Dear Jay,
I am in receipt of your latest brief to your members as well as your appeal letter to me linked in the brief. I am disappointed in the approach you took and the rhetoric chosen, as well as the serious omissions in both documents.
As you well know, every time our members have been responsible for allocation of a lump sum distribution at a major carrier our members have been subject to litigation, and in some cases that litigation has led to tens of millions in liability. The liability is typically imposed after the money has been distributed and, therefore, has to be satisfied out of the "the members" treasury. These types of suits can fundamentally threaten the Association and its resources, the same resources our members depend upon. Notwithstanding this ongoing exposure, we have continued to support each pilot groups right to decide how to allocate the lump sum payments achieved in JCBA. However, in order to protect the interests of the all pilots – and by extension the resources our members depend on – the pilots have adopted a policy to allow for mandatory internal appeals on MEC allocation decisions potentially inclusive of arbitration. These procedures give us a chance to assess its potential liability and help protect us from the claims of those who would question the fairness of an MEC allocation decision. The adoption of such procedures was crucial to our ability to secure liability insurance and significant departures from the explicit procedures of the policy could jeopardize our insurance coverage or undermine our position in court if we are sued. In addition, you failed to communicate that we were unable to secure the same indemnity provisions from UHC in previous contracts due to ongoing litigation.
As you also know, I made clear to you in December that the CAL group was eligible for the advance/early payment, you turned me down. I stand as a fiduciary with respect to our members resources and I am not willing to authorize further departures from a unanimously adopted, mandatory policy without having better knowledge of how the Pilots are exposed. To be clear this is a policy you supported and helped adopt. In this respect, I am not nearly as comfortable about the appeals we have or have yet to receive as you. As you know and did not communicate to your members we already have forty-five appeals with forty-four being from Continental Pilots. We respect their right to appeal and to the process as outlined to them. I never underestimate the potential of a large pool of money to draw attorneys with demands that their clients receive more. In any case, we are not talking about depriving any member of payments they are owed –we are, rather, talking about what will likely be just a few weeks-long delay in the final payment of the first tranche to meet the requirements of the policy. You also failed to communicate that we do not have the money, the money resides in the United Airlines Treasury.
You, of course, are free to criticize me for this decision. I except your criticism. That goes with the Office of the President and the responsibility and accountability of making tough responsible decisions for the benefit of our pilots. However, I take strong exception to your attack on the Association and its staff. The CAL pilots now have one of the very finest agreements in this industry, an agreement which is far better than any previous contract with CAL and which will provide increasingly better pay and working conditions every month into the foreseeable future. You well know that the staff resources provided by ALPA in support of the negotiation of the JCBA as well as our influence in securing the continuing assistance of the NMB at its highest levels were crucial in obtaining this contract. Without such resources and influence I have little doubt that CAL pilots would be in the same never-never land experienced by US Airways pilots for the last seven years.
I want the pilots to have their money now! I will work aggressively to expedite distribution while at the same time protecting all of our member from the potential liability created by the decisions (democratic governance) of the Continental Master Executive Council.

Best,

Lee Moak