AA-APA Negotiating Update
04-30-2011 | 04:22 AM
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AA-APA Negotiating Update
Negotiating Update for April 25-April 28
Your Negotiating Committee traveled to Fort Lauderdale, Florida this week to meet with management for four days of focused discussions and bargaining on scheduling and reserve. The talks were significant on a number of levels.
Several weeks of sub-committee preparations set the stage for this week’s session and the parties were able to move talks on these key subjects to a much more serious level. Most significantly, management passed formal scheduling proposals based on traditional bid sheet bidding. We applaud management’s recognition that all known flying will be published on bid sheets as we know them today, as opposed to management's long-standing desire to transition to a preferential bidding system. While we don't want to overstate the significance of this move, it does unlock a multitude of issues at the table that can now be discussed in earnest. There are still many difficult issues ahead. However, within hours of this management move, the parties identified a number of issues on which they agreed or only had minor differences of opinion.
During the week, the parties also discussed sequence protection, an improved reserve system, premium pay for reassignments and a host of other possible improvements for our pilots. The APA Negotiating Committee again expressed its ability to agree to some level of increased productivity, as long as that productivity is tied to genuine and verifiable growth metrics that can address our industry-leading stagnation problem. Management has expressed their interest in structuring a deal based on verifiable growth that exceeds the value of any new efficiencies. These talks will continue into next week and will be ongoing throughout May.
While there is much hard work ahead and many hurdles to overcome, the progress this week moves negotiations to the core issues our pilots care about most. Our next formal sessions are scheduled for May 4-6 and May 25-27, but informal working-group sessions will be held every week to keep the process moving forward.
Your APA Negotiating Committee
Your Negotiating Committee traveled to Fort Lauderdale, Florida this week to meet with management for four days of focused discussions and bargaining on scheduling and reserve. The talks were significant on a number of levels.
Several weeks of sub-committee preparations set the stage for this week’s session and the parties were able to move talks on these key subjects to a much more serious level. Most significantly, management passed formal scheduling proposals based on traditional bid sheet bidding. We applaud management’s recognition that all known flying will be published on bid sheets as we know them today, as opposed to management's long-standing desire to transition to a preferential bidding system. While we don't want to overstate the significance of this move, it does unlock a multitude of issues at the table that can now be discussed in earnest. There are still many difficult issues ahead. However, within hours of this management move, the parties identified a number of issues on which they agreed or only had minor differences of opinion.
During the week, the parties also discussed sequence protection, an improved reserve system, premium pay for reassignments and a host of other possible improvements for our pilots. The APA Negotiating Committee again expressed its ability to agree to some level of increased productivity, as long as that productivity is tied to genuine and verifiable growth metrics that can address our industry-leading stagnation problem. Management has expressed their interest in structuring a deal based on verifiable growth that exceeds the value of any new efficiencies. These talks will continue into next week and will be ongoing throughout May.
While there is much hard work ahead and many hurdles to overcome, the progress this week moves negotiations to the core issues our pilots care about most. Our next formal sessions are scheduled for May 4-6 and May 25-27, but informal working-group sessions will be held every week to keep the process moving forward.
Your APA Negotiating Committee
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