Notices

SLI work begins

Old 12-19-2012, 11:41 AM
  #1  
Gets Weekends Off
Thread Starter
 
APC225's Avatar
 
Joined APC: Feb 2011
Posts: 3,866
Default SLI work begins

or continues, depending on how you view it.


SENIORITY LIST INTEGRATION
With the ratification of the Joint Collective Bargaining Agreement (JCBA) last Saturday, some pilots’ attention will now turn to the seniority list integration (SLI) process. Your Merger Committee has been working hard and has been very busy on a variety of tasks to date. The most important of these, obviously, is preparing for the upcoming SLI mediation and arbitration proceedings that will occur now that our JCBA has been ratified. When requested, we also have engaged in other MEC business, such as assisting other MEC committees on matters relevant to the merger process. We have also attended local council meetings and MEC meetings, and participated in Town Hall conference calls to communicate with the pilot group. We nonetheless continue to spend the majority of our time preparing for the negotiation, mediation and arbitration phases of the SLI process.

We conduct our day to day work in Washington, D.C. This arrangement allows us easy access to our merger attorneys from Katz & Ranzman, with whom we meet on a regular basis. This preparation phase consists of analyzing the two seniority lists in detail, and reviewing and researching past mergers and their associated seniority integration results. We also analyze other economic data and employment data going back many years. We spend a considerable amount of our time analyzing the various pilot “equities” that each pilot group brings to the merger and each group’s career expectations. This work is dynamic and our case is always evolving. For example, corporate and industry decisions and events that have occurred during this lengthy process have frequently led us to refine our strategy. This preparation is exhaustive and involves mountains of data and research. We will craft and employ strategies that will allow us to seek and achieve a fair and equitable SLI for the Continental pilots.

THE PROCESS – WHAT’S NEXT?
The SLI process, as you may recall, is governed by the protocol agreement executed by the UAL MEC and the CAL MEC on May 17, 2010, shortly after the announcement of the merger. The protocol agreement required that we begin SLI negotiations with the United Merger Committee upon the announcement of a merger, with the goal of a consensual agreement on an ISL between both Merger Committees. This agreement further provides that we will initiate the mediation/arbitration phases (selection of mediator and arbitrators and the actual proceedings, etc.) only when the two MECs have approved a tentative agreement (TA) for the JCBA, and that we will begin the actual arbitration proceedings only when we have a fully ratified JCBA.

There are several dates/timelines that the protocol agreement lays out for the SLI process. The timelines are based on the date of the JCBA TA, which was Nov. 12, 2012.

TA + 30 days (12/12/12): Select Mediator and 3 Arbitrators
TA + 100 days (2/20/13): Mediator Joins Negotiations
TA + 140 days (4/1/13): Arbitration Becomes Mandatory

The two Merger Committees are currently in the negotiations phase. In fact, we are scheduled to meet Jan. 8-9, 2013. If we don’t reach agreement on an ISL with the United Merger Committee by Feb. 20, 2013, we will initiate formal mediation proceedings, with the jointly selected mediator joining the two Merger Committees in the SLI negotiations. If we don’t reach agreement while utilizing the mediation process by April 1, 2013, the arbitration will become mandatory. That said, however, nothing in the protocol agreement prohibits both Merger Committees from initiating mediation and, if necessary, arbitration, prior to those dates.

Many pilots have asked us when we expect the process to be fully completed. Unfortunately, while there is a defined date for when certain aspects of the process must begin, it was not possible to establish a deadline for when the process must conclude. However, it is safe to say that the entire SLI process should reasonably be expected to conclude within six months of the date that the JCBA was ratified, which was Dec. 15, 2012.

Please remember that while virtually all of what we do in preparation for the negotiations, mediation and arbitration is confidential, the actual arbitration proceedings will be held in open session and all pilots will be invited to attend. Additionally, once the SLI is achieved, we will be briefing the pilot group on the SLI agreement or arbitrator’s award, and providing a summation of our work in a town hall format.

Further, we have a Q&A document on our Merger Committee web page on the CAL MEC website. This document has some common questions and answers that we believe may prove useful to you for this upcoming process.

If you have a question, comment or concern about the SLI process, please write directly to your entire Merger Committee at [email protected]. We will respond as soon as possible.


CAL MEC Merger Committee


Air Line Pilots Association, International
Air Line Pilots Association, International
APC225 is offline  
Old 12-19-2012, 12:01 PM
  #2  
Peace Love Understanding
 
LAX Pilot's Avatar
 
Joined APC: Nov 2012
Position: Airbus
Posts: 1,040
Default

Here is a glimpse of the current negotiating situation.

LAX Pilot is offline  
Old 12-19-2012, 12:12 PM
  #3  
Gets Weekends Off
 
Joined APC: Jan 2006
Position: Maddog FO
Posts: 651
Default

What do most pilots want? Relative seniority? DOH?
Roper92 is offline  
Old 12-19-2012, 12:30 PM
  #4  
Peace Love Understanding
 
LAX Pilot's Avatar
 
Joined APC: Nov 2012
Position: Airbus
Posts: 1,040
Default

Originally Posted by Roper92 View Post
What do most pilots want? Relative seniority? DOH?
If you are on the CAL side you want relative seniority because CAL has merged with an airline that has far more widebody aircraft. So say you are at 75% from the top and 25% from the bottom. You are at an airline with 10% or less of your aircraft are widebodies. Now you merge with UAL where 35% of the aircraft are widebodies, and the result is the overall airline is 23% widebody (more than TWICE as much) and you are still 75% overall, you just got a huge bump in career expectations.

