Not to pick on the above-quoted poster personally, or this particular post specifically, but it does serve as a general illustration of the East pilots' history regarding DOH; which is to say, they have flip-flopped on this issue more than John Kerry and Mitt Romney combined.
The general attitude of the East pilots is that "Date of Hire is the only fair way to integrate a seniority list...as long as it benefits me."
(And it certainly isn't difficult to read an East's pilots posts on the subject, and figure out where he or she is on the list relative to the Empire and Shuttle pilots, is it?)
Up until now, they have been able to argue either for or against DOH, depending on what was of most benefit to them at the time, in individual cases, that were spaced out by a couple of years.
DOH?
1986 - Empire - No
1988 - AAA/PSA - Yes
1989 - AAA/PAI - AAA Yes; PAI No
1995 - UAL v1.0 - Yes
1998 - US Shuttle - No
2000 - UAL v2.0 - Yes
2005 - AWA - Yes
2006 - DAL - Yes
2007 - UAL v3.0 - Yes
But now they find themselves fighting the DOH battle on two very different fronts, and at the same time.
2008 - USAPA - AAA Yes; PAI Yes; AWA Yes; Empire No; Shuttle No
If nothing else comes of the Empire/Shuttle lawsuit, it will be very interesting to see how the East pilots -- and I do mean the East pilots, not just USAPA -- will be able to argue for DOH and against DOH at the same time.
Actually, your list is very enlightening in that the AAA pilot group has been very consistent throughout the whole process in advocating DOH as had been the PAI group in advocating against.
1986 - Empire and PAI - Empire stapled (this poster found that unfair)
1988 - AAA and PSA - agreed DOH
1989 - AAA and PAI - DOH prevailed, but PAI sought slotting
1995 - UAL One - AAA sought DOH
1998 - Trump Shuttle - AAA pilots (not all of MEC) sought Trump DOH; Trump pilots countered with seeking EAL DOH; compromised by arbitrating.
2000 - UAL Two - AAA sought DOH
2005 - AWA - AAA sought DOH
2006 - DAL - AAA sought DOH
2007 - UAL Three - AAA sought DOH
2008 - New CBA, USAPA, seeks DOH
That's pretty consistent. The one merger that was stapled was NOT an AAA merger. And the other non-DOH merger was settled by arbitration in light of the fact that one side had two different DOHs, neither one of which would have been fair.
So, thank you for the history lesson. The AAA ALPA MEC had been a consistent DOH advocate, and USAPA has taken up that mantle.