ATA negotiations update
This is Erik Engdahl with your ATA VARS Message for Friday, July 29th.
There will be three items in this message: #1. Negotiations Update #2. MEC Changes #3. SPC Event Item #1. - Negotiations Update Earlier today the MEC met via conference call with the Negotiating Committee, our bankruptcy lawyer and our ALPA staff to discuss the status of our talks with the Company regarding long-term contract changes. Unfortunately, we learned the negotiations are not going well, and we may wind up going to an 1113 bankruptcy hearing where the judge could impose his own set of contract terms and conditions upon us. Let me explain how we got to where we are now, and where we may be going next. At the beginning of the week Al Terry and his negotiating team presented our comprehensive contract proposal to the Company for review. Our negotiators spent several weeks going over the CBA and ATA's operations with a fine-tooth comb, looking for every opportunity to save ATA money WITHOUT reducing our compensation and retirement. They identified millions of dollars in direct savings through trip rigs, duty rigs, other scheduling improvements and additional changes. Mark Kesling of the R&I Committee and Richard Pavel of ALPA's R&I Department looked over the retirement, health care and CMPP portions of the CBA. We thought we were working productively with the Company and looked forward to their counterproposal. Today the Company came back to our negotiators and essentially gave them a demand that is virtually identical to the contract terms they asked for in May. This was not a counterproposal, but a reiteration of the same requests they have been making for months. The dollar value they seek to take from us is roughly twice as much as what Al presented in the ALPA proposal, and they have not budged from that original number, even though they cannot explain to us how that dollar figure will actually help ATA survive... that is, they have not told us how their proposal fits into the larger scheme of their business plan. We are still willing to negotiate with the Company, up to and including August 10, the day they say they will file an 1113 motion if a TA is not reached. But based on the Company's almost total unwillingness to compromise, we can only assume that we are headed for bankruptcy court, perhaps as early as the week after next. We are now focusing our efforts in two directions: negotiation and litigation. On the negotiation side, we have asked for a meeting next week with ATA's new Chief Financial Officer, Frank Conway. We want to discuss a discrepancy in our valuation of the proposals versus the company's, find out exactly how the Company reached the dollar value it has set for concessions from us, and how our giving that money will help them reorganize and become competitive. We are already the lowest-cost carrier in the industry -- we demand to know how cutting our compensation can possibly save the company when nothing is being done to build up the revenue side of the house. On the litigation side, our attorneys are preparing our arguments in advance of the anticipated 1113 filing. We believe we have a good case. We have already sacrificed far more than any other employee group, both in compensation and furloughs. In terms of raw dollars we have already contributed more money to the airline than Southwest has. Southwest received a 27 percent share of the airline in exchange for its investment - what have we gotten back so far? The clock is ticking and it looks as though the decision date is August 10. The MEC and ALPA are prepared for whatever happens, and we will fight any effort to further cut your pay, whether it is proposed by the Company or imposed by Judge Lorch. Item #2. - MEC Changes Those of you in Council 97 should know by now that LEC 97 Chairman Capt. Kevin Friel is resigning his position, effective August 1st. An LEC meeting will be held in Indianapolis on August 11 to name an interim replacement and accept nominations for a permanent captain's rep. Kevin has spent the last several years working for this union at the LEC, MEC and committee levels, and we will miss his energy and sound advice. Council 98 Flight Engineer Rep Frank Thomas will also be missing from the MEC for a while. Frank was recently diagnosed with cancer and will be undergoing radiation and chemotherapy treatment at Stanford University Hospital. Please join me in sending best wishes to Frank and his family, and I know we will all be praying for his fast and complete recovery. Item #3. - SPC Event Capt. Seth Cooperman would like to announce the next Family Awareness event hosted by the SPC Committee. The SPC will be sponsoring a get-together in Phoenix at the end of August, probably either August 20th or 27th. The details haven't been finalized, but we will have free food and family members will be invited, just like the SPC barbecue we had the week before last in Chicago. We'll give you more information once the planning has been completed. That's it for this week. Have a great weekend, fly safe, and be sure to check your voicemail and e-mail regularly for MEC updates. Erik Engdahl, MEC Chairman # # # Rusty Ayers, MEC Communications Specialist |
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