Here are some facts about MDA that some of you may not be familiar with.
FACT ONE: There was not a single pilot at MDA who collected a salary from MDA and furlough pay at the same time. Some who were hired at MDA collected furlough pay while working at MDA but did not get paid by MDA. Others got MDA pay but their furlough pay stopped. Not a single pilot collected both. Of course, if MDA was really an ‘Express Carrier†or a ‘Wholly owner Carrier†or any airline other than USAirways then the pilots would have been able to get paid and collect their furlough pay too.
FACT TWO: Every employer in the USA must obtain an Employer Identification Number (EIN) which identifies them to the IRS. The EIN is a unique number that applies only to a single employer – in other words, no two companies can legally use the same EIN. Your W-2 contains USAirway’s EIN number. Your income is reported to the IRS through the use of USAirways EIN number and that same number becomes a part of your tax return. Basically, it identifies who your employer is:
USAirways EIN is 53-0218143. You can verify this by looking at your W-2.
Did you know that MidAtlantic’s EIN is also 53-0218143? The IRS has ruled that our pay from “MidAtlantic†was actually pay from USAirways even though USAirways went as far as to print ‘MidAtlantic Airways, PO Box 12346, Pittsburgh, PA 15231†on our W-2. This deception was the very root of the recent problem that some had with their money being erroneously removed from their DC pension fund. Only after they screamed foul did USAirways ‘discover’ that the pay they received at MidAtlantic was, in fact, from USAirways. The money has been promised to be reimbursed into their DC plan by USAirways. The pilots were ready to file a complaint with the IRS and the Feds. As far as I know they did not go that far prior to USAirways fixing the problem. The main point to remember is that the EIN number is USAirways and that no wholly owned or express carrier uses the same number – everybody else uses a different and unique number. Only MidAtlantic used the same EIN – Obviously, the reason is because MDA was USAirways.
FACT THREE: Did you know that up until December of 2003 every pilot employed at MidAtlantic was issued a MidAtlantic ID, a USAirways Express set of wings and a USAirways Express hat insignia. Then, in January of 2004, our Ids were replaced with a USAirways ID, we were given USAirways wings and USAiways hat insignia. The only difference between ‘mainline’ and MidAtlantic ID badges was that MDA had the word MidAtlantic printed in small letters above our employee number. Otherwise, they were identical and very different than the originally issued ID badges. The question is: What happen in that 30 day period that caused such a drastic change in policy? Is it merely coincidence that in January of 2004 we discovered our EIN was USAirways and that the SSO operation that ‘processed’ our checks was nothing other than a payroll service located in Harrisburg, PA? Was it merely coincidence that USAirways made this decision after ALPA was inundated with emails demanding action and to enforce an official recall from the APL?
Here’s the amazing part: I have two emails from this time period that are almost comical. One is from Bill Pollock who responded to me by saying, “Stop sending me this silly sh_tâ€. His email was in response to my warning him that his present course of action was likely going to result in legal action against ALPA. The other is from an MEC member (at the time) who wrote, “Look at your pay stub. It says MidAtlantic on it. You are MidAtlantic. You are not USAirways.â€
Obviously, ALPA has since stopped denying that MidAtlantic was USAirways. But do you know what it took for them to finally admit it? Is it merely coincidence that it happen right after Jerry Glass testified under oath that, “MidAtlantic is and always was USAirways. The E-170 aircraft are nothing other than a fleet type at USAirways.†Mr. Glass stated this in response to a direct question from the arbitrator.
FACT FOUR: Did you know that ALPAs entire argument in court has now boiled down to their statement that even though they did all these things, the MDA pilots were aware of what MidAtlantic really was and that we knew it was USAirways all throughout this time period. Now, picture me standing in front of an MDA E-170. Let your eyes look up at the fuselage and read what it says: “USAirways Expressâ€. Consider FACTS TWO and THREE above. Remember that MidAtlantic was managed by Bruce Ashby who was president of USAirways Express but the chief pilot was a USAirways mainline employee (Frank Blazina). MDA benefits were USAirways mainline benefits but were managed by a third party ‘Special Services Organization’ (SSO). Remember that the FAA shut down all training at MDA and sent the pilots home when they learned that USAirways was attempting to operate MDA separately from USAirways mainline when both shared the identical FAA part 121 operating certificate. So ALPA says there was no need to disclose because the pilots already knew????? I wish I could show you the dozens of news releases that were printed during that time period – they all refer to ‘MidAtlantic Airlines’ as though it really existed. These articles are actually a part of the ongoing lawsuit and can’t be released here but if you do a Google Search you will discover some of them on your own. ALPA did nothing to resolve the issue and they did everything to make it worse. Even their own Negotiating Committee Member warned them that their actions were in violation of their own by-laws and Bill Pollock responded by saying, “I guess I’m going to have to answer for this in court some dayâ€. Bill Pollock did not have a clue as to how right he was with that statement. Bill Pollock is now a member of the Concerned Pilots Association which is nothing other than an ALPA sponsored and ALPA funded organization designed to con you into thinking they are separate from ALPA. Don’t be fooled. If anything, ask them why they are spending your dues money to fund this organization???
FACT FIVE: Did you know that USAirways did not have (and still does not have) a flow-through agreement of any type? No one was able to flow up to a USAirways pilot job from any of our wholly owned carriers or USAirways express carriers. And yet, USAirways offered flying jobs to pilots from Allegany and from Piedmont airlines to fill pilot positions in the E-170. The affected MECs quietly negotiated a ‘deal’ in which these pilots were offered top of scale F/O pay to fly the E-170 and were offered their existing relative seniority. One hundred and two of them accepted the offer and they have since been called CEL pilots. At first, these CEL pilots were not included on the USAirways seniority list. The change occurred only after ALPA finally admitted, under much pressure and indisputable proof, that MDA was USAirways. They then altered the official seniority list to include these CEL pilots as USAirways mainline pilots. This was a well deserved move for these CEL pilots who took the leap of faith to come to USAirways. Many of these pilots were captains earning about $100,000 per year in their prior job. It took many months of persuasive arguing with ALPA and USAirways to finally get the seniority list fixed. Prior to this the seniority list was flawed in two ways - it incorrectly listed the MDA pilots as furloughed and it did not include the CEL pilots. Both of these were fixed and the amended seniority list was published as the official seniority list in 2004.
FACT SIX: Did you know that the CEL pilots had to attend a full INDOC class when they were hired by ‘MidAtlantic’ but the ‘furloughed’ pilots did not. The CEL pilots were issued new employee numbers. These same employee numbers are currently being used by these pilots now that they have been officially recalled to ‘mainline’. Coincidence? - Need I say more?
IT IS VITAL to remember that during this time period there were several working variations of the seniority list floating around– none were official and none were published. But George Nicolau was handed one of these unofficial and flawed seniority lists that the AWA attorney reportedly obtained from someone in resource planning. The ALPA attorney (Dan Katz) who represented USAirways East allowed this flawed and unofficial list to be used by Nicolau. Nicolau not only used it but he made numerous references to it in his written decision. The pilot neutral member of that arbitration published a dissenting opinion stating that the seniority list was flawed and should not have been used. He objected to Nicolau making reference to that list. ALPA failed to take action.
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