There is a lot of misinformation about what is going on here. The short answer is yes, technically it can go on forever. Here are the facts most guys don't know: The transition agreement that brought us the Nic. was a contract between the west pilots, east pilots and the company(alpa not involved). The company is bound to the contract just like the east and west, and the TA and all it's provisions are active (that means nic. as the list) the company is liable if it helps the east commit a dfr by breaking the existing contract. The RLA forces the company to negotiate with usapa, but usapa is proposing a term that has already been found illegal, if the company agrees and usapa is convicted of dfr then the company is also liable and will have to pay the west damages and re-order the list back to the Nic. So usapa has already been convicted of dfr once for trying to change the list, the 9th circuit of appeals overturned that conviction on "ripeness" grounds, they said the new usapa list would have to be ratified for the west to sue. As you can see this is a chicken and the egg situation. To get to a dfr the company has to allow a doh list, by doing so there is a high probability the company will break the law, usapa is constitutionally mandated to accept only doh so there is a stalemate. The NMB recognized this fact and parked usapa indefinitely. The west and the company both agree that usapa inherited all contracts and agreements from alpa, usapa's position is that they inherited all contract's except for the Nic. They claim the Nic. no longer exists even though it was accepted and codified by the company in writing as the list to be used. Clear as mud?
The east pilot's got very lucky, in 2 ways, one if the list had been released after the contract it would have been over and two the west was half the size, so they were able to use the rla to kick alpa out and place their own union in charge while taking away all west representation. There were 2 ways out of this mess, a BK or a merger. A merger will remove the east majority and therefore their union, problem solved.

OK. I was just wondering if our merger occurs later (outside C11) as opposed to sooner, if your conflict would have a forced resolution by then. Doesn't sound like it. Unless it's AMR real intent to merge with Jet Blue and weaken or force U into BK and become the aggressor opposite of what is happening now, I think we'll merge, it's just a question of when.

Well the company is in court right now in phx asking the court if they will be liable to the west. If the court says yes or no nothing changes because usapa will still refuse anything but doh, as a matter of fact the east reps claim they will fight for doh "to the death" and the current officers vow to fight for doh all the way to the supreme court. So no I don't see a resolution until the east is no longer the majority.

And the reason we'd want to voluntarily join this maelstrom is......?

Yep, we'll all be singing and swinging in the breeze in no time flat.

I understand your trepidation. What cacti fails to "educate" you about is that the west intends to fight to the death for the Nic. Yeah, come join our one big happy family.

Interesting concept. Having to "fight to the death" in what was a binding arbitration agreement.

Hopefully an innocent question.

Are all of the arguments pertaining to an AA and US contract/sli/merger (agreed to by US/AA unions) according to AA mgt a moot point? According to AA mgt...they are intent on trashing (I guess the politically correct term would be abrogating due to BK) the AA contracts and charting their future based on BK decisions (which I can only assume they feel will go in their favor?) and emerging as a single carrier. Not trying to stir the pot...just wondering.

"When in the course of human events............"

USAPA's problem, is they didn't put people on pay roll to troll the Internet boards and propagate their theories as gospel. On that end LOA and AOL have definitely out maneuvered USAPA....

See you must believe all pilots are high end RLA lawyers...

Right, because an existing relative posistion seniority list derived from a binding arbitration conducted by a neutral third party is exactly the same as using larger numbers to unilaterally staple another pilot group