Originally Posted by
Slammer
Sled, good point on we will find out, but if you read the UA opening statement, especially the last few pages and understand their concept, it's a staple and flip the seniority job in the offering. It is too place furloughed pilots at UA ahead of CAL active pilots. Did not say intermingle with both pilot groups junior list, because of course all involuntary furloughed UA pilots have to be junior to the most current UA pilot. Effectively, swap positions with CAL junior pilots , intermingle with furloughed pilots and place them in the furlough risk window, when many are currently outside that window at CAL. If so what happens to the 97-99 hires ( bottom of UA active list)..they move up significantly in seniority. Now, here's the kicker. Your Merger committee is suppose to to that in these proceedings. If they said, we will place UA furloughed behind any active pilot, you guys would go crazy, because perhaps your committe is not representing all YOUR pilots. I would agree. Their allegiance is not to me or any other CALmpilot wrt to fair and equiteable seniority list, but the UA pilots...that's why the arbitrators will see through both sides maneuvering and render a fair and equitable list.
1) Furloughs ahead of active pilots is based on their longevity and career expectations. There is no ALPA merger policy about furlough risk prevention in the future. Both sides had furloughees at the time of the merger and CAL proposed placing their furloughees WELL ahead of active pilots, some with 12 years of active flying time at United. Its obviously not unheard of then to have that, since they were recommending it be done.
2) When you say 97-99 hires are going to "move up significantly" in seniority, they are actually going to move downward because of CAL pilots placed ahead of them. Their relative position is most certainly to improve. This is because of their longevity, career expectations, and status and category of the airplanes their side brought to the merger.
They aren't really "moving up". They are losing a few thousand numbers. Its not an apples to apples comparison obviously.
I do agree that the overall list will likely be very reasonable, and nothing like what CAL proposed. It will either be what UAL proposes, or something very close to it.
I expect my relative seniority to improve just to maintain my current career expectation. I think its apparent that all the other UAL people posting their "what would happen" if the CAL proposal was implemented (like retiring #4000 instead of #500. etc). Especially when the most junior Captains on each side at the time of the merger were placed about 3,000 seniority numbers apart from each other on the proposed combined list.
So much for "Captains should be merged with Captains".