Originally Posted by
Black Coffee
Southwest Airlines and AirTran Airways pilots overwhelmingly approved a plan to combine the seniority lists of the two carriers, with five out of six pilots voting in favor, their unions said Monday.
The approval clears the way for Southwest to begin bringing AirTran pilots and airplanes into Southwest Airlines, a process expected to begin in 2012 and be completed by the end of 2014.
The vote ratifies an agreement made two months ago by negotiators with the Southwest Airlines Pilots’ Association and the AirTran master executive council of the Air Line Pilots Association.
“I am extremely proud of our negotiators’ efforts to preserve and enhance the career value of every Southwest Airlines pilot and proud of our membership for demonstrating leadership by voting in favor of this negotiated list,” SWAPA president Steve Chase said.
“This agreement cements the bond between our pilot groups, and helps clear the path to the complete integration of the two airlines,” said Linden Hillman, MEC chairman at AirTran.
Because seniority helps determine rank, schedules, vacations and pay, a decision on how two labor groups are combined is among the most difficult issues in airline mergers.
ALPA and SWAPA negotiators had worked out an agreement July 16, but the ALPA master executive council voted a month later not to send it to its members for a vote. The two sides worked out a revised plan in September, and members began voting on it a month ago.
ALPA leaders told AirTran pilots in late September that Southwest officials had raised the possibility that if pilots didn’t agree to a seniority integration plan, Southwest might keep AirTran as a separate brand. The implication was that option would not be a good one for AirTran pilots.
According to the unions, 83.56 percent of Southwest pilots voting were in favor of the seniority plan, while 83.58 percent of AirTran pilots voting cast ballots for the plan. The unions said 95.1 percent of Southwest pilots voted, as did 93.99 percent of AirTran’s pilots.
Who do you think those "officials" were? The message was sent from GK, "If AT does not approve this, I will keep it a separate brand and strip the assets". On the SWA side it was "if you don't approve this deal I will whip saw AirTran against you"
Why is this so hard for some of you? Go look it up, Im not going to sit here and deliver the facts. Why do you think the approval numbers were so high on both sides? Because we were all told to eat it, or else.
I was not at SWA for those years. My understanding after speaking with several trannys is that the AirTran union never sent out the first offer for a vote. The second one was worse and approved.
Politics of how it went down aside, im not interested in who wronged who.
AirTran, Southwest pilots approve seniority deal
Business
By
Kelly Yamanouchi, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Nov 7, 2011Pilots at AirTran Airways and Southwest Airlines voted to approve a deal to combine their seniority lists, resolving a contentious issue and avoiding a setback that could have derailed the integration of the two carriers.
In voting that ran from Oct. 8 through Monday, 83.6 percent of the pilots that voted at each carrier cast ballots in favor of the deal. About 94 percent of the AirTran pilots and 95 percent of the Southwest pilots participated in the voting.
The deal will combine the roughly 1,700 AirTran pilots and 6,000 Southwest pilots onto a single seniority list and eventually bring significant pay increases to AirTran pilots.
AirTran pilots union leader Linden Hillman said in a written statement that the agreement "cements the bond between our two pilot groups, and helps clear the path to complete integration of the two carriers."
Dallas-based Southwest closed its acquisition of Orlando-based AirTran in May. AirTran's largest hub is in Atlanta and once integration is complete, the entire combined carrier will be known as Southwest.
Pilot seniority is a touchy issue in any airline merger, as it can determine their pay, work schedules and career prospects.
After a previous pilot seniority deal fell apart in August, a Southwest spokesman said if the company received a no vote on this deal, "it means that we cannot execute the original integration plan and we will have to reset." Southwest management was eager to see the new seniority deal approved to avoid going to arbitration.
The airline raised the possibility of a "Plan B" scenario, in which AirTran may not be fully integrated into Southwest as planned -- which could put AirTran pilot jobs at risk. A presentation to AirTran pilots by their union leadership laid out the Plan B scenario.
But with the deal approved Monday, AirTran pilots will gradually transition to Southwest pay rates and positions, starting next April and to be completed by the end of 2014, according to union documents. The first deal had included an increase for AirTran pilots to Southwest pay rates next year.
But AirTran pilots will retain their longevity with AirTran after they move to Southwest and would not be furloughed before the transition is complete, "unless prohibitive conditions occur."