Guys and gals,

If the stars still stay in alignment and we have a new list tomorrow, well I want to be the first to say good luck and hope we all have a fair integration. I am not trying to start any arguments or debates, we are well past that now, but just want closure and have us move forward and start to look to the future. It may or may not be a little painful for me when the results are published but know that I am still more than content knowing that we can put the last hurdle behind us now. I'm ready to be one group and a real pilot group that can potentially lead the industry.

 

I got the blastmail, but I didn't read that it would be given to us tomorrow. Just a vague "should be done by next week (last Friday)". Was there something that pointed to exactly Tuesday? Thanks.

 

+1

Well said.

FWIW, here's the follow up blastmail the UAL MEC sent out on the 28th:

 

I'm not thinking it will but if so or it gets leaked(like a lot does) well we will know soon. I think by Friday but wanted to just add positive vibes.

 

CAL MEC UPDATE (Wednesday): Aug. 28, 2013

We were advised by the arbitration panel today that they will not be completed with the Integrated Seniority List (ISL) this week and are instead anticipating their award on Tuesday, Sept. 3. This was not unanticipated, as the original timeline, and the current one, are only estimates. Plans for a special meeting of the CAL MEC remain in place, and the date will be adjusted as necessary to accommodate the issuance of the award.

 

Nice sentiment, unrealistic. I, too, was hopeful I would feel this way until the results came out. Watching folks hired years after you, upgrade, bid vacation, get weekends off, holidays, all QOL issues, sticks with you for a while, career long if you will. Happy about the merger, unhappy with the way the SLI was played, argued, and awarded. Good luck.

 

Not unrealistic, sucks yes and I do empathize. I was coming off a 8 month deployment with a newborn at home. Our replacing unit just had a guy break his leg. I got home for one week and deployed again. Anger, sadness even depression but I chose not to let this or life control me again. I realize this decision is for our careers but I can't change it. All I can do is accept it or quit.

 

Many will opine that the soon to be released list is not so fair nor not so equitable ... but it is so only in their reality. By definition, the arbs award is the only FAIR and EQUITABLE solution. If one chooses not to agree, I wish you the best of luck.

 

Thanks man. I totally agree.

 

I think Boog123 is one of ours (Delta).

I think it's best to understand/anticipate that you're not going to bask in the warm glow of solidarity as a result of your SLI/ISL award. You're going to feel like you have to share your house and your spouse with someone else, for ever, and you're not going to be happy about the room distribution. Your opposite number is going to feel exactly the same.

Rather than have unrealistic hopes dashed, I would suggest you view the SLI as a traumatic and unpleasant event, get your hate on for a few days, whine bitterly when you're with "your side", and move on. Then get your mourning on, and say good-bye to your quaint (and grossly embellished) notions of the past at your (no longer) independent airline, and the rosy future you envisioned just for yourself. They're all gone.

I suspect none of you is going to feel a strong bond with your opposite number because of a "fair" SLI: you're going to bond with them despite being forced onto a list together. You're going to do it because you'll come to realize they're just like you, you're going to do it because there is no value in whining, and so you're going to end up doing it out of necessity: the quality of your future depends on your ability to work together.

We're a few years ahead of you, and we're still sort of in purgatory. Guys are flying together with little or no problem, but we're still waiting to punch at our weight class, as a group of more than 11,000.

So... good luck to you all.