Originally Posted by
sweetholyjesus
My guess is some things are in the works. That's why no one is talking, for fear of being wrong when UAL reveals the verdict. But I've got to say, ARW's explanation of UAL's distressed carrier clause didn't make a whole lot of sense. There haven't been any layoffs or shutdowns here. What loose definition of distress are they talking about??
"Subject to other legal obligations, the Company shall make reasonable efforts to fill Pilot vacancies with the individuals who satisfy United’s hiring standards, who have previously worked for carriers represented by ALPA, and who are no longer working for those carriers for economic reasons such as lay-offs or the shutdown of that carrier. "
If your application says that you are were laid off by Air Wisconsin and unemployed, and the interviewer asks you where you work...what the heck do you say?
You are way overthinking this. 21.R is a contract provision. It can be interpreted. UAL and UAL MEC have decided to interpret it to encompass those carriers that will more than likely end up in the situation directly spoken to by this language. It is their right to do so, as it is the contract between their pilots and their management. Their MEC has worked out an agreement with their management to allow us to use this provision. The wording on airline apps or in the contract is irrelevant as far as we are concerned. UAL MEC gave us permission to check the box...period. Nobody in their MEC made this up. Their reputations and credibility with their company would be at stake too. It would hurt them far more than us.
United is not going to pull your app, score additional points on it because you selected the box, send out an interview request just to bring you in and ask why you selected the box. They know we aren't out of business. Believe me, they know exactly who is allowed to check that box. There are only a small number of ALPA carriers that have truly gone out of business and would qualify for that. If they see all 575 AWAC pilots select the box and they don't know why, believe me, they will find out and fix it. They aren't going to "blacklist" you for it. Again, your MEC told you to check the box. Either check the box or don't.