Yes, they can. The question is, how do we convince them to do so?

 

It's easier said then done. Delta can't just magically pull $3 per passenger out of thin air. If they could, they would, and our profits would be even larger. Deltas main obligation is to the share holders, not the pilots. I'm all for getting the biggest raises we can but full restoration is not going to happen. Continued pattern bargaining is what is going to happen and that you can bank on 88. How do you expect a radical change to our PWA when it's mostly industry leading already?

 

So your assertion is that RA is deliberately preventing Delta from making too much money? Really?

Agreed. DAL88's point was that it's as simple as raising fares by $3 per ticket. My point was that it's not quite that simple.

Whatever.

 

They sure spent a lot of money and collected a lot of dues for having no goals. Couldn't they have just had a yearly meeting and played dominoes if all they wanted to do was not make contract improvements. What they wanted was to negotiate a new seniority list based on Date of Hire and they failed. In that failure they cost their pilots billions of dollars. It is just amazing how the webboard folks can dismiss this type of failure while attacking DALPA as a failure. Sometimes you guys have shifting standards of success that have no consistent basis, just whatever confirms your own bias. If DALPA merely says their goals are exactly what happened then they are successes in your mind. How convenient.

USAPA has NOT abrogated an arbitration. They have delayed it. I know the webbboard lawyers are celebrating their temporary delays as some victory, but they are coming to a close. USAPA will soon not represent anyone in anything. They signed away their right to represent in the MOU and soon APA will represent the entire pilot group.

The APA has stated openly that they will not take on the DFR liabilities of USAPA. That means that there will be three separate merger committees, East, West, and APA. Actually, AMR management is also a party to the proceedings and they have openly stated that they will not take on the DFR liabilities of USAPA. The Allegheny/Mohawk LPP's dictate that all disputes amongst the parties will be solved by final and binding arbitration.

Therefore, my guess is the first dispute is what list will be integrated in with the American list. That dispute will be solved by an arbitrator (or panel of arbitrators) and they will decide whether or not the previous arbitration has been abrogated by USAPA's delays. My guess is that the East pilots will not be happy with that arbitration.

All complicated cases like this go their own way so there may be some other solution. In the end, the West pilots have their rights. As one of the federal judges said, a neutral arbitration is powerful evidence of a fair result. Therefore, whatever happens to the West pilots will be judged on the basis of what their rights were under the Nicolau award. If the Nicolau award is not used, then the West pilots will have to have seniority as good or better than the Nicolau award or someone will have to pay them money.

As I said before, neither the APA nor AMR management want to be writing those checks, so USAPA has merely delayed the arbitration, they have abrogated nothing. USAPA can't negotiate away the West's pilots rights no matter how much internet blather they spew. Delay is not victory. Instead, they just flushed away billions of dollars they will never get back. WINNING!!!!!!!!!

 

So, it's better to lose half and then get nothing back? That's the part you and your ilk leave out. While we were getting 60% back the rest of the world was getting 0; and we are the idiots? Got it.

 

Exactly. Necessity is the mother of invention.

Management needs to cover dramatically increased fuel costs, they invent $25 bag fees. Management needs to cover dramatically increased pilot costs... well... They don't need to do that because they have DALPA running interference for them.

 

How can I get ilk?

Very envious.

 

Of course it isn't easy. If it were, why would we pay dues to a union? But like any leading performer, in any line of work, it starts with asking. Are we at least planning to do that? Or is DALPA just going to phone this one in too, paying for tiny raises with more onerous give aways and concessions? Then turn to the membership and say "Well guys, this is the best we could do, you'd better take it or face destruction and mayhem."

I agree it's going to be a challenge. I think we're up for one.

 

You are an idiot because you were so easily able to write off half the value of our profession without even attempting to fight for it.

 

Seems that you already have it!