You want to know the REAL reason DW is so hardover on the FE's coming back to the front seats?

Here is my guess. Assuming the law is written so as to prevent guys who have retired (guys who missed the cutoff date by one day) from having a claim to seniority rights at their former carrier, those guys are SOL. They will be suing everybody and their sister but the law will be what it is and the companies, the union and the government will be protected from lawsuits.

Now imagine that DW and FedEx ALPA are able to convince the lawmakers that since our FEs haven't retired, they are still on the seniority list and as such have the right to return to a front seat as their seniority allows on subsequent bids. So two guys who turned 60 the day before the rule changed, but just happen to work at different carriers (one FedEx and the other United say) have completely different outcomes under this legislation. One gets to go back to his front seat on the next bid and the other, because he didn't get the chance to fly in the back seat for one day, doesn't have any chance at getting back on his seniority list and returning to his seat.

Now imagine the lawsuits that will spring forth after that happens. And THAT, my friends and neighbors, would suit ALPA and DW just fine because they happen to agree with the age change from the beginning anyway. They see this as being an avenue to get all the guys who had to retire from carriers without a back seat back into the game at their former carriers. It would be a huge can of worms and it is precisely why the administrator and everybody else drafting the potential legislation has put in the provision preventing retroactivity.

Again, our MEC and ALPA National are simply trying to find a way to circumvent both the will of the majority of their membership and the folks who are trying to change the law in a manner that doesn't suit ALPA National.

Be very afraid folks, because they will stop at nothing (hence the need for the recall) to pursue their personal agenda.