cactiboss

This is for you folks that enjoy watching the new union the usair east pilots formed to avoid a binding arbitration.

Besides the police being called to usapa's "world" headquarters for an assault (the VP of the union physically attacked the secretary treasure) and a police report filed. you can read about the goings on of the only union in the country designed to screw it's members.




What does it take to move an office?

At this point we think it takes a miracle. Many of you have probably seen the e-mails and updates making wild accusations and charges.
A little background and history of the issue is in order: The newly created US Airline Pilots Association was in need of office space in April 2008, as it had just become the bargaining agent for US Airways pilots. The original founders signed a three-year lease for about 3500 square feet of office space. That lease will expire at the end of April 2011. At a BPR meeting this past summer, the Executive Vice President brought to the BPR's attention this fact and had some suggestions. With the economy as it is, commercial real estate has dropped significantly in price and better deals are available.
The EVP contacted a commercial real estate broker and made an agreement that he would help the association find about 8500 square feet. In this type of arrangement, it is the lessor who will pay the bill for the broker. However, the President of the association had a major problem with the EVP signing this contract with the broker. The President then called for a BPR conference call to "discuss" this outrage. After what we believed would have to be the worst union meetings that we ever have attended (or will ever attend), it was decided that the EVP would go back to the broker, add a clause that USAPA could get out of the contract if the BPR did not agree, and then provide the contract to President Cleary for him to affix his signature. The BPR voted to approve the broker contract, provided that the escape clause would be added.
Fast forward several months. The broker found eleven different properties that would meet the union's needs, and he set up "walk throughs" for these properties. That field of properties was then narrowed to five. The officers and a BPR member then took tours of these five remaining properties. At the January BPR meeting, the EVP presented this information to the board with a recommendation of three properties. Needless to say there was disagreement between the EVP and the President, and a little more drama was involved, but the field was then narrowed to just two properties. One place known as "Lake Point" and another property called "Woodlawn." Either property could be had with a choice of either a 5 year, or 7 year lease.
The lease at the present location expires at the end of April, and an extension to the lease had been discussed, but the cost would double on a month-to-month basis. Your PHX representatives thought this would be irresponsible, since the board and the EVP have been working on this project since July. We were in possession of the facts and required information, we just needed to get to a vote. There is a substantial lead time required with office buildings due to the need to "build out" the internal space to meet our requirements, in addition to the time required to move the USAPA World Wide Headquarters. So the board, desiring to move forward, make a selection, and finish this project called for a special meeting with the single agenda item of "office space."
Here is where the union train goes off the rails. On January 15, an e-mail from a board member went out requesting a special meeting as the Broker told us he needed a decision by February 1, 2011. The C&BL requires 1/3, or 4 members to call a meeting. Within a few hours, seven board members responded in favor of a meeting. On January 16 we heard from the President about what a busy schedule he had and how it was an inconvenient time for a meeting about selecting a new office. According to the Constitution, it is supposedly the President who works for the board (and not the other way around). Not to be deterred, the BPR set a deadline for the President to call for the meeting, and if not, the BPR decided that it would have the Secretary/Treasurer call for the meeting in accordance with Robert's Rules if the President missed the deadline. The President missed that deadline, so the seven members of the board who had originally called for the meeting then directed the S/T to call the meeting. We then heard from the President (in an overly-dramatic fashion) and he asserted the theory that he was the only one (or in his absence, only the VP) who could call a meeting. The message was in the form of, shall we say an "unkind" e-mail to the entire internal USAPA mailing list. The email was disparaging to the S/T, the EVP, and even the entire board. This did not set a positive tone for a meeting that should have only been the straight-forward business decision of choosing office space. The President did eventually call for a meeting, which took place on January 21st.
Just so that everyone knows the players in this game, the President, and the CLT representatives preferred the Lake Point property. The rest of the board was either undecided, or leaning toward Woodlawn. So sets the controversy. There was a three-hour call which should have been plenty of time to debate and vote on the issue. During the call, it became clear that we were not getting any closer to making the decision, and had not even discussed the 5 or 7 year lease aspect. Time was getting short and the CLT reps moved a resolution to end the debate and make a decision in favor of their preferred "Lake Point" property right then. A vote was taken and the resolution failed by a vote of 8 to 3. The call ended and the meeting went into recess to be resumed at the call of the chair.
At this point the ugly politics of personal destruction began. Many of you may have seen e-mails, or web posts, or even a letter from a former BOS representative accusing anyone that opposed the President and the Lake Point property of being anti-everything. The letter stated that if some of the East reps dared to agree with the West reps, then they were colluding and that it must be stopped. The letter continued to assert that if you don't vote for Lake Point, then you were anti-USAPA, anti- president, AND (most of all) Anti-DOH! Let us be crystal clear, this was only about the new headquarters location for the union, and a simple business decision. It has nothing at all to do with the seniority dispute, and certainly not about "being against USAPA" and let's not forget that the President is not USAPA- the line pilots are.
Since we do not have a background in commercial real estate, some of this made no sense to us but we sorted out some of the numbers anyway. After adding the rent, "build-out" cost, building "give back," etcetera, we get to bottom line numbers. As you will see, there is a difference of $229,449 or $272,459 over the life of the 5 or 7 years leases. Not the $25,000 per year some people have stated.

