Sent: Friday, October 24, 2008 6:53 AM
Subject: DC hearing info
these are another pilots observations about the sen. list hearings in DC..
All,
I along w/10-20 NWA pilots observed today's arbitration
proceedings. Not a single pilot from DAL was there. Lee
Moak was in the audience & that was it other than their
Merger Committee.
I am going to summarize what happened today--it was
EVENTFUL. Be forgiving of my spelling mistakes, etc.
First, some personal observations: anyone who thinks Dave
Stevens or any pilot or staffer associated w/the Seniority
Arbitration might be trying to sell out the Junior NWA
pilots is just wrong. If you believe that, you need to find
time to attend a session. You will witness 1st hand the
time, effort, preparation, & professionalism of ALL
involved. 3 of our witnesses who testified today were a
747-400 Captain & 2 A330 Captains. They weren't doing this
for themselves. As senior WB Captains, they are pretty
secure. Instead, they were sacrificing their personal time
for the ENTIRE pilot group in general & for the junior
pilots in particular.
The specifics:
1)The day started w/A320 F/O Merger Committee Member Lane
Kranz being cross examined. Not only did Lane hold up well,
but he got under the skin of the DAL lawyer enough that the
lawyer was not only rude to Lane, but to most of the
witnesses today.
2)The second witness was the cross examination of Dr
Campbell, our economist. He literally kicked butt...again.
Not only did he answer everything, but he corrected the DAL
lawyers at times, he did not give an inch & he knew his
stuff. At one point, the DAL lawyer was trying to downplay
the value of our operations in Asia & Dr Campbell reiterated
the price UAL paid for Pan Am's Pacific operation in the
'80s--close to $885M I think, then stated how the rest of
the industry thought UAL got a screaming deal. The DAL
lawyer just had his jaw drop & didn't know how to respond.
The peanut gallery (us pilots) definitely noticed & we
quietly laughed at the exchange.
3)Merger Committee Member Eric Neuman was next & gave a
great summary & presentation of our proposed list. It was
an "improved" Robert's Award. Date of Hire w/restrictions &
protections. He gave the broad brush & of the list & then
details of why it was fair--compared seniorities on planes
from WB Capt, WB F/O, NB Capt, & NB F/O. Cross was saved
until later...
4)Bill Dollaway gave a rundown comparison on the contracts
pre-merger & post merger. He was extremely effective in
tearing down DAL ALPA's argument that this was a financial
windfall for the NWA pilots & we should be willing to trade
money for our seniority. Much of DAL's bravado had been
about the higher hourly rates. Bill not only demonstrated
hourly rate isn't everything, but said that DAL never would
have even gotten LOA 19 improvements had it not been for NWA
pilots & the outlook of a merger. NWA was bringing
something to the party, both groups were benefiting, &
hourly pay rates aren't all that make a W-2. Cross withheld
& DAL lawyer said lots of nasty things in his comments.
5)Greg Averill--the coup de gras--THIS WAS AMAZING TO WATCH.
Greg took the DAL proposal, & tore i t apart piece by piece.
Every condition DAL had, he systematically & convincingly
demonstrated it was designed to benefit DAL at the detriment
of NWA Pilots. For example, DAL had no real plans for
sharing growth. They also wanted their 777 on order to be
considered as theirs while our 787s (on firm order in 2005)
would be new flying to be "shared" between pilot groups.
They had no plan for replacement aircraft. Greg eloquently
spoke of the earlier video showing how the DAL plan allowed
them to take advantage of all our retirements as well as
theirs. The video was shown at the beginning of the day to
demonstrate how much more attrition we have than DAL has in
the future.
If you haven't heard, our List as presented was similar to
the Robert's Award w/a 10 year fence after SOC based on
staffing & planes on order.
The DAL case was based on our two companies not being equal.
If you have read the transcripts of the DAL witnesses, one
would have to wonder why DAL Mgmt would ever want NWA as a
partner. Our case was based on the two companies being
equals. Not like DAL & Pan Am, not like AMR & TWA, not like
American West & US Air, etc.
About 8 PM, Chairman Bloch said he wanted to talk to his
colleagues & then would reconvene in about 20 minutes.
Thinking this was procedural, I made the mistake of leaving.
I was smart enough to give my phone number to someone
remaining (I won't use his name as I haven't asked him
permission) so if something eventful happened, he could let
me know.
About 9PM my phone rang. Now it was noisy & I may have
gotten this a little wrong (I sure hope not), but I was told
that Chairman Bloch wanted to thank both Merger Committees,
that he thought both sides would be better off w/a
negotiated settlement, but THEY WERE TREATING THIS
ARBITRATION AS ONE OF EQUAL COMPANIES.
This may seem unimportant/obvious, but this is/wa s the heart
of the DAL ALPA case & IMO, a shot across their bow. He
then said he would allow the finish of cross examination
tomorrow (Friday), but he expected the two sides to reenter
negotiations & they would be available to mediate if
requested.
All of the men & women (pilots, lawyers, actuaries, staff,
etc) supporting NWA ALPA have done an amazing job. The real
work may just be getting started, but I am very proud & feel
relieved that they are representing me & all NWA pilots.