August 30, 2012



My Fellow Pilots,



Our Tentative Agreement remains elusive. We continue to comply with the National Mediation Board’s (NMB) directives and the regulations that govern us. Unfortunately, 28 days have passed since there has been any significant movement on the remaining non-economic issues, possibly due to management’s intentions to further delay the Joint Collective Bargaining Agreement (JCBA).



It is time to refocus our efforts and bring our plight to the public and to those friends who can help us. The NMB has recently returned its focus on our negotiations while we are still without closure on all of the contractual issues that were open when it left us announcing an AIP on the major economic items. We languish without a Tentative Agreement (TA). We still suffer under an onerous bankruptcy contract while management feeds at the trough of cash we provided though our contract concessions and pension termination.



It is time for action. I ask you to help bring our message to all who will listen. We will perform informational picketing in front of the White House on Tuesday, September 4 from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Later in the week we will picket the domicile airports. We will continue to march in front of the White House, selected sites and airports every work day thereafter until we get a TA. We will not be deterred. This is an ambitious plan that will only be successful with your participation. You have done it before; now we need to do it some more.



It is time to make it count. How is that bankruptcy contract working for you? For your family? Please get involved and walk a picket line in Washington D.C., or in front of an airport near you next week. Further details will follow. I will see you there.