Originally Posted by
mike734
Great points but I don't see how the two will be related when push comes to shove. The negotiator pilots at VX will be charged with getting the best integration they can for their guys. Without a mutual agreement, it will go to arbitration. I don't think the arbitrator will take the other aspects of the merger in to account. It's going to be an interesting few months.
Why not? Our contract was decided by a 3-panel arbitrator panel, one of those guys was Richard Bloch. He did Delta/Northwest SLI and Pinnacle/Mesaba/Colgan SLI. In the 3-way regional merger, his decision said:
"…carefully weigh all the equities inherent in their merger situation. In joint session, the merger representative should attempt to match equities to various methods of integration until a fair and equitable integrated seniority list is reached. Factors to be considered in constructing a fair and equitable seniority list, in no particular order and with no particular weight shall include but not be limited to the following: Career Expectations. Longevity. Status and Category"
and in the discussion part of his decision:
"The Mesaba CBA meaningfully influenced, and dramatically benefited, their merger colleagues. The wage gains for Colgan and Pinnacle, 37.5 percent and 24.1 percent, respectively, over the life of the agreement (3.1 percent for Mesaba pilots) reflect a compensation raft that rose in response to clear pressure from the Mesaba contract."
and
"The Pinnacle pilots, by contrast, had, at the time of the merger, been unsuccessful in renewing a contract and, while the PCL representatives suggest a new agreement would have been obtained in short order, this is speculative and ultimately not compelling when compared to the strong contractual framework brought by the Mesaba pilots, including the meaningful wage enhancements and more demanding staffing requirements that directly impacted the merged workforces’ security and job opportunities. The Colgan pilots arrived at the merger with no contract -- they had been operating under a management promulgated handbook."
and
"Mesaba pilots also brought a contract that, beyond its more lucrative wage rates, provided staffing ratios that were adopted as part of the new JCBA and that will serve well the combined pilot work forces. Both in terms of CRJ-900s and -200s Captains, Mesaba’s staffing rations were meaningfully better than Pinnacle’s."
So just relax and the let the process play itself out. If it goes to arbitration, all is not lost for AS. ALPA merger policy requires looking at longevity. And as contract/pay/staffing discussions show above my Richard Bloch in a previous SLI, that matters too.