Wood Lawn:
5 Years
7 Years
Lake Point
5 Years
7 Years
Total Amount
$616,941
$897,973

$846,390
$1,170,432
Net effective Per Annum
$111,250
$114,199

$161,329
$152,952

Once the battle lines were drawn and electronic attacks were launched, it was time for the continuation of the special meeting. This second call took place on January 25th. David could not be on that call because he was flying and asked PHX First Officer Pat O'Neill to be his Duly Designated Representative (DDR), since Pat has considerable real estate experience. This call was supposed to be a one-and-one-half hour event to complete the debate and make a decision.
This call, however, has been characterized by some in attendance as having been the most disgusting and blatant attempt yet to thwart the will of those not in agreement with Cleary on any matter. The meeting was controlled, monopolized, and a questionable ruling by the chair disgusted a majority of the board. Again the CLT reps brought a resolution to the table that was plainly designed as a "poison pill" resolution for the purpose of killing any debate and preventing action on a property other than the one desired by the minority and the President. This is one of the more concerning parts of that resolution.
"Be it further resolved that BPR is fully aware of all the consequences associated with this decision and accepts all legal and proprietary responsibility for choosing this substandard property and location for its headquarters, and".
The CLT Representatives wanted the association to take on any and all legal liability stemming from occupying that building.
We ask that you read this resolution when it is available and ask yourselves if you would be willing to agree to the provisions in that document? Would you want your association to accept unlimited responsibility for liability? When the minutes of these calls are approved the entire complete resolutions will be available for you to look at.
The meeting was moving quickly (for once) and Roberts' Rules were being applied in a less than consistent manner. At this point, Eric moved to "indefinitely postpone" the CLT resolution. After taking about twenty minutes to discern what a motion to "indefinitely postpone" the issue on the floor, the Chairman (Mike Cleary) then ruled that all discussion about the Woodlawn property must end because the motion was postponed. Eric then attempted to "challenge the chair," (which is a proper motion that must be made before moving onto other business), about the chairs ruling that this meant that no action could then be taken on the Woodlawn property. The chair would not recognize Eric at this time by stating that he must wait until his turn on the speakers list before challenging his ruling. The President was not correct about that, but in all fairness, no member of your leadership team has all 400 pages of "Robert's Rules of Order" memorized. At that time the meeting clock had been run out like a football game, and the DCA Chairman made a motion to recess the meeting until February 1st (rather than letting the meeting end without a decision). This was a good move on his part, but nonetheless the call ended (though not the meeting) again without a decision being made. We would now have another meeting scheduled for February 1, (which the president wanted as a "face-to-face" this time), which would have caused all eleven board members to travel to CLT to again discuss an item that a majority of the board had decided and was ready to vote on long ago. There simply was no need for additional "flight pay loss" or additional expenses, so most of the board did not support the idea of having an in-person meeting to settle the issue. It was already past time to vote!
To clear up what could be called an urban legend: The biggest objection we have heard about Woodlawn is that the area is unsafe. That is, that it is in a "high crime area" and we should not subject our officers, committee members or employees to that "possibility." The EVP has spoken to the Chief of Police as well as the "Watch Commander" for the area and investigated the crime statistics and reports. Gary has also interviewed the other tenets of the building. What made up our minds was that this location was acceptable were the interviews with the existing residents. There are tenants in this building that have been in the same location for 15-20 years. They did not report any unusual crime or maintenance problems with the building. That length of stay in a commercial building is unusual and it speaks volumes. Yes, there are some issues that need to be addressed, but those can (and will) be handled during the final contract writing and "build out" process.
The Woodlawn property is located at 200 E. Wood Lawn Road. This building shares a parking lot with the Best Western Sterling hotel which is where many of the crews used to stay during overnights, and where many commuting pilots still do stay. Within the "danger zone" of one-thousand feet is where the Four Points hotel is also located. This is the same hotel where the USAPA officers stay while they are in CLT doing their work. The Four Points is also where BPR members often stay when we have meetings in CLT, and is also where some crews stay during training.
