Nic ...
 

Merger Committee Update – Protocol Agreement Tentative Agreement




The Merger Committee has reached a Tentative Agreement (TA) on a Proposed Protocol Agreement (PA) with the APA and the Company. *The Merger Committee, including counsel (Pat Szymanski and Bill Wilder) will strongly recommend the BPR approve the TA at this week's Special BPR Meeting. We have attached the TA to this email, and encourage you to read it.

The TA satisfies all of the issues that existed with the previous proposals from the APA which led to our impasse and to the McCaskill-Bond lawsuit in the DC Federal District Court. *It guarantees:

The right of our pilots under McCaskill-Bond to a Seniority List Integration (SLI) through arbitration before a panel of three impartial arbitrators based on the “fair and equitable” standard.

Selection of the three-member SLI panel of arbitrators by the USAPA Merger Committee and the APA Merger Committee through a fair procedure and without any participation by the Company.

APA will not interfere in any way with the USAPA Merger Committee. *Our Merger Committee will be able to represent our pilots without any interference or oversight by APA.

The relationship between the USAPA Merger Committee and USAPA will not be affected by the certification of APA as the collective bargaining representative by the NMB. *Our Merger Committee will continue to be responsible to USAPA and the BPR, and not to APA or other parties.

The USAPA Merger Committee is a party to the Protocol Agreement and the Protocol Agreement cannot be changed without the agreement of all parties, including the USAPA Merger Committee.*

The status quo at the beginning of the SLI procedure is three lists – East, West and American. *This excludes the Nicolau Award, which has been found in multiple federal lawsuits to not be part of the status quo.

The $4 million in Company reimbursement for merger expenses under the MOU will be equally shared by the Merger Committees.

The Merger Committees will certify the accuracy of their seniority lists.

The Merger Committees will immediately begin meeting with respect to certification of seniority lists, fleet and other information, in an effort to eliminate issues that otherwise would need to be presented in arbitration.

The TA does not create a separate merger committee for former America West Pilots. *The TA instead establishes an orderly and exclusive process for having any alleged claims concerning such a committee considered before a separate preliminary panel of three impartial arbitrators, after APA is certified, and prior to any hearings by the main McCaskill-Bond Board of Arbitration. *This provision drops the dispute currently pending before the United States District Court for the District of Columbia and puts it before a separate panel of three impartial and experienced labor arbitrators. *USAPA and the USAPA Merger Committee are parties in that process and retain all arguments and positions with respect to the existence of such a separate committee, including that Judge Silver decided the McCaskill-Bond Amendment does not give any subgroup of US Airways pilots a right to separate representation in the McCaskill-Bond process.

The Merger Committee and its Counsel strongly believe the TA is a positive agreement for our pilots, which guarantees a fair and equitable SLI process that is not controlled by APA. *We believe this comprehensive and enforceable seniority process agreement is far superior to continuing litigation which will lead to further delay and expense in the SLI process, and takes away the risk that we may not be successful in the lawsuit. *In short, we believe the best interests of our pilots is in having a guaranteed written agreement that ensures a fair process, free from APA’s unilateral control, rather than risking the uncertainty of litigation.

So why the delay over the last several weeks? *Because of a single issue concerning the implementation timing of the final SLI award. *The PA proposed by the APA and the Company before the August 12 BPR Meeting provided that the final SLI award would be implemented “as soon as practicable.” *Following the August 12 meeting, USAPA proposed a change in paragraph 16 to say that implementation would be “as determined by the Board of Arbitration.” *After considerable back-and-forth with APA and the Company, the Merger Committee reached tentative agreement on the following version of paragraph 16:


The integrated seniority list resulting from the process established by the MOU and this Protocol Agreement shall be implemented under the Joint Collective Bargaining Agreement as soon as operationally feasible following the date the final award is issued or the date the FAA issues a single operating certificate covering the carriers, whichever is later. *Upon receipt of the final award, the Company will promptly meet with the APA and the Merger Committees to discuss the process and timing for implementation of the final award. *After these discussions occur, if a dispute arises regarding whether the Company’s implementation of the final award meets the “as soon as operationally feasible” standard set forth herein, such dispute may be submitted to the Board of Arbitration for resolution. (emphasis added)

In addition to this language expressly giving authority over implementation disputes to the Arbitration Board, paragraph 14 of the Protocol Agreement gives express continuing authority to the Arbitration Board over implementation disputes that may come up after the SLI award is effective. *In the judgment of the Merger Committee and counsel (Pat Szymanski and Bill Wilder) this provision is fully sufficient to prevent the Company from delaying implementation. *The parties will discuss implementation as soon as the final award is issued and any party (including the USAPA Merger Committee) will be able to immediately refer a dispute to the panel if they are not satisfied with the Company’s proposed schedule.

The alternative to entering this SLI Protocol Agreement is litigation, which is uncertain, time consuming, and expensive. *A Protocol Agreement will guarantee the important protections listed above. *Litigation will not, particularly if it is unsuccessful. *In short, it is the considered judgment of the Merger Committee and counsel (both Pat Szymanski and Bill Wilder) that the attached Protocol Agreement fully protects the interests of our pilots while pursuing litigation has significant risk and does not. *The BPR will be briefed this week at a Special BPR Meeting. *After being fully briefed, they will vote to approve or reject the PA. *We will strongly urge the BPR to approve the Protocol Agreement TA as we believe it is in the best interest of our pilots. *We encourage our pilots to contact their BPR representatives to discuss this important issue that will affect all of our seniority rights.

