Originally Posted by
flybywire44
It's good that you hope obstinately. This is especially important during emergency landings, CAT 3 Approaches, and other critical situations where it all rests on your shoulders! easglefly has grown cold toward the Nic award. Eaglefly may believe Nic is the morally sound course of action, but the PA has objectively changed the landscape. Still you poo poo him.
Cacti, you stated: "what was the "intent" of the contracts that were made?" We live in a world where sometimes contracts are meant to be broken. Sometimes groups of people sign things they will make every effort to eventually renege on. Social security is a great example.
Yes, the airlines US Airways merged with American in 2005. But the then technically controlling US/AMWest TA evaporated with the AA/US MOU.
But what's more important than that may be the idea that arbitrators respond to incentive. (Hang on, we're zooming out again.) There are relatively fewer airlines remaining. It's more important than ever that arbitrators, who are chosen based on prior rulings, be considerate to the fact that companies, and unions often hire them with preference to past performance.
Beyond this merger American, and APA will shop for arbitrators again. It would be out side of an arbitrators best interests to upset American and APA with the Nicolau award.
Does this make sense? Incentives are a fairly simple concept. Ie. you love Nic because it incentives you, not because it was an "agreement." If you were a mid seniority East pilot who has ridden the coat tails of USAPA to fly the a330, and then upgrade on the a319 you'd be anti-Nic too! It's all incentives baby!
Lets hope for a mutually beneficial outcome. We need West, East, and AA pilots to all come out ahead on this one. You hoping for anything else may be more self serving here than you realize. We need a socialized arbitration award, and I full believe we will get one because arbitrators may be incentivized by AMR and APA's desires for social harmonization of labor.
Okay, I'm off to accomplish something tangible! God bless you Cacti.
Hang in there everyone!
I'm probably the most misunderstood person on this forum. I've never thought the Nic in and of itself was fair, but then again life isn't fair. My criticisms of USAPA (not East pilots, per se) were (and still are) their complete unwillingness to stand by virtually anything the agree to. I find their conduct objectionable and repugnant. If the arbitrators here embrace the Nic at the expense of the majority, so be it.
As I stated before, the West really has NO alternative but to not recognize any US Airways list besides the Nic as a valid starting point for integration with AA pilots. To do so, would simply be their own admission it's not required to be applicable in this or any other integration and they'd invalidate it before it even had a real chance for consideration. They're committed and since the East negotiators NEVER will accept the Nic, it will be the arbitrators who decide its weight and IMO, considering THESE circumstances and not any previous unfulfilled hypotheticals.
Should the arbitrators not use the Nic (and let's be clear, there is only the Nic or no Nic - "some" similarities of the Nic in the final award is NOT the Nic), I don't see who West pilots could sue for DFR....well, at least win a DFR suit. Not APA and I'm not sure what blood could be siphoned out of a defunct union that will be financially "busted flat in Baton Rouge" at the point of any DFR judgement.