Originally Posted by
indapit
This situation is covered under the contract. You can call it an asset transfer or anything else, it is still covered under Section 1.E.1. It is not a merger, but the second line triggers it. The company was sold to another airline and it affect the seniority rights of Mesaba Pilots. Under that section, it provides that seniority lists must be merged in a fair and equitable manner.
I think everyone is confused and people are talking about multiple things. The Mesaba furloughs being hired retain their longevity but for schedule bidding purposes, they will be new hires. They will however keep their Mesaba seniority number so when ever things get hashed out, they could be more senior at Pinnacle after the SLI occurs.
Second, anyone who things a 15 years captain coming with the 900s to Pinnacle and will be forced to be the most junior pilot is ridiculous. That is where the fair and equitable language gets triggered.
Outstanding post. You clarified the rampant confusion shown by some here. You have accurately summarized the situation we are all in right now. People are confusing furloughed Mesaba guys being given preferential hiring at Colgan and at Pinnacle with the main issue of merger of the entire Mesaba and Pinnacle pilot seniority list that is bound to happen in the future.
The seniority integration of XJ and 9E pilots will happen for sure, in my opinion. What Pinnacle and Mesaba pilots needs to ensure is that Pinnacle adopts Mesaba work rules/benefits and payrate going forward and cherry pick good ones from each airline. I suspect Colgan will operate as Mesaba and for awhile Pinnacle Corporation will have 2 separate operating certificates, one for combined Pinnacle/Mesaba and another for Colgan that changes its name to Mesaba with furloughed Mesaba guys there.
Additionally, I am all for giving Flowthru rights to ALL Pinnacle pilots. Since Pinnacle owns Mesaba now and as Mesaba currently has the flowthru agreement, it is only fair and equitable that all Pinnacle pilots should be given the flowthru rights like Mesaba pilots.