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7576FO 11-27-2012 05:55 PM

I voted NO I did my part.

justjack 11-27-2012 09:32 PM


Originally Posted by sailingfun (Post 1299988)
A single organization representing all pilots is illegal under the RLA act. That is why ALPA is a association. Each airline under ALPA functions as a independent union. It is also illegal under the RLA to try and work under one set of wage and work rules. Plumbers can do it but pilots can not. All pilots should read and understand the RLA. A attempt was made a few years ago to remove Fedex from the RLA because they don't belong there. This spooked Fred Smith so bad that he threatened to cancel every single Boeing order and buy all Airbus. He values the RLA so highly that he actually has a clause written into every Boeing purchase that the contract is void if the RLA is changed or Fedex removed from its protection. Boeing and the Senators from the states Boeing does business quickly killed the bill to pull Fedex from the RLA.

I am not arguing with you- this is not a rhetorical question- what part of the RLA makes a national seniority list illegal?

kcpunk 11-28-2012 04:50 AM

Did my part and voted YES

aafurloughee 11-28-2012 05:18 AM

Just curious Kcpunk, and I'm not throwing stones, doesn't,t the scope clause make you wonder if there will be any contraction of AA flying? I mean yes they are willing to furlough protect current active pilots, but as time goes on along with attrition, I don,t see a guys moving up to left seat positions, just outsourcing of jobs, AA pilot jobs that is. As for this recent announcement of recalls, I believe it will be short lived. You have to ask the question, why would they not offer furlough protection for all on the seniority list once they have been recalled? It leads me to believe that they don't see expansion. Hopefully I am wrong. I know there are no guarantees, and yes you have to roll the dice,(obviously my avatar shows I have), but I feel this risk reward has no upside, except of course a , well...... Paycheck. We all have our reasons, glad we can agree to disagree.

kcpunk 11-28-2012 06:35 AM

I need the job!

I listened to both telecoms, read the TA, read the Q&A, I think rejecting the TA will put us into an unknown, potentially damaging position with little chance of merger. I dont think you will see a better contract than what is on the table right now or the equity payout if the TA is rejected( not JMO)

Don't bite the hand that is offering to feed you!

Night Hawk 6 11-28-2012 08:33 AM

People can post anything and make statements that they only assume to be correct. The RLA was written at a time when major areas of our country were served by just one railroad company. To prevent the economic chaos that would happen if that company was shut down by a strike isolating an entire region of the nation, the RLA was written and passed into law in 1926. The last time the RLA was amended was in 1939 and it incorporated the airlines at the insistance of ALPA's president.
Not to stray to far from the topic of this thread, it would behoove all airline pilots to read and understand this act before they vote especially when threats are being issued based on what can or cannot be done under the guise of this act. The AA pilots voted no the last time with many willing to take the fight to the very end, something that has never been done before in our industry, and press to test the effects of this antiquated set of regulations. Voting no again would assure a show down in many ways but not the least of which is how much the RLA could be exposed for its failure to achhieve its initial intent or how a group without a contract could react or even be covered by the tenants of the regulation.
Basically it is a shame that the leaders of this profession are content to allow airline management to run all over us with the blessing of the federal government via the 1926 RLA.

tsquare 11-28-2012 09:13 AM


Originally Posted by ForeverFO (Post 1300094)
Operation orange has been attacking the RLA for a long time now, and yet no one takes them seriously, which I find a bit sad. There's a lot of good thought there.

Night Hawk 6, you say what everyone knows already. The problem is, nothing can be done until the RLA is history. Without the ability to withhold services, we have no power. Zero. Zip.

We can picket, cry, sulk, but so long as federal judges can sanction our unions for everything they have, so long as Presidential powers can force us to go back to work, nothing is going to change. Management holds all the cards, and it's a royal flush.

Until the RLA is history: This is why our only choice at AA, unless we want to fold and vote yes, is to disband the APA as a legal entity and simply distribute all the assets to the members.

No union = 7,500 independent contractors. Nobody to throw in jail. Nobody to fine 20 million dollars.

Each pilot goes on strike individually. The water will be bloody. There will be firings right and left, draconian pronunciations, threats. But a federal judge cannot sanction 7,500 pilots each by name, individually.

There'll be scabs... but not enough to keep AA afloat.

If we vote NO on Dec 7, and AA's performance magically matches what happened in October, the company has solid evidence of an illegal job action, and we are back to square one, with the judge sanctioning the APA for millions and ordering us to operate "status quo."

Interesting thoughts. First of all, I agree with you about the RLA. But then... if you have 7500 individual contractors, how could you call someone going to work a scab? For example, a pilot that bid a schedule and flew said schedule would nolt be taking anyone's flying... There would be no collective bargaining agent, therefore no one to call for a strike. I would think the concept of a "scab" would be rendered null and void at that point because mob rule doesn't translate well to a legitimate job action. FWIW....

tsquare 11-28-2012 09:14 AM


Originally Posted by justjack (Post 1300418)
I am not arguing with you- this is not a rhetorical question- what part of the RLA makes a national seniority list illegal?

Not this national seniority list crap again....

Night Hawk 6 11-28-2012 09:29 AM


Originally Posted by tsquare (Post 1300713)
Not this national seniority list crap again....

Nope, no NSL discussion here. Unfortunately folks default to the NSL when the subject of consolidation of pilot labor representation is discussed. An NSL might be a byproduct of consolidation but it would only be possible after an entire generation of pilots has progressed through their careers. Voting by the AA pilots in without knowing all the possibilities of a NO vote in light of the RLA is what every pilot should be concerned about. It is the RLA, as administered by the NMB, that has permitted airline management to destroy the profession and the biggest failure of all is the lack of leadership by the associations in fighting to abolish or amend this antiquated regulation. The sad fact is that pilots are ignorant of their history and do not have the knowledge much less the guts to stand up and change the system.

sailingfun 11-28-2012 02:36 PM


Originally Posted by justjack (Post 1300418)
I am not arguing with you- this is not a rhetorical question- what part of the RLA makes a national seniority list illegal?

I don't think any part would make a national SLI illegal. You could not however set up union standards to be admitted to that list. I don't think you will ever see a national SNL for many reasons. The biggest being what airline CEO is going to hire pilots off the list to place ahead of his employees and pay them higher wages. Even with a national SLI the airlines will higher pilots off the street and not on the list who will go on the bottom. Cheaper labor and you keep your pilots far happier with new hires coming into the bottom of the list instead of the top.

Most airline managements would simply not join into any national seniority list. Keep in mind that seniority lists are controlled by the airlines not the pilots union. Union control over a seniority list only exists to the extent that they negotiate in a contract. As a example DALPA the pilots union at Delta could never have placed Comair or ASA pilots on the Delta seniority list even if they felt it was a brilliant move. Delta management controls the seniority list. They would have had to agree with DALPA that they wanted the list merged. They didn't and would never have merged the lists.


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