DFR Law Suit Settlement
Comair and ASA pilots have been involved in a DFR lawsuit against ALPA for several years. This lawsuit was recently (3 months ago) settled by ALPA in a negotiated settlement. The pilots won a financial award plus the policy amendments they were seeking. The attorney representing these pilots is the same attorney that is representing the MDA pilots in their DFR law suit against ALPA.
If the negotiated settlement by ALPA is a shock to you (or is, at the least, news) then maybe you should ask yourself – why? Don’t you think that ALPA should have informed you that they were being sued and had negotiated a settlement? Don’t you think that an agency representing YOU should disclose the fact that they were in court being sued? Do you think you would even know about the MDA lawsuit is it weren’t for the MDA pilots making it public?
This Comair and ASA DFR lawsuit is considered a sister suit to the MDA law suit. Both have followed nearly identical legal paths and using the same attorney. ALPA was in court on March 7, 2008 trying to argue that the MDA lawsuit should be dismissed. This resulted in the magistrate judge ruling that the case should proceed to disclosure thus reversing a prior ruling. This gives the green light for the MDA lawsuit to proceed while they await the decision of the Federal Judge to proceed to full litigation.
But, the point is that we believe you should have been kept informed of all this legal action against ALPA. ALPA should have kept the membership informed. And you should have been especially informed when ALPA settled a case against them because it is YOUR money that they have lost. The settlement included a considerable financial award plus those items listed below. The untold costs for litigation where all paid for with your dues dollars. – YOUR dollars thrown away to defend ALPA’s admitted mistakes.
We can promise that you will be kept fully informed as the MDA lawsuit progresses. You have a right to know the results of the mistakes made by your collective bargaining agent.
The following information is provided by the attorney representing the Comair and ASA pilots. These are the facts ALPA should have reported to you:
Both ALPA's Executive Council and its Executive Board approved an agreement that provides for important and unprecedented additions to ALPA's bargaining procedures and resolves the litigations brought by the ASA and Comair pilots.
The agreement calls for significant additions to ALPA's internal policies and practices, including:
1. Mandatory pre-bargaining disclosure between mainline/express pilot groups.
2. The ability of mainline/express negotiating committees to consult with each other on proposed scope bargaining plans.
3. Review of scope goals and scope bargaining proposals by a special subcommittee of the national collective bargaining committee.
In addition to the monetary component of the settlement in the Comair and ASA cases, ALPA's Administrative Manual will be modified in certain key respects. The following language details those modifications.
____________________
Policy Additions
1. On the Effective Date, the following additions to ALPA’s Administrative Manual, Section 40, Part 1 – Collective Bargaining Committee, as adopted by the ALPA Executive Board on October 23, 2007 subject to this Settlement becoming final, shall become effective:
I. The President shall appoint a subcommittee of the Collective Bargaining Committee dedicated to scope within extended airline families (the “Scope Subcommitteeâ€), subject to Executive Council approval of appointments.
1. The Scope Subcommittee is charged with pursuing the following general goals:
a. Increasing Association knowledge on the function and operations of scope
provisions.
b. Enhancing cooperation among ALPA pilot groups within each system of mainline and express carriers in formulation of scope proposals for protection and allocation of flying within that system.
2. In pursuing its assigned general goals, the Scope Subcommittee shall:
a. Comprehensively review and analyze (in conjunction with appropriate Association resources) existing scope clauses of both ALPA and non-ALPA carriers in terms of whether they advance scope goals with respect to the preservation and allocation of flying within extended airline systems.
b. Prepare guidelines with respect to standards and principles concerning scope negotiations, including but not limited to: (i) enhancing career protections and (ii) defending against use of alter egos. Further, the Scope Subcommittee may develop independent approaches to addressing scope language or concepts without necessarily being limited to existing scope language or concepts.
c. Track industry changes in scope clauses.
d. Develop contract models for scope clauses.
e. Consult with Negotiating Committees of ALPA pilot groups within the extended system prior to commencement of negotiations, as provided in subsection 3 below.
f. Communicate with non-ALPA pilot groups within the airline family on scope issues.
g. Be available to consult with Negotiating Committees during negotiations concerning scope, and receive updates on status of scope negotiations as provided in subsection 3 below.
h. Report regularly to the Executive Council, Executive Board and Board of Directors and recommend changes to ALPA policies as it deems necessary.
3. Prior to commencement of any bargaining for any ALPA pilot group within a mainline/express system, the applicable Negotiating Committee will meet with the Negotiating Committees of other ALPA pilot groups in the mainline/express system to review opening scope proposals and how they advance ALPA’s scope goals and guidelines. The committees will work with each other to develop a consensus on proposals; if, however, they are unable to do so, subsection 3a below will apply.
a. Following consultation as specified above, and prior to submission of the scope proposal to the airline, the applicable Negotiating Committee will report to the Scope Subcommittee that ALPA pilot groups have consulted with one another and have or have not reached consensus that the planned scope proposal meets ALPA’s scope goals and guidelines; if the latter, Negotiating Committees of the other ALPA pilot groups in the system can submit statements of agreement or disagreement to the Scope Subcommittee, which can recommend changes following consultation with the Negotiating Committees involved.
b. The applicable Negotiating Committee and ALPA pilot groups within the mainline/express system will develop in conjunction with the opening proposal agreed reporting benchmarks with respect to developments in on-going scope negotiations which will require that the Negotiating Committee provide updates on the status of scope negotiations to the Scope Subcommittee. In the absence of consensual agreements concerning benchmarks, the Scope Subcommittee will determine reporting benchmarks.
4. During the period that final approval of a collective bargaining agreement is subject to Presidential review under the Constitution and Bylaws, MEC designated representatives of all ALPA pilot groups within the mainline/express system may submit comments prior to the Presidential signature concerning conformity of negotiated scope provisions with recommendations of the Scope Subcommittee and Association policy.
Thanks.
M.S.H. ESQ.
But an interesting read.
