American Pilots Replace Union Leaders

[Big Slick]

American pilots replace union leaders


[SIZE=+1]New slate of officers vows to stand tougher against airline's management[/SIZE]


[SIZE=-1]12:20 AM CDT on Thursday, June 21, 2007[/SIZE]


[SIZE=-1]By TERRY MAXON / The Dallas Morning News [/SIZE]


American Airlines Inc. pilots overwhelmingly voted out their union's officers Wednesday and replaced them with a slate that promised to be tougher in dealing with American's management.

The Allied Pilots Association will be headed by Miami pilot Lloyd Hill, who beat president Ralph Hunter, 4,573 to 2,180votes.

The Allied Pilots Association’s new officers will have a mandate to negotiate hard for a new contract and to stand firmer in dealing with airline executives.

Tom Westbrook beat vice president Sam Bertling, 4,665 to 2,068, and Bill Haug defeated secretary-treasurer Jim Eaton, 3,986 votes to 2,723.

The new officers will take office July 1 with a mandate to negotiate hard for a new contract and to stand firmer in their dealings with top airline executives.

At the airline's request, American and the union began negotiating terms of a new contract last September, nearly two years before the contract's official "amendable" date of April 30, 2008.

However, the two sides have not worked out a new deal yet, nor has either side touted much progress.

Mr. Hunter and his team, who took office in 2004, had to deal with anger over the concessions pilots and other employees made in 2003 to keep American out of bankruptcy.

When the airline appeared to be slipping into financial problems in 2005, Mr. Hunter urged the union to work with management to increase productivity and make American more competitive with other carriers, which had used bankruptcy to lower their labor costs.

That willingness to participate in the so-called Performance Leadership Initiative hurt Mr. Hunter when the airline regained its financial health. Parent AMR Corp. posted a $231 million profit in 2006 following losses of more than $8 billion between 2001 and 2005, including an $816 million loss in 2005.
The rising price of AMR shares compared with those of other airlines triggered stock bonuses for top executives and other key employees in April 2006, approaching $100 million in value, and in April 2007, worth more than $160 million.

"I don't think he [Mr. Hunter] could recover from the fact that he went along with the PLI and then had the big stock distribution," Dallas/Fort Worth-based pilot Billy Parker said.

After the first stock distribution, Mr. Hunter began talking a harder line against management, and the union demanded a 30.5 percent pay increase. Even so, his opponents promised to represent the interests of employees rather than those of management, and they criticized Mr. Hunter for cooperating with management to the detriment of pilots.

Mr. Hunter and his slate tried to counter the criticism by describing Mr. Hill as a radical who helped start the illegal 1999 sickout that prompted a $45.5 million fine from a federal judge. They also predicted Mr. Hill would be unable to get along with a majority of the union's board.

But Mr. Hill and the other challengers picked up the endorsements of other candidates defeated in an earlier round of voting, and Mr. Hill was able to more than double Mr. Hunter's vote totals.

Neither Mr. Hunter or Mr. Hill could be reached for comment Wednesday night.

 

[Big Slick]

American Airlines Pilots Oust Union Prez


DALLAS (AP) - Pilots at American Airlines, unhappy over pay and angry at company management, ousted their union's top officers and elected a slate of newcomers who promised to take a harder line against the nation's largest carrier.
Miami-based pilot Lloyd Hill defeated incumbent President Ralph Hunter by more than a 2-to-1 margin in a runoff, and challengers also unseated the Allied Pilots Association's next two ranking officials.
Hill said immediately that the union's proposal for a 30.5 percent pay increase next year "is not nearly enough."
Hill charged that Hunter and other union leaders were too cozy with company management. Hunter's job was clearly in jeopardy after he got only 25 percent of the vote during an election in May and barely made the runoff.
The first test for the new officers will come quickly -- the union is in the early stages of negotiations for a new contract in which it expects large raises.
Under Hunter, the union proposed pay raises and big signing bonuses. Hunter also organized protests against $160 million in stock awards given in April to more than 800 management employees.
Privately, airline officials viewed the protests and pay demands as part of the union leaders' campaign to stay in office by appearing tough. If so, the plan came up short against challengers who took a harder anti-company stance.
Pilots voted by mail, with ballots due Wednesday. The votes were counted at union headquarters in Fort Worth, with federal officials overseeing the process.
Hill got 4,573 votes, or 68 percent, to Hunter's 2,180. Dallas-based pilot Tom Westbrook defeated Vice President Sam Bertling by an even larger margin, and San Francisco-based pilot Bill Haug defeated incumbent Secretary-Treasurer Jim Eaton.
The union represents more than 9,000 current pilots at American.
In an interview Wednesday night, Hill said he wants the company to succeed but current union leaders had tried too hard to find a middle ground with management instead of representing pilots.
"I probably worry a little less about the company because I'm sure they can take care of themselves," he said.
Hill said the union's pay raise proposal made last month isn't enough to offset 23 percent pay cuts off "already substandard" wages in 2003.
Hill didn't offer another figure but said managers had "set the bar at a high level when they reward themselves about a quarter of a billion dollars in the space of one year" -- referring to the stock executives got as a reward for the rising share price of American's parent, AMR Corp.
The new president served on the union board from 1998 to 2000 and met Chairman and Chief Executive Gerard Arpey a couple of times but doesn't know him well.
"On a personal note, I think he's a nice man," Hill said. "I think his business philosophy is not much different" from earlier AMR CEOs.
Mike Boyd, an airline industry consultant who has worked for the union, said executive bonuses created the union anger that elected Hill, and airline officials will regret it because they'll have more trouble working with Hill.
"Management really has screwed this up. Two years ago they had collaboration" with the union, Boyd said. "Today, I don't even think they're going to have cooperation."
American Airlines has a long history of troubled labor-management relations, including mass sickouts and a brief strike in the 1990s.
But the two sides came closer together in 2003, when American and AMR teetered on the brink of bankruptcy. American's three unions accepted wage and benefit cuts. Pilots were the strongest supporters of concessions, which they viewed as a necessary sacrifice to save their pensions from being wiped out in bankruptcy.
The labor peace lasted until early 2006, when workers still dealing with wage cuts were outraged to learn the size of stock awards for about 800 management employees, which grew to about $160 million this year.
Wednesday's election "is a clear signal that the pilots' union doesn't have a problem going back to the bad old days of labor-management relations," said airline consultant Stuart Klaskin.
"They feel like back then, they at least had some clout," he said. "In the last couple years, they feel they've been marginalized."

