Just wondering, wasn't JH part of your NC.. the same NC that crafted your part of the TPA, the TPA that so many UAL pilots were not happy with?

I have stated before, that I would have welcomed a new MEC Chair last year when we had our elections.. but the reality was, due to the way ALPA National ByLaws are written, we don't get to choose. Our LEC's do and after speaking with my Rep, the choice was Jay or one other person.
Like it or not (and I know you guys don't like it..) Jay P was the better choice.

As others have stated, Jay has an interesting past. Some hate it, some don't care. But at the end of the day, he's our MEC and he's suppose to be working with your guy. Until recently, Jay P was quoted as saying he spoke with your Jay often.
So.. for this to happen the way it did is unacceptable.

We'll now where this is headed in the next day, next few weeks and months, and by this time next year.
At this point, I'm no longer positive about this merger..

Motch


PS> For any mistake our side has made, there has been an equal mistake made by your side. But last time I looked, we were suppose to be in a JOINT Negotiation.. yet your MEC has decided to request release for the UAL side.. not alot of "Joint" in there.

 

Prediction...and an easy one at that.

Jay Pierce will not be on board with the UAL-MEC.

He is probably meeting or met with Fred today to discuss the plan of action....just like he did with regards to the SOC training issue last fall. Why else would he back the company on that? Oh wait.. maybe it was worth $40M.

Fred and the company will offer to negotiate a separate contract to Jay and the CAL pilots if Jay p. agrees not to get on board with the UAL_MEC.

Jay p. will announce tomorrow that this will be the road going forward and the UAL-MEC will be free to do what they want and the CAL MEC will do what THEY want. Similar to the PS deal he made. Why should this be any different than ALL the past behavior he has displayed?

 

Boxer..
If that does happen, and the CAL MEC decides to go it alone, they will have my support.
I was against the ProShar deal, and have stated that often.

But for the UAL MEC to request release based on a timeline WITHOUT talking to the CAL MEC, when we are in JOINT Negotiations.. is unacceptable.

Again, had your guys had discussions with our guys last week and stated this was coming, I would have supported a Joint Message.
That did not happen.

And, after reading your MEC's News from last night where he mentions the "Unfriendly Skies" Campaign.. it's obvious that your side has been planning to go it alone at some point.

So be it.

Motch

 

You guys go ahead and go it alone .. cross legal picket lines. Your contract allows you to honor other pilots' picket line. The question is, does your HONOR compel you to. UAL pilots won't stay at a hotel with a struck work force let alone cross another airlines' picket line.

Jack London's "Ode to a Scab", 1915, is as follows:

"After God had finished the rattlesnake, the toad, and the vampire, He had some awful substance left with which He made a scab. A scab is a two-legged animal with a corkscrew soul, a waterlogged brain, and a combination backbone made of jelly and glue. Where others have hearts, he carries a tumor of rotten principles.

When a scab comes down the street, men turn their backs and angels weep in heaven, and the devil shuts the gates of hell to keep him out. No man has a right to scab as long as there is a pool of water deep enough to drown his body in, or a rope long enough to hang his carcass with. Judas Iscariot was a gentleman compared with a scab. For betraying his Master, he had character enough to hang himself. A scab hasn't.

Esau sold his birthright for a mess of pottage. Judas Iscariot sold his savior for thirty pieces of silver. Benedict Arnold sold his country for a promise of a commission in the British Army. The modern strikebreaker sells his birthright, his country, his wife, his children, and his fellow men for an unfulfilled promise from his employer, trust, or corporation."

Other options include petioning ALPA national to decertify the CAL MEC (yes, that's allowed in the by laws). You guys want a fight, so do I. I'd prefer to fight with coworker Jeff, but after 4 years of stalled negotiations, I'm ****ed and ready for a fight with anyone. Jesus, man up.

 

In the above, you 'assume' A LOT.

Tomorrow (Friday), what happens if CAL's MEC announces they will go at it alone in light of the L-UA MEC's recent declaration?? If L-CAL does go at it alone, AND the NMB tells the L-UA MEC to "pound-sand" on being released come June 1st, WHAT 'legal picket line' would be there for you to hang your hat on considering the above assumption you make?

Until we get some direction as to what the CAL-MEC decides to embark upon following Heppener's announcement this week, cut the 'chicken-chested' READY-FIRE-AIM rhetoric......It does very little for the cause until tomorrows news/outcome/direction.

In a last-ditch effort, let's try to keep heads straight and realize that the "sum is greater than the parts" as we stand toe-to-toe against MGT.