There are several restaurants located within a short walk of this hotel. A bar/restaurant called "McCoy's" is located just around the corner and less than a block from the Four Points. To get there from the Four Points, a walk across a poorly lit parking lot, under a bridge and across a street is required. The Woodlawn property is just on the other side of the street from McCoy's. We see the Woodlawn building on the short walk to dinner all of the time. We then walk back to the hotel at night. We have stayed there several times over the last year, but never heard a single complaint or concern about danger or crime until we were going to lease that building across the street. There is something contrived about the sudden and extreme security concerns about the area, because it just wasn't an issue before. The Woodlawn property is near the airport, a commuter hotel, and a crew hotel. Wouldn't it be nice to have easier access to your union's National Officers? During a layover, or even during that long sit between flights, you will soon be able to jump on a hotel van to go visit the World Wide HQ. Then you can enjoy a face-to-face chat with the very people who have been working hard to deliver on all of those promises made three years ago.
Another advantage of the Woodlawn property is the additional cost savings beyond the property rental fees alone. The Woodlawn property is well within walking distance of the Four Points, so we will save the cost of local transportation. As of today, there is a $20 per night difference between the room rates at the Four Points and the Hyatt Place where USAPA sometimes holds meetings. At least 1000 room nights per year, this results in an additional $20,000 per year or $100,000.00 over the life of the lease. This represents a significant savings for the Association and, ultimately, the pilot's dues money.
When taken as a whole, we think that the Woodlawn property makes the most sense, and we were pleased that it appeared to be the front-runner. We will admit that the Lake Point building is very nice, located in what appears to be a nice area and also has a few amenities. But $250,000 is $250,000 no matter how you look at it. So we ask you: Would you, as the lowest paid pilot group in the industry, rather have the pretty building, or the functional building as your union hall? From what committee or domicile budget would you like to take the difference from? Safety, grievance, NAC, strike-prep, training? There is always a limited amount of resources available, and the representatives that you have elected must determine how to allocate your money most efficiently.
Keep in mind that USAPA is a labor union. We don't sell anything, and we don't need to impress anyone with our office. If someone is coming to the office is it to sell USAPA something or provide a service, and not the other way around. We are not like ALPA that requires the big and impressive building because USAPA is supposed to be doing the job better, and for less money. After all, it is your money.
The Final Outcome:
It took several meetings, three conference calls and a lot of empty rhetoric, but the Board of Pilot Representatives finally made a decision. The resolution that finally passed is attached. Your union will be housed at the Woodlawn property for the next five years ideally beginning on May 1st, 2011. This was not an easy decision or without a considerable amount of disagreement, but it has come to a conclusion.
But, before this simple resolution passed, there was another attempt to change the game again. After a brief recess during the February 1st conference call, an amendment was offered by the CLT reps to provide additional private security at the building in order to walk the employees to and from their cars. It was the opinion of most of the BPR that, while this sounded like a noble idea, it was a bit late in the decision making process to be of any value and the need for this additional security (when the building already has security) was unnecessary and only based on the opinion that the existing security was inadequate. We have spent six months working through the process investigating many ancillary items. It seemed disingenuous and irresponsible to throw in a last minute amendment which could have added an additional unknown cost (possibly $50,000-$60,000.00 per year) to the Union's expenses. No one had researched any Security companies or the cost, the majority thought it was unnecessary, and this amendment was promptly voted down.
In yet another attempt (and thankfully, the last one) to prevent the selection of the Woodlawn property, the CLT reps again proposed a substitute resolution that, after six months of hard work and using the resource of a commercial real estate broker, would have required a {"do-over"} of the entire process. In other words, the substitute resolution would have required both of the final candidates to be thrown out, and to start the process over. In the face of a final decision, it was actually stated by several members of the BPR that a "do over" was in order. Does this sound familiar to you? Most of the board was incredulous as this would have set us back another 3-5 months and cost the association double rent while we stayed in the present location. Practically speaking, the EVP and the broker had looked at the available spaces in CLT that met a host of well thought out requirements. It was not like there was some hidden and spectacular office space that no one knew about. We would have probably ended up with the same choices again, except without the top picks this time and months later (and a bit poorer for spending excess rent). Also, we doubt the real estate broker would have been too impressed with his client after spending months looking for a property, delivering what was requested, and then to having to do it all over again. It would have made the association look foolish and indecisive. That substitute resolution was also voted down as well.
After a long journey and some hard feelings, the board has made a decision where to house the World Wide Headquarters of USAPA for the next five years. On a personal note, some of the things said during this lengthy debate were offensive and out of line. We hope that the next issue can be handled with a little more professionalism and civility.
Sincerely,
David Braid
PHX Chairman
Eric Ferguson
PHX Vice-Chairman
Roger Velez
PHX Vice-Chairman
Pat O'Neill
DDR during two of the required calls. __________________