 

[snuba]

We need to do the same at Airtran!!

 

[luckytohaveajob]

And ALPA National. Oh but wait ALPA national is run by Darth Prater who agenda doesn't include the average line pilot, ie age 60 the majority.

 

[ultrarunner]

Good for APA. Time will tell if it makes a difference, but the incumbents were out-voted 2 to 1 or better.

 

[Tejas-Jet]

And ALPA National. Oh but wait ALPA national is run by Darth Prater who agenda doesn't include the average line pilot, ie age 60 the majority.

I think your issue is more with ALPA members than with ALPA elected representatives. If people don't get involved, and they leave it to their elected representatives....then you get....what you have today.

Guys talk a big game on F.I. But so far, how many recall resolutions have been introduced at LEC meetings? How many have passed?

The ALPA guys complained about Duane Woerth for along time, but waited until an election took him out of office. Now guys complain about Prater, and are gonna wait until.....?

ALPA members got a problem with ALPA? I think change starts with the guy you see looking back at you from the mirror.

 

[Captain X]

I think your issue is more with ALPA members than with ALPA elected representatives. If people don't get involved, and they leave it to their elected representatives....then you get....what you have today.

Guys talk a big game on F.I. But so far, how many recall resolutions have been introduced at LEC meetings? How many have passed?

The ALPA guys complained about Duane Woerth for along time, but waited until an election took him out of office. Now guys complain about Prater, and are gonna wait until.....?

ALPA members got a problem with ALPA? I think change starts with the guy you see looking back at you from the mirror.

Well said.

 

[pkober]

I think your issue is more with ALPA members than with ALPA elected representatives. If people don't get involved, and they leave it to their elected representatives....then you get....what you have today.

Guys talk a big game on F.I. But so far, how many recall resolutions have been introduced at LEC meetings? How many have passed?

The ALPA guys complained about Duane Woerth for along time, but waited until an election took him out of office. Now guys complain about Prater, and are gonna wait until.....?

ALPA members got a problem with ALPA? I think change starts with the guy you see looking back at you from the mirror.

Wasn't that a Michael Jackson song from the 1980's?

 

[AAflyer]

Good for APA. Time will tell if it makes a difference, but the incumbents were out-voted 2 to 1 or better.

What is even better is 80+/-% of the pilots got involved and voted. While that number may sound low to some, for this pilot group that is great!

AA

 

[ultrarunner]

What is even better is 80+/-% of the pilots got involved and voted. While that number may sound low to some, for this pilot group that is great!

AA

That is impressive. I did look at the totals and thought it quite high vs. the total on your list.

That kind of percentage is impressive, since as a population we generally don't give a $hit when it comes to voting for anything.

 

[PlaneDrvr]

I think your issue is more with ALPA members than with ALPA elected representatives. If people don't get involved, and they leave it to their elected representatives....then you get....what you have today.

Guys talk a big game on F.I. But so far, how many recall resolutions have been introduced at LEC meetings? How many have passed?

The ALPA guys complained about Duane Woerth for along time, but waited until an election took him out of office. Now guys complain about Prater, and are gonna wait until.....?

ALPA members got a problem with ALPA? I think change starts with the guy you see looking back at you from the mirror.

The problem with you argument is that many got involved and 'repeatedly' Voted Against Changing Age 60, but Capt. (A$$hole) prater and company have the 'own agenda' and wish to go against the 'majority'

An example is that last survey with many many questions written just to try and get the 'results they wanted'

prater was elected to represent the interest of the 'majority' of his membership, but Doesn't care what they Want!!!!!

Any questions about that??

