Originally Posted by
Carl Spakler
pssst...carl...I don't want to embarrass you but just between friends...
You fly a big plane. That doesn't mean you're a lawyer. The DPA/USAPA lawyer was very clear in court transcripts and on video. He consistently made the unqualified claim that seniority is subject to negotiation.
Rakestraw happened at UAL long after scabs had been using their originally assigned seniority numbers. The court changed their number nonetheless.
Your theory makes common sense from a pilot's operational point of view, but it is not what the DPA/USAPA lawyer argued, nor is it what the courts have found.
I fly a little airplane, and I'm not a lawyer, but like to play one, so I'll ask for Carl. Where has there been a case where an arbitrated seniority list was changed by "negotiation" after operations were merged?
If that happened, doesn't it open up the negotiating agent to multiple claims of violations of their duty to fairly represent each and every member who lost seniority on the new list?
Just asking.