Relying on a "third party neutral" to decide something as important as a seniority integration when merging two airlines together is a giant "cop-out". ALPA constantly sought to "cover their ass" legally, with their ever changing "merger policies". That's why they are gone. Screw them, West and East should have been locked in a room and thrown red meat until a contact emerged, a vote taken on the results and the inevitable law suits filed. The then "ripe" DFR claims could have been decided by the courts who, as it turns out, we all agree will ultimately make the decision anyway. By now we would all be pulling this wagon in the same direction and both sides would be (hopefully) equally pissed off (as in any "fair" seniority merger), instead of this protracted exercise in self destruction, while the "Dudes" who run this company and pay themselves industry leading wages, while doing so, laugh at us all the way to the bank! We are PILOTS, they are pencil necked bean counters, we should have slugged this out by now and gotten on with the business of moving the metal! Which by the way, is all we have ever been hired to do.
seajay