Eric,
Here is for the guys that don't understand the process we are now in. First, there is complete transparency in committee appointees. It was announced in an Officer Update that the appointees for committees are listed on the yellow pages.
Now on to the bigger issue of putting West members on committees. Gary ran on the position that there was only one issue that we disagreed on with the West and that was seniority. Therefore, we need to get the West involved if we are to be successful going forward. That has the support of the majority of our pilots. It is also already having positive results.
Even on the merger committee it is now appropriate for a West member to be on the committee. The Nicolau Award will be defeated one of two ways. First, it will be defeated in court, either in PHX or at the 9th Circuit. Don't take my word for it, ask Mike Gillies what he has been told by our attorneys. The merger committee we appoint will have no bearing in how this court case plays out, it is in the hands of our attorneys. Second, it has no bearing in a merger with AA. Even the West would have to agree that it only resides in the TA between East and West as a negotiating position to be used in a joint East/West contract. That contract will never happen and the TA will drop dead. There will be a new TA between APA, USAPA, and LCC which dictates McCaskill- Bond Arbitration if we can not negotiate seniority. Therefore, the West has as much of a right to be represented at the table as the PHL pilots concerning the conditions and restrictions that we put forward. And by the way, there is going to be a PHL pilot on the committee. If you want to subject USAPA and our pilot group to a DFR lawsuit, go ahead and attempt to negotiate a new list with APA without West representation. Our constitutionally mandated position is DOH with conditions and restrictions.
Now, if someone still believes that one person on a committee can change the constitution and somehow get 2/3 of our pilot group to vote for the change, they are just not dealing with reality. It is nothing more than using fear to motivate our pilot group by taking advantage of their ignorance of the situation. In other words, more Cleary style politics of "creating a crisis so that we are the only ones that can save you". If someone is running on this, it is a sign of their ignorance of the situation or their willingness to lie to the pilot group for personal gain.
You can be fearful out of ignorance and be taken advantage of or you can have courage out of knowledge. I prefer the latter.
Jamie A. Weidner
looking for donations to form the east's version of AOL. When the possibility of usapa exists no longer as a CBA, money from the east and west will dry up and fast... 
