From the latest CAL MEC News 10/29
10-30-2010, 11:41 AM
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From the latest CAL MEC News 10/29
A MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIRMAN I spent most of the week in ORD working with the Alliance Committee on Scope issues, the R&I Committee on how or if we should respond to some false assumptions being made by a few pilots on what is or is or is not a part of our JCBA proposal and with the JNC as they received management’s counterproposals for all the unresolved sections of the JCBA.
As I mentioned in last week’s brief, the Alliance Oversight Committee, along with other relevant experts and counsel, have been analyzing management’s announced plan that includes 70-seat United Express regional jet flying with the Continental code out of our hubs. We created a step-by-step process to ensure that we methodically review all pertinent aspects of the Company’s plan and determine our best course of action. The first step included a meeting with the Company this week to express our pilot group’s serious concerns and to explain that we believed the flying would be a violation of our Scope provisions. Most importantly, we asked management for an explanation as to how they believed these flights could be operated in compliance with our CBA. Unfortunately, they were not able to provide their justification yet, but promised to do so shortly. We will carefully review management's legal explanation if and when we receive one.
I cannot stress enough how extremely shortsighted it would be for the Company to move forward with these plans in violation of our CBA. I have made our stance on outsourcing well known to management, the public and to Congress. To attempt to circumvent the Scope section as almost the very first action of the merged UAL can only be viewed by our pilots as a direct affront on our interests and an insult to each of us. Not only will it adversely affect our negotiations for a JCBA, we are prepared to use all appropriate legal vehicles to bring resolution to this issue and ultimately prevent outsourcing in violation of our current CBA.
As for the topic of retirement and insurance, I want to try and quell rumors that have been making the rounds lately about what has been proposed for the JCBA in this area. First, the MEC established the goals for the CAL pilots’ retirement months ago as part of our independent Section 6 negotiations prior to the merger. Those goals have not changed. What has changed as a result of the merger are the steps we are taking to achieve those goals. As was always the case, both pre-and post-merger, certain IRS rulings would have to be sought by the Company and granted by the IRS in order to modify our frozen A-Plan or to start any new defined benefit plan. Our proposal includes language that requires the Company to seek those rulings as the first step toward fixing our defined benefit issues. So, rumors or emails that suggest that we no longer seek to improve our DB plan or establish a new DB plan as part of the ultimate retirement solution are wholly untrue. Your MEC has been briefed by the Negotiating Committee on the JNC proposal many times and as recently as a few weeks ago at the October MEC meeting in FLL. In speaking with the Negotiating and R&I Committees this week, it is clear that we all are like-minded in our desire to achieve the best possible retirement solution through these JCBA negotiations. Whether that be through a hearty DC plan, an enhanced DB plan or a combination of those and something new, our goals are all the same and we will work together to achieve them.
On Wednesday the JNC and a slew of committee members spent the day receiving management’s counterproposal on all the outstanding sections of the JCBA. To say that we are in data overload would be an understatement. If forced to characterize the turn, I would say this—as this was really the first thing we have seen from management that is economic in nature, I was not expecting a lot. They did not exceed my expectations.
It is important to remember that as with any other turn in negotiations, we will accept those items that are acceptable and reject or counter those that are not. It is as simple as that. There was a great deal of information presented and the JNC and SMEs have much to digest. It will take some time for them to sort through it all. Once that is done, the JNC will present a summary to both MECs.
Next week the CAL MEC is hosting the Association of Star Alliance Pilots (ASAP) meeting in New York. Attending will be almost 60 pilot leaders from 20 airlines based in the U.S., Canada, Europe, Asia, the Pacific, Africa and New Zealand. This will be another opportunity for us as Star pilots to work together, building the relationships and laying the groundwork for plans to ensure that our pilots and our profession are well protected in today’s global environment. There can be no doubt that the managements of the airlines in the STAR alliance are communicating with each other to their benefit. So too, must the pilot leadership. I look forward to spending next week with the Alliance Oversight Committee and our Star Alliance partners.
I hope you all have a great weekend and an enjoyable Halloween. Fly safe.
One Union. One Voice.
Capt. Jay Pierce
CAL MEC Chairman
NEGOTIATING
This week the Joint Negotiating Committee (JNC), along with a multitude of subject matter experts (SMEs), attorneys and financial advisors, traveled to Chicago to meet with United management and receive their overview of the new United and proposals for the JCBA. As we have reported in previous communications, your ALPA JNC has made initial proposals on nearly all sections of the JCBA and the JNC has been awaiting a counter from management in order for us to further the negotiating process.
The week ended with us leaving Chicago carrying proposals and briefings from management on all sections of the contract. It will take some time for the JNC and its SMEs to fully vet and analyze this amount of information. It is safe to say that as with any initial offer, we won’t be signing on the dotted line and a significant amount of work needs to be done. The JNC is studying the proposals through the weekend with due diligence and will reconvene on Monday to begin work on counterproposals. This may take some time, but we believe thoroughness is what you expect and deserve from your JNC.
