America West pilots win permanent injunction
 

To bad I can't attach the whole order, the judge really goes into what kind of scum these usapa boys are, anyway this is the excerpt of the last page. bottom line the Nicolau is the seniority list for usairways and is binding on usapa or any successor union.













IT IS FURTHER ORDERED, ADJUDGED, AND DECREED in No. CV 08-1633
PHX-NVW in favor of the Plaintiffs and the class of all pilots employed by US Airways,
Inc., in September 2008 who were on the America West seniority list on September 20, 2005,
that Defendant US Airline Pilots Association and its officers, committees, representatives,
agents, and all persons in active concert and participation with them are permanently
enjoined and ordered to:
A. Immediately, and in good faith, make all reasonable efforts to negotiate and
implement a single collective bargaining agreement with US Airways that will
implement the Nicolau Award seniority proposal unmodified, according to its terms;
B. Make all reasonable efforts to support and defend the seniority rights provided
by or arising from the Nicolau Award in negotiations with US Airways; and
Case 2:08-cv-01633-NVW Document 594 Filed 07/17/2009 Page 2 of 3
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
-3-
C. Not negotiate for separate collective bargaining agreements for the separate
pilot groups, but rather negotiate for a single collective bargaining agreement for both
pilot groups that incorporates the Nicolau Award. This injunction does not restrain
USAPA from pursuing its rights under Section 6 of the Railway Labor Act, consistent
with the previous sentence.
The Court retains jurisdiction to enforce, modify, or dissolve the permanent injunction
portion of this order. The Court retains jurisdiction to adjudicate the named Plaintiffs’
unadjudicated claims for damages and any claims for attorney fees.
DATED this 17th day of July 2009

Please explain to the masses sir, how this order is any different than the transition agreement between the East and the West pilots have from two years ago.

This is a court ordered injunction. Judges take a dim view of people who don't follow their court orders. Usually they put them in jail and access large fines. Unless USAPA wins on appeal which is very unlikely this handcuffs them and forces them to comply or face personal and financial ruin.

Your first post made it sound like the order was some kind of news flash. Nothing has changed.

Your summary of the Us Airways East pilots, is your own "educated" opinion sir, although your words do not advance the public's opinion of a professional pilot.

Isn't it about time for everyone to get along and hopefully save what is left of USAirways?

Nope, negotiations, mediations, arbitration, jury trial, all with the same results are apparently meaningless to the east pilots. I bet they will find themselves in contempt of court by the end of the year, they can't help it.

What a poetic statement Judge Wake made. Here is one of the best parts:

"The union’s obligation to federal labor law includes an obligation to stand up to its membership. USAPA argues that ALPA’s merger policy only requires the union to use “all reasonable means” to implement the Nicolau Award, but this phrase is quoted out of context. The policy requires the union to use “all reasonable means . . . to compel the company to accept and implement the merged seniority list.” [MP Pt. 1.I.1.] It does not
allow the union to capitulate to an abusive majority.12
This principle goes to the core of union politics and bargaining assumptions. A union is required to explain agreements to union members prior to a mandatory ratification vote. White v. White Rose Food, a Div. of DiGiorgio Corp., 237 F.3d 174, 183 (2d Cir. 2001). Before and after its election, USAPA has misled the majority about its power to improve their seniority prospects at the expense of the West Pilots. The will of the East Pilots springs from a mistaken understanding of the law and mismanaged
expectations. If this is an impasse, it is one USAPA goaded on.
If the membership were correctly advised on the limits of fair representation that constrain the agreement—and all the collective bargaining of every union—then they would perceive no incentive to hold out for an improper bargaining objective. Those employees would be left with a choice: To vote in favor of ratifying a single CBA that incorporated the Nicolau Award, or to vote against it. What they could not do is vote against it and expect the next CBA or the next union to violate the duty of fair representation in the very same way as the first one could not. In effect, USAPA claims
that the East Pilots hold such strong objections to the Nicolau Award that they always will vote as a bloc against any new CBA with it, enjoying the self-denial of a single CBA with improved wages and working conditions into perpetuity. Even if this unbelievable story is believed, it only means that the East Pilots have the power of self-inflicted harm. It does not mean that the union’s duty of fair representation falls victim to self-hostage- "
Case 2:08-cv-01633-NVW Document 593 Filed 07/17/2009 Page 32 of 53

I invite you and anyone else to read the full findings of the court attached to the injunction, it really highlights the criminal cowardly actions of the east pilots and their leaders, who knowingly broke the law and tried to hide it causing great harm to the west class, and btw damages are still accruing and there's the little matter of the $50 mil we will be seeking from you boys when damages trial starts.

What harm has the west really suffered in all this? Seems like you must've saved some money on union dues at least.
(And please, by all means, you go ahead and take this one 'Boss. Maybe you can find some new names to call me that are a clever play on the word 'East').

When he's done, maybe there's an adult out there who can give me a straight answer to what I intend to be a serious question.

"Therefore, we asked Judge Wake to continue the damages trial and we hoped that a new slot in the judge's calendar could be found soon after August but with at least six days available. Unfortunately, nothing was available on Judge Wake's schedule until January 19, 2010. So, the damages trial has been continued until then."