Originally Posted by RPC Unity

Sizzle, I realize that you were not there when FAPA attempted numerous times to "reach out" to the IBT. I was, so allow me to bring you up to speed.

In early 2011, prior to the representation election, FAPA leadership contacted the IBT Airline Division. There was a meeting in DC and a lengthy discussion regarding a Joint Council developed. The IBT AD even discussed delaying the representation election in an effort to do more work on the Joint Council idea.

Right out of the gate, the IBT was somewhat on-board with the Joint Council concept.

Shortly after that meeting, and before the second meeting was scheduled to occur (late May), RAH made it's first comments about divesting or splitting off Frontier.

That ended all communications about the Joint Council. The IBT realized that they would lose the property completely if they allowed a JC, so they changed their direction 180 degrees.

The IBT AD would no longer discuss a Joint Council. The best they could offer was a "Slate" for the Frontier Pilots on the upcoming Local 357 E-Board election.

Shortly after the "slate" concept was offered, there was another meeting between several FAPA members and the 357 Exco at their office in Indy.

The Slate concept was removed and replaced with a "Temporary Executive Council" (TEC). The TEC would be filled with Frontier pilots and those pilots would have control over the administration of their CBA.

The meeting in Indy lasted three days, and unfortunately bore not fruit for either group.

The IBT was not willing to afford the Frontier pilots ANY authority over their CBA.

The Joint Council became a Slate, the Slate became a TEC, and the TEC eventually became a "Steering Committee". One additional fun fact about the "Steering Committee" is the IBT has claimed that you must be a "member in good standing" to participate per "their C&B's". The IBT C&B's don't say anything of the sort, nor do the Local 357 By-laws. I cut and pasted that point to in an email to CM and DT, but they haven't bothered to respond.

The point about all of this is simple. DB and the IBT Airline Division do not want to lose Frontier. DT even discussed the ways Atlas and Polar merged their unions but he was unwilling to follow the same process at Frontier because he didn't have to. The fact that the IBT did exactly what FAPA was asking only a few months later with the AFA is just another slap in the face.

Why give up something when you can just take it via sheer numbers and a vote?

The IBT hasn't reached out once. Everytime FAPA has tried, the IBT has slammed the door in their face. I was there, and that is the truth.