UAL guys probably ok with DOH because they have 6400+ pilots who were hired in the 1990's or before and are still active, and a bunch more pilots on furlough as well.

Neither of these will happen, but both will be looked at, because current status and longevity both play a part in them.

So its going to be weird, but guys are going to complain. There will be some United guys who don't get 10 years as a widebody CAP (maybe 7 or 8), because their new airline has a ton of guys who got put ahead of them, and maybe they get to hold narrowbody Cap a bit sooner instead. Conversely some CAL guy takes an extra year or two to get to 737 CAP (or lineholder, etc) but then at the end of his career ends up a 747 Cap or flies a widebody that he may have never flown or held a line on etc.

But one truth of this is that we can't change our ages, and we can't change the airplanes we have. So what we have is what we have, and there has to be a way for it to be fair for everyone and DOH and relative seniority don't really work.
LAX Pilot is offline  
Old 12-19-2012, 12:48 PM
  #5  
Don't say Guppy
 
Joined APC: Dec 2010
Position: Guppy driver
Posts: 1,926
Default

I don't know enough about the "when and how many" CAL pilots were hired to know which is best. For the bottom 1/3 of both, which is most of the posters on this forum, DOH is better for UAL, and relative is better for CAL. But that may not be the case for the upper 2/3's of each list. I don't know.

I do know DOH would come up with a "stupid" list, which is to say there would be "clumps" of pilots from one, followed by clumps from the other. From what some have said the top 1000 pilots at CAL would be at the top. Followed by 1100 at UAL as strikebreakers. UAL hired more from 95-2001 than probably the entire CAL list.

I don't know the makeup of the CAL list, plus I have an agenda. I would prefer neutrals do the dirty work, and hopefully it turns out fair for as many as possible.
Probe is offline  
Old 12-19-2012, 12:57 PM
  #6  
APC co-founder
 
HSLD's Avatar
 
Joined APC: Feb 2005
Position: B777
Posts: 5,853
Default

Originally Posted by LAX Pilot View Post
So its going to be weird, but guys are going to complain.
Funniest thing I've read today!
HSLD is offline  
Old 12-19-2012, 01:39 PM
  #7  
Gets Weekends Off
 
Joined APC: Jan 2006
Position: Maddog FO
Posts: 651
Default

Well it's impossible for an SLI to please 10,000+ pilots. Someone started a Delta SLI thread posting how their integration went. It seems for the most part it was a pretty smooth intergration. Would most of you favor something similar?
Roper92 is offline  
Old 12-19-2012, 03:35 PM
  #8  
Gets Weekends Off
 
cadetdrivr's Avatar
 
Joined APC: Oct 2010
Posts: 2,639
Default

Originally Posted by Roper92 View Post
It seems for the most part it was a pretty smooth intergration.
It all depends if you are talking to a DAL or NWA pilot.
cadetdrivr is offline  
Old 12-19-2012, 04:04 PM
  #9  
Gets Weekends Off
 
oldmako's Avatar
 
Joined APC: May 2009
Position: The GF of FUPM
Posts: 3,073
Default

"The message you have entered is too short. Please lengthen your message to at least 10 characters."

At least ten characters....

1. Manny
2. Moe
3. Jack
4. Curly
5. Moe
6. Larry
7. JayH
8. JayP
9. El Heffe
10. Fred
11. Pete
12. The capt who assured me we were getting FULL retro,
13. The capt who assured me we were getting FULL retro AND equity,
15. The captains who were certain that the "rumored" TA leaks were bogus (funny how the were amazingly accurate),
14. The captains who wanted to wait till airborne to write up known deficiencies...what FOM?
15. The captains who popped the parking brake early to get the on time...what SOP?
16. The captains who wanted to leave hubs with with serious mechanical deficiencies MEL'd knowing that no one at the other end would want to fly the junk they carried,
17. The captains who didn't want to risk having to explain legitimate late departures to the CP,
18. Jeffrey Lebowski
19. Walter Sobchak
20. Donnie Kerabotsos
21. Brandt
22. Jackie Treehorn
23. Karl Hungus
24. Maude Lebowski
25. Knox Harrington
26. Jesus Quintana
27. Plankton
28. Peter Griffin
29. Quagmire
30. Anton Chigurh
31. Sir Lancelot
32. Arthur Pewty
33. The Knights who said 'Ni!'
34. Major Kong
35. Hollis P. Wood
36. Taggart

Last edited by oldmako; 12-19-2012 at 04:41 PM.
oldmako is offline  
Old 12-19-2012, 04:41 PM
  #10  
Peace Love Understanding
 
LAX Pilot's Avatar
 
Joined APC: Nov 2012
Position: Airbus
Posts: 1,040
Default

Originally Posted by Probe View Post
I do know DOH would come up with a "stupid" list, which is to say there would be "clumps" of pilots from one, followed by clumps from the other.
I agree. DOH would be stupid.

But relative seniority would also be stupid as a guy with 14 years of active time at an airline with lots of widebodies and him never having been furloughed would be equal to a guy with 2 years of time at the other airline that has tons of 737s'.

So they will figure something out and I think its going to be just fine.....
LAX Pilot is offline  
Related Topics
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
2StgTurbine
Regional
37
12-22-2012 05:42 PM
deltabound
Foreign
18
03-28-2010 02:49 PM
bryced1
Flight Schools and Training
26
10-14-2009 04:14 AM
Busboy
Cargo
110
09-18-2007 05:41 PM
ToiletDuck
Hangar Talk
10
02-27-2007 10:35 AM

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are On
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are On


Thread Tools
Search this Thread
Your Privacy Choices