USAPA Merger Committee

This is gonna cause a ****storm from the hardliners.

Rabble Rabble Rabble Rabble!

I hope it passes so we can get on with the process.

Would you mind translating it a little?

rabble! Rabble! Rabble!

It's going to be 10 years before there is a combined list. The lawsuits will go forever!

Allow me:

Has anyone actually gotten this via email?

Just came through on my end. It's also on the USAPA website.

Just got it as well. I've never been to the usapa site nor could I tell I my usapa number. All pointless now :)

Why? If so not much of a chance of passing the BPR.

I predict it passes... 8-3. Just a guess...

I was thinking the same thing!

I'm not a lawyer nor did I stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night. Why would this not pass? It sounds like a way to finally move on, and does still include the AWA guys to an extent. Eventually USAPA has to face the music that those guys do exist, won't they?

Why don't some of you lemmings read the actual Protocol Agreement before injesting USTUPID's discharge. It doesn't quite have the same message.

.................................

Well if the hardliners in both camps are p*ssed off, then that's a sure sign that we're making good progress.

CLT Chairman just put out an email saying he will vote against it...

Probably for different reasons but I agree with your statement.

While the company delights in our civil war, hardly anyone is reading the language that will get all non natives.

Merger committee says "vote yes, the nic is dead"

CLT Chairman says "vote no, the nic is coming"

This should get good.

Has he said why ?

Haven't read the details yet, but if the merger committee is saying the Nic is dead or that USAPA will control its own SLI argument, what is his reasoning ?

To be a fly on the wall at tonights briefing, would be interesting...

He doesn't think the NIC is dead.

Everyone should read the actual PA as it doesn't quite read like USAPA's spin in the email. True, the current status quo is East, West, and American.. not Nicolau. But what the PA does is allow the West to present their issues to an arbitration panel prior to the main SLI arbitration. Surely the West will present the Nic and it's desire for a separate merger committee to this panel. The PA specifically allows for 3 committees if this preliminary arbitration awards it. Nothing is guaranteed on either side. They've put everything in the hands of neutral arbitrators.

There will undoubtedly be naysayers and hardliners on both sides. But if everyone is unhappy.. isn't that the definition of compromise?

When hearing "the NIC is dead", does anyone else think this?



....or is it just me?:)

For simpletons yes.

I am all for it. Present your case to a panel and lets move on.

Don't care which side wins or if it ends up meeting in the middle. Get it over with!

I think this is a good step. Hardliners will be hardliners regardless but this airline needs to move forward. The ability for all 3 to argue their sides and none to have control over the award is best. Just let the arbitrators do their job, accept it and move the hell on!

^^^^This! 1000 times this!!!

I really wish the union leadership at this airline would realize that the world doesn't begin or end in CLT. Not everyone wants to be locked into where they currently are.

In The PA, the APA wants the west to have a seat, American Airlines wants the west to have a seat and both will argue that position in front of the arbitrator. Usapa will be the only one arguing the west shouldn't get a seat.

well that and a few court rulings that say the west shouldn't. Not to mention past precedence. But that's Ok....lets give them a seat.....You know because we all know arbitrators are infallible.

Interesting that the APA doesn't want to give the TWA guys their own merger comm.......

I'm with you on this. If that's how it happens, and I fervently hope it is, I'll be content and at peace with it. And be ready to just take my lumps and go forward, relegating the last however many years of bull**** to the ancient history bin.

After four pages of heated debate, I can tell this is an important issue. But as a military pilot looking to move on to the next level soon, I honestly have no idea what the NIC is. SLI I understand, but NIC, no idea. Anyone care to pass me the Cliffs Notes?

I bet you'll soon be getting alot more than just cliff notes:D The NIC is a seniority list between America West and USAirways constructed by arbitrator George Nicolau. It's been several years since its construction but has never been used, it's been tied up in court. Currently the two pilot pilot groups operate on their previous lists.

Relax, you won. Oh, the same court that said the west shouldn't also said usapa couldn't, yet here we are.

Nic ...
 

If west pilots want to present their case they can... This sounds feasible.

FYI, The CLT chairman has made what I feel to be many grossly inaccurate statements and forecasts regarding SLI in the past.

Once AOL responds to this we may see a resumption of fireworks on this thread. Alternatively, AOL could settle now, and avoid any uncertainty. This may be preferable for a more known/partnered outcome?

Might be because that list merge happened a decade ago while LCC/HP never merged.

Maybe we can form committees for AirCal,Reno, TransCaribbean, and those that flew former EAL routes which of course would have to cover the former Branniff routes.

Cliff notes? For a newhire it's the same as runway behind you, altitude above you or fuel in the truck. It just doesn't matter.

It's a fight about seniority that won't impact you but you might have to listen to various versions of 'what should have been done' for decades.