As the next few weeks unfold, we will continue to provide you with information on the status of negotiations for your JCBA. In the meantime, please stay connected with your local and MEC communications, representatives and officers.
MERGER
Your Merger Committee recognizes that not much has been said of our activities lately and we appreciate your patience as we press through this lengthy process. We have, however, been hard at work over the past few months on a variety of activities. We have now met with the UAL Merger Committee on three separate occasions for the purposes of exchanging and clarifying seniority list and administrative data. We have yet to conduct any substantive negotiating with the UAL Merger Committee on how to combine the two separate seniority lists as both sides are still working to completely and fully understand each other’s seniority list and employment data. Even something as seemingly simple as developing comparable employment data frequently becomes a lengthy process when dealing with different airlines. We are still working on completing the exchange of employment data with the UAL Merger Committee.
We have also been spending a significant amount of time preparing for the negotiations phase, the mediation phase and if necessary, the arbitration phase. We are analyzing the seniority lists, reading/researching past mergers and cases, debating internally and analyzing data – all with the goal of crafting a strategy that will allow us to obtain a fair and equitable seniority integration with the best possible seniority list integration (SLI) outcome for the Continental pilots.
We have also briefed the MEC several times, both in Houston as well as at the MEC meeting conducted in conjunction with the recent ALPA Board of Directors meeting in Florida. We were also pleased to be able to brief the membership at the IAH and EWR local council meetings in September.
Please remember that the Protocol Agreement provides that we won’t initiate the arbitration phase (selection of arbitrators and the actual proceedings, etc.) until we have a tentative agreement (TA) for the joint collective bargaining agreement (JCBA), and that we won’t begin the actual arbitration proceedings until we have a ratified JCBA. If the TA is turned down by the membership, we will put the planning process and the arbitration proceedings themselves on hold and return to our neutral corners until such time as there is a ratified JCBA. This potential delay is by design as it puts pressure on the Company to complete the JCBA process as quickly as possible. In other words, if management wants to realize its expected merger “synergies” that come from a merged operation, including an integrated seniority list, then the Company will need to complete the negotiation of our JCBA. The pilot group holds the key to a successful completion of the goal of merger synergies through the SLI process, which will be delivered to management once the Company has delivered on a fair JCBA.
As I mentioned in last week’s brief, the Alliance Oversight Committee, along with other relevant experts and counsel, have been analyzing management’s announced plan that includes 70-seat United Express regional jet flying with the Continental code out of our hubs. We created a step-by-step process to ensure that we methodically review all pertinent aspects of the Company’s plan and determine our best course of action. The first step included a meeting with the Company this week to express our pilot group’s serious concerns and to explain that we believed the flying would be a violation of our Scope provisions. Most importantly, we asked management for an explanation as to how they believed these flights could be operated in compliance with our CBA. Unfortunately, they were not able to provide their justification yet, but promised to do so shortly. We will carefully review management's legal explanation if and when we receive one.
I cannot stress enough how extremely shortsighted it would be for the Company to move forward with these plans in violation of our CBA. I have made our stance on outsourcing well known to management, the public and to Congress. To attempt to circumvent the Scope section as almost the very first action of the merged UAL can only be viewed by our pilots as a direct affront on our interests and an insult to each of us. Not only will it adversely affect our negotiations for a JCBA, we are prepared to use all appropriate legal vehicles to bring resolution to this issue and ultimately prevent outsourcing in violation of our current CBA.
As for the topic of retirement and insurance, I want to try and quell rumors that have been making the rounds lately about what has been proposed for the JCBA in this area. First, the MEC established the goals for the CAL pilots’ retirement months ago as part of our independent Section 6 negotiations prior to the merger. Those goals have not changed. What has changed as a result of the merger are the steps we are taking to achieve those goals. As was always the case, both pre-and post-merger, certain IRS rulings would have to be sought by the Company and granted by the IRS in order to modify our frozen A-Plan or to start any new defined benefit plan. Our proposal includes language that requires the Company to seek those rulings as the first step toward fixing our defined benefit issues. So, rumors or emails that suggest that we no longer seek to improve our DB plan or establish a new DB plan as part of the ultimate retirement solution are wholly untrue. Your MEC has been briefed by the Negotiating Committee on the JNC proposal many times and as recently as a few weeks ago at the October MEC meeting in FLL. In speaking with the Negotiating and R&I Committees this week, it is clear that we all are like-minded in our desire to achieve the best possible retirement solution through these JCBA negotiations. Whether that be through a hearty DC plan, an enhanced DB plan or a combination of those and something new, our goals are all the same and we will work together to achieve them.
