU represented employees, except for a few with recall rights in St. Louis, could have legitimately expected job opportunities in either of these two locations if not for the acquisition by American.

Accordingly, this Arbitrator finds that there is no basis to conclude that any American TWU-represented employee will be harmed by providing that TWA seniority will be fully honored in both of these locations. Likewise, it is clear that limiting TWA IAM-represented employees their rights to exercise their full seniority in St. Louis and Kansas City would be inequitable, and would fail to recognize the substantial contribution made by TWA to the acquisition.

St. Louis and Kansas City represent the vast majority of TWA TAM- represented positions brought to the acquisition by TWA IAM-represented employees. However, there are a number of stations at which both American and TWA conducted operations in competition with each other prior to the acquisition on April 10, 2001.

The TWU has contended that at these stations TWA’s operations were de minimis, and that few, if any, of those stations would have been staffed under the American agreements, and that those stations which were legitimately staffed were largely duplicative. The IAM has argued that, in many of these stations, American employment is presently at levels which would never have existed absent the new “synergy” with TWA, as the result of TWA’s contribution of gates, aircraft and TWA traffic, and that it would be inequitable to reserve such opportunities exclusively to American’s TWU-represented workforce.

It is this Arbitrator’s finding that there is some merit in both of these claims.

It is this Arbitrator’s opinion that a reasonably accurate benchmark for determining a carrier’s “contribution” to a city or station, where two or more carriers compete, is the percentage of either carriers ASMs compared to the whole.

Based upon a review of the economic and operational data, in the record, and in view of TWA’s concentration of operations in St. Louis and Kansas City, it is this Arbitrator’s finding that TWA’s contribution will be considered more than de minimis only where the contribution of TWA in terms of ASMs is greater than ten percent (10%) of the total ASMs at any city or station as of April 9, 2001. At such city/stations TWA IAM- represented employees will be provided with a seniority date that represents twenty-five percent (25%) of their acquired TWA seniority.

This twenty-five percent (25%) calculation is based upon this Arbitrator’s finding that as of April, 2001 American had 13,679,000 ASMs as compared to TWA’S 2,919,000 ASMs. TWA’s ASMs represent 21% of American’s total ASMs. This Arbitrator has also factored in an additional four percent (4%) credit to be given to TWA employees in view of the additional job opportunities that should be provided to American employees by the synergies referred to in the facts recounted above at the cities/stations where TWA’s ASMs meet or exceed the de minimis benchmark.

If the ten percent (10%) benchmark at any city/station is reached or exceeded, then once all American employees have been recalled, TWA employees will have the right to exercise their seniority, as adjusted above, to available positions at such city/station. These positions will be reserved for bid by TWA employees with recall rights, and they shall be permitted to use twenty-five percent (25%) of their TWA seniority.

At cities/stations where TWA’s ASMs contribution is less than ten percent (10%) based upon the above-referenced calculation and where there are resident American TWU-represented employees in the same craft(s) or class(es) as the TWA-IAM represented employees, TWA’s contribution will be deemed de minimis, and such TWA IAM-represented employees will acquire an April 10, 2001 seniority date.

Applying the same logic, you'd have to figure out what percentage of the pre-merger operation is brought to the transaction by AA and what's brought by US:

By the more important financial and traffic measures (ASMs, Revenue), US is just over a third of the size of the new AA. Likewise on the employee ratios.

Thus, a Kasher type award would negatively impact US seniority, not AA.

 

[CactUS4Ever]

I was just looking at the AA AMT seniority list and it shows mechanics in AFW. I thought they closed AFW?

 

[1AA]

I was just looking at the AA AMT seniority list and it shows mechanics in AFW. I thought they closed AFW?

The Taesel shop remains open. That is the Rolls Royce engine overhaul shop.
The rest is a slow death of a once proud major overhaul base.

 

[mike757]

The former TWA employees wont get their seniority back, how many times is the horse going to be beaten?

It looks like we might have some wiggle room here..There were several questions asked and answered in this article. This one caught my eye. Especially those 2 little words toward the bottom.

FEDERAL LAW

American Airlines answers other questions about what the merger with US Airways means for American
By Terry Maxon
[email protected]
6:03 pm on February 25, 2013 | Permalink
Will former TWA IAM members be granted their full occupational seniority?
The current seniority lists at American and US Airways will be integrated according to procedures prescribed by federal law. The goal of those statutory procedures is to achieve a single unified seniority list that fairly and equitably reconciles the interests of all of the employees in the merged groups.
- See more at: http://aviationblog.dallasnews.com/#sthash.p7VELki8.dpuf

 

[Bob Owens]

Flawless? What are you saying?

Let's talk about the super seniority your group almost got if it wasn't for the year long fences.

Lets talk about "MY" profit sharing I was forced to share with your group.

A lot of us out "east" haven't forgot.

We were told that US does not have profit sharing in their contract.

 

[AMFAinMIAMI]

The chance of the TWA guy's getting their seniority back is about as Good as the Eastern guys who also worked under the IAM. All of you have assumed the IAM will be the union of representation. The Mechanics of AA have two drives going on at this time. One for AMFA the other for the IBT. With the number of mechanics at AA vers the number at USAir you think the AA mechanics are going to let USAir dictate the union representation? Comon Man!!!

We also see on the web that the Teamsters are looking to get into USAir.
That will be a big mistake and any of you guys who are on this board need to do your home work and see just how bad the IBT really is. Just Look at UAL and CAL still have not merged the two carriers mechanics and they have the same union rep. IBT What a joke. lol The United guys are not very well informed of what's going on since the Teamsters are a Union which represents butcher/bakers/candle stick makers/truckers and will always look out for them over the airline workers.

No matter which union gets in at AA, it is of my opinion that the IAM will be gone. After the merger. (if it comes to a vote) The down fall to that is the USAir guys are going to loose the IAM pension. Whether the USAir guys get what we have here at AA a 401k match of some kind, but the IAM pension will stopped being funded. The IAM pension will be frozen. Just like ours here at AA.

I would hope that what ever you/we have invested you/we will get when we retire without any lost $$$. But since many of us here have worked for other carriers it really depends on what the unions and mgmt do. We will be the losers no matter what.

Since I am a AMFA supporter I hope we get AMFA in, or at least a chance to vote them in, before all of this. then we can have a voice not leave it to some intl. stooge who does not have to live under what ever bs agreement they and both companies agree to give US All. Then we would be separate from the ramp and stores. have our own class and craft union.

 

[wrencher]

BOB I would rather take my chances with the the new Federal rules in place.

 

[MCI transplant]

BOB I would rather take my chances with the the new Federal rules in place.

But isn't it more than a little ironic that the reason those rules were put in place in the fist place, was because of the way the AA/TWA Senority thing was handeled?

 

[swamt]

But isn't it more than a little ironic that the reason those rules were put in place in the fist place, was because of the way the AA/TWA Senority thing was handeled?

Yes