There are no remaining east furloughs...the combined company has been hiring off the street for about a year now. New hires have gone mostly east, a few west.

The regional pool won't help in this case. No airline could train 1600 pilots immediately...no airline could train that many in a year.

They cannot fire just a few at a time...those fired could claim correctly that they were unjustly singled out.

 

Training 1800 guys at once? You've got to be kidding.

All the furloughees were back a while ago. We have been hiring off the street, although I can't understand why someone would come to this trainwreck right now.

We will see what happens. We have our lawyers in place and our group is set to monitor USAPA's actions as they attempt to represent two groups that are polar opposites.

The biggest test will be what Parker does with the seniority list. He already accepted it, it is binding from the NMB and is in place. Fences are probably going to go up which will lead to a DFR lawsuit either way.

The West pilots opened Section 6 negotiations a month ago, negotiations are to take place in a week. USAPA has a duty to continue those negotiations as well. We have an agreement in place with the company to fly the A330, and I just got a pay raise to fly to Hawaii as part of that LOA. Which is nice because that's all I do next month. (not by choice). So you can see that the West is in no hurry to do anything other than watch USAPA implode.

 

Sorry, but would you please actually go on THE HUB and see and listen to PARKER speaking at a PHX pilot meeting: "Absent the merger with US Airways, AWA would have filed Ch 11 and downsized 20 -30%...resulting in furloughs." AWA ALPA rep Capt. McIlvenna has LIED numerous times, and will not speak about Project Zanzibar, and how poorly AWA was doing. This was not a thriving airline folks! Read the testimony from Parker and Kirby. But hey, they only run the airline, and don't know as much as their pilots do. Many of these kids were in high school, by the way, when current US Airways pilots were flying the line. So why is the Nic award a bit out of line? Please note for those readers outside these two companies, that ALPA Merger Policy was to be heeded by Niclolau (in his words in testimony) and yet was not! Binding arbitration, sure, according to ALPA Merger Policy, but withing the parameters of merger policy. ALPA also gave away US Airways pension without a vote, and much of our contract without even a vote by the pilots. ALPA would have been gone without the Nic list consideration. that was simply the last straw. I don't expect AWA guys to understand, but ALPA years ago refused CLT a recall vote and that was the beginning...it is ALPA for ALPA, and screw your fellow pilot. Goodbye Prater the Dictator

 

In regards to paying dues to USAPA:

First they will probably make this airline an agency shop, thus trying to get pilots fired for not paying dues.

Now, I am off to do some research on some facts pointed out to me.

1. NO contract or Bylaws of any union can violate any state or federal statues.

2. The state of Arizona is a right to work state, along with Neveda.

3. Their are no laws in Arizona or Neveda that allows a employee to be forced to join a union.

So from this, I will do my research because this information would lead me to believe that USAPA can not make us pay dues or join. Their bylaws would violate Arizona law and US Airways has its headquarters in the Arizona. Plus the west pilots operate out of PHX. Thus if the company fired a pilot for not paying dues, it is my understanding that thus pilot would be able to file a lawsuite against the company for wrongful termination and probably win. I have no doubt if this is true that USAPA would also be named in the suit.

In the past most of the unions were setup East of the Mississippi where companies could create close shop agency. Out west, my understanding is their are no close shop states, they are all right to work.

Now on to do research.

Better to be educated, than follow the masses in a sinking ship. I actually question my leadership, not blindly follow.

 

Please let us know. I was Sec/Tres for a California bases airline and we were fully prepared to fire a few guys back the late 80's for not paying DUES. Maybe joining in the first place screwed them. I don't know.

 

FedEx now has Agency Shop and TN is also a right to work state. I believe the way this is allowed is you are not required to join the union but are required to pay an administrative fee for the servicing of the CBA which you are covered under because you are part of the class and craft. The fee is usually very similar to what your dues would have been. At FDX it is interesting to note, that when we changed to Agency Shop in our 2006 CBA, the non-members as of the date of the TA were "grandfathered" from the paying of fees. We had about 125 pilots who were in that group so anyone who became a non-member after that date is subject to Agency Shop.

Not sure if this applies to all right to work states. Good luck to all US Airways guys and I hope to see you back in ALPA someday.

 

Unions in the airline and railroad industry are controlled by the RLA (Railway Labor Act), not state statutes (not statues). So called "right to work" state laws have little bearing on airline/railroad unions, per the RLA, hence disputes are handled by the NMB (National Mediation Board), not the NLRB (National Labor Relations Board). FYI.

 

So I guess you didn't BUY your house, because you used someone else's money. Oh, I get it, you MERGED with your house.....LOL!!!

 

Not a very good example.

 

I guess with your example US Airways bought America West, since the money was arranged as investment in them and AWA became a subsidiary of US Airways holdings.

Either way it doesn't matter because CEO's, Hedge Funds, and Banks made the deal happen. All us pylits do is drive airplanes and corporate deals and how they are constructed should have no bearing on the disposition of seniority. We fly airplanes, we don't do deals. A heavy equipment operator doesn't go out and buy anyone, the company does.

Our job is a trades skill and the trade good we produce or stamp out is an ASM. We don't get any more worked up to do our job, then a bulldozer operator or a train engineer does when he goes to work. We have a learned skill, but it is a blue collar one and all we do is move heavy machinery. The sad thing a bulldozer operator makes quite a bit more than a regional jet copilot, took less time and investment to learn how to operate the heavy machinery he works, is home every night with his family, and the work isn't nearly as hazardous duty. The reason he makes more is that he understands he is blue collar labor and doesn't try to take credit for something he had nothing to do with.

Just remember you r a pylit and u fly an aeroplane and if you understand that you might find there is more money to be had. Friday and Payday are the only things that matter, not the color of your uniform or the color of the paint on your aeroplane, that is, if you are putting your family first which is the only thing that matters in this life.