"If one is involved in negotiations with a party that does not share the same tenets of good faith and honesty, those negotiations will ultimately fail. Today, our Negotiating Committee will travel to New York to engage a highly compensated management team in the hopes of achieving an industry-leading contract, which should work to the benefit of our company and our pilots. It is with deep regret that I share the sentiment that I am not optimistic about this week’s negotiations with Team Smisek. There is an inherent value to compensating and empowering frontline employees that Jeff Smisek has failed to consider to date.

"We have all listened to the Company’s lies and innuendo for the past two years. At sCAL, we have been inundated with visits from Flight Ops management representatives who claimed that the Company was offering “Delta plus a dollar”—a lie. We heard that we were a billion dollars apart on a $1.3 billion contract—another lie. We’ve heard Team Smisek indicate that we need a contract that is “fair” to the company, while Smisek deemed it “fair” to triple his own pay. These are the basics, folks; no need for any Freudian analysis of management’s behavior here.

"I do not wish to convey a sense of defeatism in my update to you. In contrast, I wish to convey my optimism that the 12,505 of us can achieve a true sense of dignity and respect that is vital to the soon-to-be returned viability of our company. Representing the IAH pilots has been, and continues to be, the greatest opportunity of my professional career—an opportunity that I take very seriously. In my honest opinion, we should have achieved a CBA during the negotiations that occurred June 4–15. We didn’t achieve this goal for the basic reason that the Company did not desire to do so. Make no bones about it, lCAL management resides in the house that Frank (Lorenzo) built, not the one that Bethune and Brenneman temporarily renovated. Every pilot who has the stomach to do so should pull the Ops frequency up on speaker during the preflight if they wish to witness the basic failure of Team Smisek and the detriment associated with flawed management from those who do not understand the basic tenets of leadership.

"Once again, when embracing the core tenets of leadership, the answer is very easy to discern. If you happen to be a CEO or union representative, you must wake and decide, every morning, whether you are willing to put your team’s needs above your own. From this rep’s vantage, I do believe that every sCAL and sUAL MEC rep understands this. I have stood shoulder to shoulder with my fellow reps from the sCAL and sUAL MECs and have been impressed with the dedication that they exude. I do not believe that an equitable contract is achievable for our pilots, barring release to self-help. Historically, the incestuous relationship between our (lCAL, ALPA) union leaders and management has been the thorn in the side of sCAL pilots. The Company has grown accustomed to said relationship, as has our union. Release is the only way to achieve a ratifiable contract. Be advised that if Captain Heppner had not realized this fact and acted upon it, release would not be a matter of discussion at the present time.

"Captain Hunter and I remain focused on an industry-leading contract for all 12,505 United pilots. We have not seen anything produced in these negotiations worthy of ratification. Be advised that we are ready for battle and will not concede to any contract that will not place us at the top of the food chain. The Houston pilots love our spouses and children just as much as Delta and Southwest pilots do; the Company’s current offer is lacking. If they are not willing to present a reasonable contract, Houston will reject said offer on behalf of 12,505 United pilots and look to provide an additional remedy.

LEC 171 Vice Chairman"