Originally Posted by B757200ER
As for ALPA, don't count on them for any legal, financial or political support whatsoever. You and your pilot group will be on your own, trust me. I have first-hand experience with that.
Correct........ALPA National will not take sides in a Merger between 2 ALPA represented Pilot groups that are merging....It would be a Conflict of Interest.....Just look at USAir (AAA) and former AmericaWest. It is and will be between the 2 merging MECs and the Arbitrator.
The Furloughed USAir Pilots with Dates of Hire back to 1987....(in my opinion)will not be Senior to an America WEST Capt with a 1989 Date of hire.
Almost all ALPA to ALPA mergers go to a nuetral Arbitrators.......Both sides present their cases to the Arbitrator and make their arguments and present their merger formulas. The Nuetral Arbitrator makes a binding decision on how the merger integration goes...............it becomes LAW.
Then both former groups sit in the cockpits of merged airframes and argue/B*tch for the rest of their careers on how they each got Scr**ed by the other side. Often there are some pretty hard feelings that only go away with retirement. Been down that road.....................
If a NON-ALPA carrier merges with a ALPA represented carrier, then ALPA National will provide all the Legal assistance needed.
TWA and AMR is one example where that did not really happen. There are many stories as to why. I do not know myself as I was not involved. I was told it was due to the fact that with TWA in Bankruptcy, the TWA Pilots had to make a choice. Take their chances with the company's survival on it's own..........or take a agree to void their contracts SCOPE/Successorship clause and take their chances with APA doing a
fair integration.
Fair is in the eyes of the beholder. I have no dog in that fight, but Almost all of the Former TWA pilots are furloughed or close to it.