Bucking Bar

Never mind ... that's some funny stuff though.

cactusmike

Aww, man, you beat me to it. Coupled with the cops being called to USAPA World Headquarters to break up a fight between two USAPA officers (both East guys), you have dysfunction at it's best.

Adult supervision, someone?

KillingMeSmalls

I know it's not my place to say, but I'm predicting this will happen:

The east guys will realize they were silly to ever think they would get date of hire and the west guys will give up on the nic.

They'll get a new arbitrator and he'll have a new list that looks pretty close to the nic but favors the east FOs a little more. (and kinda screws the west FOs)

I wish it would happen soon too, all this bickering is getting old.

johnso29

Or they could all be men, and stick to the arbitration they agreed to.

DAL330drvr

deleted............................

DAL330drvr

Careful what you wish for... If they are successful un-doing a binding arbitration, just imagine what management will do when a binding arbitration goes against them. For example the current snap back grievance at USAir east...

Sliceback

"World Wide Headquarters".

eaglefly

So they had a big infantile squabble primarily concerning a new headquarters selection that centered around personal safety and freedom from assault and the VP punctuated his concern by assault ?

If so, what a band of idiots.

hoserpilot

They need to buy an inflatable rat. I'd love to see the fight.....

Hey, I wanna rat.
No!!! I wanna snake.