Originally Posted by
Bartender
Your buddy Sailingfun, who was in the DALPA "inner circle" says it doesn't matter what ASA and CMR did. He says ALPA doesn't control mergers and can't force them. He says it is purely a management function and wouldn't have happened regardless of a pre-nup. What say you?
It was by no means a sure thing. ALPA policy is great, but we can't just decree that all airlines hereby shall be merged and then go tell management to make it so. It has to be in CBA(s) and it has to be fought for. The DL/AS/CM scenario would have required a lot more than a procedural PID resulting in a decree from the union to the company to "make it so". A lot more.
The timing was perfect though. DL and CMR had the leverages of a strike, ASA wasn't too far behind and all three books were open.
But when ASA/CMR tried to get more than a staple and hiding behind "the process" the group with the most leverage (and the one that would have had to pay the most in bargaining to facilitate something like that) was completely alienated. The other 2 groups stubbornly stuck to their greedy little fantasies and decided to "go for it" within ALPA and then in the courts.
Then the big recession/attacks happened and DL furloughed over 1000 and ASA/CMR hired many thousands. This was masked by the emotionality of the resignation issue to become a new hire at the bottom, but the whole thing was a dysfunctional mess for everyone. Throughout it all, ASA/CMR thought they had the upper hand and leverage and that the courts would grant them seniority to fly DL mainline equipment.
Fast forward several years and ASA got sold to SkyWest, CMR is gone and DL is hiring thousands.
It may or may not have ever happened. There were a lot of variables at play and a lot of check valves to get past in the flow chart. It would have cost money to do as well. You don't just tell management "hey guess what we just decided you're going to do".
And that money would have mostly came from DALPA and DL management at contract time. DALPA and DL management had all the leverage. All of it. It could have still possibly happened if handled right. But if it was even going to be seriously tried by all parties, an iron clad staple prenup was the
only way it would have stood a chance. Essentially suing to get in front of an arbitrator to "go for it" instantly tanked the effort.