The America West pilots were well aware of who was being brought in to talk to them and who wasn't(UA/AAA). They weren't impressed by either the CO or FDX guys. AWAPA(the in-house you are referring to) was defeated because it was largely run by a bunch of loudmouth incompetents, many of whom had been booted out of union positions previously. Their finances and facts did lineup or ring true with the line pilots. Much like the current USAPA drive, their best leverage was the lack of a contract at America West. This was also due to Woerth because he made it clear to the America West's MEC that he would never authorize the strike fund to be released to AmWest. He had done this previously at a few regionals: Trans States, ACA and hints that he did at Air Wis as well. This is a huge deal as it handcuffs your negotiating team, although no one here was interested in hearing about it during our contract negotiations. Anyway, Doug Parker can end the USAPA drive at anytime by agreeing to a TA on a combined contract. There is no way that 51% of the combined groups don't vote yes on any TA that contains even modest improvements. That will further legitimize the seniority list that the Rice Commission just upheld, and make USAPA incredibly irrelevant.