This was the company offer, like pretty much 99% of the contract, the committee had no input whatsoever in the writing of it. Its useless.After reading through the entire T/A Agreement Language I have a question for anyone on the negotiating team to answer in detail.
The language below has been inserted into Article 1. Page 7
Was this a Union Proposal or a Company Offer?
Was there any specifics discussed regarding sale or spin-off of Overhaul that would fall under a confidentiality agreement that would prohibit public discussion or disclosure?
What was the offering party's intent of this language insertion?
Article 1 Recognition and Scope
Every employee regardless of station but especially those at Tulsa and AFW should view this language as a very significant item.
Language like this does not just appear out of nowhere without cause and should raise concern. Yes it protects us but why does it read as if there is already something in the works?
Here's how it went down.
Don had apparently met with the company without the committee the night before, or earlier in the morning prior to the committee getting together. Don told us the company added industry leading spin off protection language and a Wage Opener provision that will keep us number 2 in the industry. He added that this could be our last chance to come to an agreement and that it could be out of our hands, that this is the best offer the company is going to make and we should not even consider making counter proposals and vote on it as is, Todd Woodward made the motion to vote on the proposal with a published Roll Call vote which was seconded by Steve Luis.
We were never even given the opportunity to see the language prior to voting on it.
The fact is that system protection is our spin off protection, as system protection erodes it enables the company to spin off bigger and bigger pieces of the operation. We currently have enough people without system protection, to close all our class II stations or spin off AFW. This language isnt spin off protection, its spin off guidelines.
Should AA spin off an OH base thats exceeeds the 20% of total value (if any do or not I dont know) to an MRO those workers would no longer be subject to the RLA. Which means that if an MRO bought them come May 5, 2013 they could impose new terms and the workers would be free to strike, or they could sell it to a shell company, which files for BK right after the purchase and get the court to impose new terms.
Voting NO leaves us just as protected as we are now. Voting Yes makes a layoff /spinoff more likely because of the doubling of the ASM Cap. This will probably lead to an accellerated retirement of the S-80s and the transfer of those routes to Eagle as they get the E-175s. The Pilots and FAs will work out a deal where they get something out of the transfer, we wont.Our concessions will give the company the money they need to buy them off.
Here's how I see it going down if this passes.
If we vote YES the company will start hitting the Class II stations first, transferring those facilities to Eagle as fast as the E175s become available. Using rough numbers, (I didnt check) lets say we have around 7500 Title I with system protection right now. That normally drops by around 500/year, if this passes it will probably spike to around 1500 within a year after DOS as guys from Class II stations elect to hit the streets rather than transfer(their options will be limited to (DFW,MIA,JFK, LAX, ORD, AFW or TUL), and others in the high cost cities simply bail, this large exodus will allow the company to push AMTs out of the bases and backfill with SMAs. So a year after DOS System protection is down to around 6000. Total Tile I will be down to around 8500, or less. As the MD-80s are phased out Tulsa will continue to shrink, as Tulsa shrinks the company will continue to force AMTs out to the line to backfill attrition. The attrition rate will stay at around 1000 or more a year through 2013.
By the time we get the next agreement following this TA, 2015 or so ( the company will never settle a contract on time if they can drag it out and get away without paying retro, plus more system protected guys leave) , nearly all our Class II operations will be Eagle, Eagle will have around 500 airplanes and AA will have around 450 airplanes, those with system protection will be less than 4000. At this point the company could easily sell off both AFW and Tulsa. They would have five line class I stations where they do B checks and call them "maintenance Bases as well, since the definition of Maintenance Base doesnt have the word "only" in it. The B-checks will be staffed primarily with SMAs. They will also have DWH should they decide to spin off both Tulsa nad AFW where they can do some light OH work and have line support.
As AMTs leave and are replaced by SMAs it makes Tulsa a more attractive buy for an MRO. Whether or not they actually do ever sell it doesnt matter, they will be able to if they want and in 2015 they can offer system protection as a means to get another concessionary contract in place. By 2015 those without ststem protection will outnumber those with system protection. The company will get out of the Pension business in exchange for System Protection.
The Vermont Plan will be complete, without ever filing for BK.