On Wednesday the JNC and a slew of committee members spent the day receiving management’s counterproposal on all the outstanding sections of the JCBA. To say that we are in data overload would be an understatement. If forced to characterize the turn, I would say this—as this was really the first thing we have seen from management that is economic in nature, I was not expecting a lot. They did not exceed my expectations.
It is important to remember that as with any other turn in negotiations, we will accept those items that are acceptable and reject or counter those that are not. It is as simple as that. There was a great deal of information presented and the JNC and SMEs have much to digest. It will take some time for them to sort through it all. Once that is done, the JNC will present a summary to both MECs.
Next week the CAL MEC is hosting the Association of Star Alliance Pilots (ASAP) meeting in New York. Attending will be almost 60 pilot leaders from 20 airlines based in the U.S., Canada, Europe, Asia, the Pacific, Africa and New Zealand. This will be another opportunity for us as Star pilots to work together, building the relationships and laying the groundwork for plans to ensure that our pilots and our profession are well protected in today’s global environment. There can be no doubt that the managements of the airlines in the STAR alliance are communicating with each other to their benefit. So too, must the pilot leadership. I look forward to spending next week with the Alliance Oversight Committee and our Star Alliance partners.
I hope you all have a great weekend and an enjoyable Halloween. Fly safe.
One Union. One Voice.
Capt. Jay Pierce
CAL MEC Chairman
NEGOTIATING
This week the Joint Negotiating Committee (JNC), along with a multitude of subject matter experts (SMEs), attorneys and financial advisors, traveled to Chicago to meet with United management and receive their overview of the new United and proposals for the JCBA. As we have reported in previous communications, your ALPA JNC has made initial proposals on nearly all sections of the JCBA and the JNC has been awaiting a counter from management in order for us to further the negotiating process.
The week ended with us leaving Chicago carrying proposals and briefings from management on all sections of the contract. It will take some time for the JNC and its SMEs to fully vet and analyze this amount of information. It is safe to say that as with any initial offer, we won’t be signing on the dotted line and a significant amount of work needs to be done. The JNC is studying the proposals through the weekend with due diligence and will reconvene on Monday to begin work on counterproposals. This may take some time, but we believe thoroughness is what you expect and deserve from your JNC.
As the next few weeks unfold, we will continue to provide you with information on the status of negotiations for your JCBA. In the meantime, please stay connected with your local and MEC communications, representatives and officers.
MERGER
Your Merger Committee recognizes that not much has been said of our activities lately and we appreciate your patience as we press through this lengthy process. We have, however, been hard at work over the past few months on a variety of activities. We have now met with the UAL Merger Committee on three separate occasions for the purposes of exchanging and clarifying seniority list and administrative data. We have yet to conduct any substantive negotiating with the UAL Merger Committee on how to combine the two separate seniority lists as both sides are still working to completely and fully understand each other’s seniority list and employment data. Even something as seemingly simple as developing comparable employment data frequently becomes a lengthy process when dealing with different airlines. We are still working on completing the exchange of employment data with the UAL Merger Committee.
We have also been spending a significant amount of time preparing for the negotiations phase, the mediation phase and if necessary, the arbitration phase. We are analyzing the seniority lists, reading/researching past mergers and cases, debating internally and analyzing data – all with the goal of crafting a strategy that will allow us to obtain a fair and equitable seniority integration with the best possible seniority list integration (SLI) outcome for the Continental pilots.
We have also briefed the MEC several times, both in Houston as well as at the MEC meeting conducted in conjunction with the recent ALPA Board of Directors meeting in Florida. We were also pleased to be able to brief the membership at the IAH and EWR local council meetings in September.
Please remember that the Protocol Agreement provides that we won’t initiate the arbitration phase (selection of arbitrators and the actual proceedings, etc.) until we have a tentative agreement (TA) for the joint collective bargaining agreement (JCBA), and that we won’t begin the actual arbitration proceedings until we have a ratified JCBA. If the TA is turned down by the membership, we will put the planning process and the arbitration proceedings themselves on hold and return to our neutral corners until such time as there is a ratified JCBA. This potential delay is by design as it puts pressure on the Company to complete the JCBA process as quickly as possible. In other words, if management wants to realize its expected merger “synergies” that come from a merged operation, including an integrated seniority list, then the Company will need to complete the negotiation of our JCBA. The pilot group holds the key to a successful completion of the goal of merger synergies through the SLI process, which will be delivered to management once the Company has delivered on a fair JCBA.
10-30-2010, 11:51 AM
#2
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Oct 2010
Posts: 126
My initial thoughts are that it seems to be progressing...maybe not as quickly or as benevolently as us pilots would like, but it is progressing. Ultimately, we have to trust our JNC and MEC's to make the call if and when the company stops negotiating in good faith. Getting this done in OCT was just never a realistic goal. It was nice to put in print for the regulators, but any expectations a JCBA would be done that quickly were not realistic.
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