Beyond the verbiage of the RLA, the interpretations by judges in lawsuits is a big reason why it becomes anti-labor in practice. Terms like status quo have been reinterpreted to include coordinated efforts to not pick up open time.

 

Well said. Gains are made all the time prior to and outside sec 6 negotiations. Through the grievance process, R & I committee, and other various committees. It really helps to set up the negotiations as you alluded to. We (f9) just won a hotel language arbitration so in essence shouldn’t have to do much with the language in our opening proposal next
month. Got some $ for those effected and a cease and desist solidifying our interpretation of the language.

 

That was an excellent read, thanks for the pointer.

link to article:
http://www3.alpa.org/publications/Ai...mber_2011.html

 

When your management no-showed negotiating sessions, that helped your argument for release from mediation to some extent. If they did that prior to mediation it more than likely helped you get to mediation quicker. Same thing happened at f9 and we used it as part of both those arguments.

 

It wasn't my line of reasoning; it was theirs. They are salary. They get paid the same sitting around or working their tails off.
Do the math on that. The lawyers at ALPA National make out quite well already. Migliore lead the charge to not mess with the RLA.
Three hours of legal fear mongering. It worked, the proposal never left committee.


As for somebody else's question on what could get worse? Well, imaging management being able to re-commit every CBA violation they lost previously to try again and get new interpretations. Imagine the status-quo cases all happening again to get the new interpretations.

Personally, I think it's worth doing. The arguments are almost all in our favor. When the RLA was written you couldn't tell a PanAm pilot to take these concessions or we'll outsource the flying to TWA. In other words, the RLA never envisioned the outsourced business model used in Regional and ACMI segments of the industry. Unlike the railroad status-quo for some reason the airline status-quo doesn't prevent base closure, or equipment transfer and outsourcing while in section 6 negotiations.... which management can not do to the railway workers. They can't close stations or outsource to subcontractors during contract talks. I think that one change would make huge differences. With the modern social media influencers and ease of generating public awareness, I think the lawyers stuck in yesterdays world are wrong, and the time to fix the RLA is now.

Seriously, the RLA never envisioned a time where places called regional airlines were nothing more than staffing companies, flying somebody else routes, in somebody else's planes, using somebody else's gates, carrying somebody else's passengers on somebody else's tickets. These shell companies are nothing more than staffing and training companies. If it were not for them having an "Air Carrier Certificate" they wouldn't be airlines at all. A few do own/lease their own planes, but not most.

There is risk in trying to modify the RLA though, that is undisputable.

 

I'd go more into depth on this, and I have in the past, but the RLA is not slanted against labor as many or most pilots seem to believe.

The reason why the RLA appears to be tilted against labor, IMO, is that the RLA favors the more educated and the more committed party in a dispute. That party is almost never labor, at least in the context of airline pilot labor union disputes under the RLA.

For example, it's held as truth by the majority of pilots I've interacted with that "the President will just shut us down (permanently being the insinuation)," despite the fact that the text of the RLA for nearly 100 years as well as a DOJ legal opinion written at the request of the first President Bush more than 30 years ago have unequivocally refuted that myth.

Another example, why do airline pilot labor unions almost universally (Delta is a notable exception) hesitate to file for mediation when filing for mediation starts the "mediation clock" and "time in mediation" is one of the key metrics considered by the NMB and the courts in determining if a dispute is ready to be released? APA never even filed for mediation this cycle. Neither has UA.

Why do airline pilots believe the mediator is telling us the truth during mediation when a mediator's job is to get a deal, any deal, done as quickly as possible and when it's no secret that mediators are empowered to lie, cheat, or steal in their pursuit of clearing out their docket?

I could go on but the lack of education among airline pilots surrounding one of the key determinants in our career earnings, benefits, retirement, and work rules is staggering. Referencing the second quote above, which side do you think a mediator is typically more easily going to be able to squeeze in a dispute: the airline pilot side with our massive lack of understanding of the RLA or the management side with their legions of labor relations specialists and airline industry labor attorneys (like FordHarrison)?

We typically do more damage to ourselves in the RLA process than does management or the NMB.

 

Unless you’re Allegiant where they treat the CBA like its toilet paper.

 

MAYBE if someone like RFK Jr was to get into office there’d be a shot at change…. But as long as an establishment R or D is in office nothing will change because they are bought and paid for by both the enemies labor.

And, since the AFLCIO (using dues money WE paid to ALPA that went to pay in to AFLCIO membership) has ALREADY endorsed “the most pro labor POTUS”… Biden, who will absolutely shove a TA up the rear ends of a labor group battling a multibillion dollar corporation instead of letting them strike…for PAID SICK LEAVE…. NOTHING will change. We should be picketing the AFLCIO for this ridiculously premature endorsement

 

The railroad contract was a strange case because they were dealing with numerous unions. The vast majority had approved the contract. There were only a few holdouts that got the contract forced on them.

August 1st 330,000 UPS drivers could go on strike. They deliver 24M packages a day that comprises 25% of the packages shipped in the US. It's 6% of the GDP. This is when we'll find out how labor friendly our president is.