“Can” but not “shall”.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m in favor of the idea and think both the individuals and the company benefit, but citing it as a part of the contract and implying that is legally binding on the company is not correct. It’s permissive without being compulsory, but the company is ALREADY permitted to establish its own standards for acceptable applicants including whether or not they can give priority to the furloughed or soon to be unemployed personnel from a competitor regardless. It’s like asking “why United?” at an interview. If the company wants to declare “because I was just furloughed from another ALPA pilot group” the proper answer, they really don’t need a separate provision in the CBA to do it.