 

A lot of "if's" in that last post .. My argument isn't with you, socal .. relax. I'm just trying to hold a line. I'll walk away from this F**&'d up industry before I'll walk on my brothers' backs to advance my career. Not chest pounding, more like .. head poundning, wondering how ANY of my CAL co-workers could even CONSIDER not honoring a UAL line.

You are correct, though .. tomorrow will tell the tale of L-CAL and whether they go down the right path or the wrong path. I STILL assert that decertification of the CAL MEC is a valid option to pursue.

Frats,

 

The EWR LEC reps are Pierce stooges. Whatever he tells them to do...they do it. The EWR reps represent no one but Pierce. Jay was the better choice? Choice for what? Management helper? Can't wait to see what Pierce comes up with. For what it's worth, I support the UAL MEC and their attempt to jump start something...anything! More than Baron and Cook and Pierce have done since they've been in office. I can't wait for the Denver elections for reps. That's when Baron and Cook end up as nothing more than a footnote when it comes to the power they think they hold. Frankly, IMO Pierce is being painted into a corner. It's not that he is being pressured by the membership. He is being pressured by management to get this contract done in their favor. Pierce does have an interesting past. A management past. He has not changed his spots. Pierce may be you "guy", but he's definitely not mine.

 

I'm with you on that one. It's too bad that CALALPA has a few bad apples that have a strangle hold on the dues paying members. A union is a good thing, Just not ALPA.

 

Building off of our earlier communications this week about the potential of seeking an April 30 release in response to Management's continued efforts put the negotiations in a holding pattern, I wanted to update you on some specific steps we have taken.

In particular, I want you to know that we have assembled the most highly-qualified campaign team to bolster our strategic approach and complement our ability to execute our long-term game plan.

Leading the effort is Jon Yarowksy, a partner at Patton Boggs in Washington, DC who is a former senior White House advisor to President Clinton, former General Counsel to the House Judiciary Committee (where he provided advice Members of Congress and Leadership) and very close to both the Obama White House and key players on the Hill (he was also a tailback for UCLA in the mid-seventies).

Working with Jon on the communications side is Chris Lehane and Mark Fabiani of Fabiani & Lehane. Mark and Chris are both former Clinton White House advisors, served as aides to Vice President Al Gore and are well-known Democratic operatives who have helped run various presidential, gubernatorial and senatorial campaigns.

Working with them, we have developed a comprehensive campaign to fight for all United pilots that will be called “The Unfriendly Skies."

Jon, Mark and Chris all worked together in the Clinton White House and have collaborated on successful efforts over the years. They are aggressive and proactive - and have a very simple philosophy: Play to Win.

“The Unfriendly Skies" campaign, which was discussed in a recent labor meeting in Chicago, is scheduled to be launched in conjunction with the summer travel season and will focus on the company's off-shoring of flights and out-sourcing of pilot jobs.

The campaign is expected to focus on issues such as the compromised safety for passengers and loss of jobs for America’s pilots. Additionally, we intend to have a specific social media effort designed to pro-actively reach out to consumers in order to minimize any possible disruption in their summer travel plans.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ +++++++++
The above is the message from the UAL MEC Chair from 18 April 2012.

Again, your MEC has decided to break the "Joint" Negotiations.. not the CAL MEC.
You want to try and decert the CAL MEC, I say go for it. But at the same time, be careful what you wish for and since you think that ALPA National will side with you, why don't you try and pull that trigger.

Did JH consult with ALPA National before pulling the Release trigger?
Did the UAL MEC have a joint meeting last week to approve this release timetable?
Why hasn't one UAL Pilot answered any of those questions?

Again.. not one CAL Pilot EVER talked about going it alone- until your MEC put out a message that basically states their desire to be released by a certain timeline if their demands aren't met.
Your MEC put out a News Blast the other night detailing what they have done to start THEIR campaign; "The Unfriendly Skies".
Your MEC is the one that pulled the Release trigger prematurely, without consulting the CAL MEC.

There won't be any strike of one side that would give the other side a chance to cross a picket line. And the majority of the pilots I know on the CAL side would not cross a line if it ever happened anyway.
But what may happen, and wouldn't surprise me if it does- is the "New United" trying to get a separate deal now (which is kinda what you want, it seems) on the CAL side and then to continue to grow the CAL side to the detriment of the UAL side.
{I hope I'm wrong on this~}

Again, if that happens we will merely have to look back onto April 2012 to see where the blame lies.

Motch

 

Oh, and I guess UAL ALPA (or I really should say- some of it's members?!) now thinks it would be ok to try and decert the CAL MEC..
do we get any say in that, or does the UAL MEC just take over the CAL MEC?

Yeah, this is going in the right direction~

Motch