Originally Posted by
Wasatch Phantom
Bar,
I hate being lied to as well...
But (correct me if I'm wrong) TWA pilots sued ALPA because they felt ALPA had failed in their duty to fairly represent the TWA pilots in their SLI negotiations with AMR and APA.
They won the lawsuit,and in addition, ALPA was found guilty of destroying evidence.
I consider ALPA's actions (with respect to both the SLI negotiations and the ensuing lawsuit ) to be a he** of a lot worse than one email sent by DPA which may (or may not) be stretching things a bit.
Wasatch ... I agree. Guess my temperance is based on an understanding that there is a whole lot of grey in the TWA claims:
- The TWA pilots agreed to waive their Section 1. The TWA had resolved to get independent counsel and maintain their stand on Section 1. But, then they changed their mind. The core of the allegation was tainted legal advice ...
- We have no idea how SLI might have been handled if the TWA pilots had not voluntarily waived their rights. Other TWA employee groups got every possible outcome, from DOH to a staple. There is not a convenient example to point at for a "me too" type analysis of damages.
- American itself in in bankruptcy. What is the future value of a American seniority number?
- Could it be that Comair's DFR suit is an accurate benchmark of the valuation of the TWA claims?
In the small World that is lawyering for clients under the RLA, there was some bad legal advice going around which was driven by politics more than law. How a experienced MEC like TWA got rolled will be a mystery to me. But, it was their job to represent the TWA pilots. Somehow they managed to side step the mistakes they committed and won on a kind of out there conspiracy theory. That's luck.
There is also some law that we don't know the answer to. Specifically, would a Judge invalidate a non pecuniary job protection provision in bankruptcy? Until now the remedy to pecuniary problems in bankruptcy has been an adjustment of pay and benefits within the PWA, not a forced revision of scope. No Judge has yet to break that precedent, but lawyers being lawyers advise their client truthfully "it is possible" despite how unlikely it is that a Judge would force outsourcing.
I think the TWA guys should have gotten better than they did, but I'm not sure how much ALPA did and how much they did to themselves that ALPA will ultimately be held responsible for.