June 9, 2012
A MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIRMAN:

The negotiating schedule and demands of preparation meetings over the past week did not permit me the opportunity to write my normal Friday brief, but I want to provide an update now. Negotiations are ongoing this weekend and we remain committed to meeting our June 15 goal for agreement on the terms of the Joint Collective Bargaining Agreement. As is typically the case in end-game style negotiations, a lot of issues are on the table at once and a lot of activity occurs behind the scenes. With the pace and complexity involved, as well as the evolving nature of the work, it is not possible nor desirable to provide updates as frequently as many of our pilots understandably would like. I realize the pilots’ keen interest in the negotiations and the need for information. The situation is just too fluid to communicate meaningfully and as I have said before, it would be a disservice to our pilot group to take them on an emotional roller-coaster ride through the ups and downs that are a normal part of negotiations. The NMB mediators have also made their views on communications quite clear to us. I can only say that although progress is being made, it never seems to be fast enough, and it won’t be fast enough until the deal is done. Your union leadership, the JNC and all the volunteers we have working this project remain fully committed to doing the work necessary.

On the other side of the table, it seems that management has more time on their hands than we do. On Friday, I received the attached letter from Company Senior Vice President of Labor Relations Doug McKeen. Without dignifying the baseless accusations by repeating them, I will simply say this: We are, and always have been, fully aware of our obligations under the Railway Labor Act (RLA). To this point, we place the following statement at the conclusion of the Position Report each week and will continue to do so:

“The Continental pilots are justifiably angry about the slow pace of negotiations. The CAL MEC asks you not to take your feelings about the negotiations into our work as pilots – whether it’s unnecessarily calling in sick or fatigued, or, when at work, changing your normal way of operating in the hopes that this will put pressure on the Company. If pilots engaged in such activities, they could delay an agreement while the Company deals with us in court rather than at the bargaining table. These actions could give the court an excuse to put mediation or a release on hold. They could lead to heavy fines and claims for damages against the Association and discipline and fines or damages against individual pilots.”

We understand our legal obligations. I am left to wonder if management understands their obligations to us. I remind management that in addition to status quo obligations, the RLA also contemplates negotiations designed to get a deal done. I suggest that instead of making implicative threats, they get to work on a proposal that recognizes our pilots’ value.

I responded to Mr. McKeen’s letter this evening. In my letter, I reminded him that ALPA remains “… committed to completing a Joint Collective Bargaining Agreement by June 15 or seeking a release from the NMB. The RLA does not bar us from setting internal goals or from communicating about those goals. The CAL MEC firmly believes the Company should do its part to complete bargaining by that date, and we remain convinced that it is appropriate to continue to seek a release from the NMB if we have not seen sufficient progress toward such an agreement by that date.”

I closed the letter with the following statement: “I submit that both parties can spend our time and energy most productively by focusing on how we can reach agreement in principle on a Joint Collective Bargaining Agreement by June 15, 2012.”

I hope you have a great weekend. Your union will be hard at work to complete the project you sent us to New York to do. I hope management will focus on that and stop their foolishness. Let’s get back to work.