Just my $0.02, so rant away.

DA

 

[PCL_128]

Mr. Hunter and his slate tried to counter the criticism by describing Mr. Hill as a radical who helped start the illegal 1999 sickout that prompted a $45.5 million fine from a federal judge.

Just wonderful.

 

[Yuppyguppy]

Best Of

 

[Yuppyguppy]

Best Of Luck To Amr Pilots. Glad To See A Pro Union Guy In There. Give'em Hell And Get It Back For All Of Us!!!

 

[AAflyer]

Just wonderful.

Once again the boy who does not know history........ Sad...uke:

AA

 

[AA717driver]

Just wonderful.

Fine, PCL, so continue to advocate the path chosen by the Gutless Cocktail Weenies in Herndon. TC

 

[PCL_128]

Once again the boy who does not know history........ Sad...uke:

AA

Alright AAflyer, how 'bout you "school me" on some APA history then? Which of the following facts are not accurate:

1. Was the APA not fined over $45 million?

2. Did the judge, when issuing this fine, not make the following statement: "If the activity and consequent damages continue, when all the dust clears, all the assets of the union, including their strike war chest, will be capable of being safely stored in the overhead bin of a Piper Cub."?

3. Did the judge not find that two-thirds of the APA BOD's members were themselves active participants in this illegal job action?

4. Did the judge not fine the then APA President and Vice-President $15,000 in combined fines?

5. At the height of the illegal job action, did American not have to cancel about half of their flights as a result?


So, "school me" AAflyer. Explain exactly how this turned out well for the American labor movement. Where was the victory? What was gained?

 

[GIII Instructor]

81% vote is really more than 81% meaning; TWA non union pilots probably represent 8 or 9% who were not eligible to vote... figure the last 10% are most likely near retirement.

 

[AAflyer]

Alright AAflyer, how 'bout you "school me" on some APA history then? Which of the following facts are not accurate:

1. Was the APA not fined over $45 million?

2. Did the judge, when issuing this fine, not make the following statement: "If the activity and consequent damages continue, when all the dust clears, all the assets of the union, including their strike war chest, will be capable of being safely stored in the overhead bin of a Piper Cub."?

3. Did the judge not find that two-thirds of the APA BOD's members were themselves active participants in this illegal job action?

4. Did the judge not fine the then APA President and Vice-President $15,000 in combined fines?

5. At the height of the illegal job action, did American not have to cancel about half of their flights as a result?


So, "school me" AAflyer. Explain exactly how this turned out well for the American labor movement. Where was the victory? What was gained?

I have already written to you about this, you choose to ignore it. I am actually getting very tired of your anti-AA bull********************. YOu do not seem to have the same hard on for SWAPA or IPA, or even NPA... Wha did one of our guys ******************** your girlfriend or something.

Considering your background, you choose to use the word unionism as word that "suits" what you want. I am willing to bet you will be first in line to fly the -700 or 900 at your airline. SO, is your bid in?

I am just grateful that your lack of education will never land you at (high school to gulfstream?) reputable airline. God forbid someon like you in any position of power.

Do us all a favor, just stay of the AA threads. Oh ya, real cute picture of you in the USA Today a few weeks back. I loved the fact that you were named as a NWA captain. Did you ever write the paper and let them know they made a mistake.

AA

 

[AAflyer]

Just for you.

Reno Job Action Q and A

The Hunter campaign and their “supporters” can be expected to become more active in spreading disinformation regarding the Reno job action as the National Officer campaigns proceed. Already the “usual suspects”- Hunter operatives well known to the pilot group- are surfacing in pilot forums attempting to revise history and smear Hunter opponents with falsehoods and misinformation. It’s a mirror image strategy and tactic of his last campaign. It remains a desperate attempt to deflect accountability for their own record--one of failure to protect and advance the profession at AA, and Captain Hunter’s historical, consistent performance as a long-time pro-management, anti-pilot advocate.

Here, then, is a brief Q and A regarding the actual TRUTH surrounding the Reno job action, from the memories and records of pilots who were actually “in the room” and part of the APA leadership team that made the hard decisions, created the strategies, and led the fight that ensured Reno Air was integrated and operated in compliance with APA’s Scope clause. This Q and A reflects the perspective of pilots who not only led a difficult job action, but who also negotiated the important follow-on agreements that the Reno fight made possible- including APA’s first Merger and Acquisition policy, the first APA pilot seniority merge template, the Small Jet TA and other agreements that continue to benefit APA’s membership today. When you see or hear the Hunter campaign try to demean the APA leaders of that period, or denigrate their achievements produced under extremely difficult conditions, remember who’s talking. These are the same individuals who utterly failed to deliver comparable protections or benefits to APA’s pilots while in office. Their record is one of inaction or, as in the case of Ralph Hunter himself, unrelenting efforts to undermine the expectations of APA’s pilots, and devalue their hard-won contract.

Below are some of the “sexier” accusations and rumors the Hunter group will try to float, followed by the actual TRUTH of what happened. As we have seen in the past, Hunter and Darrah can’t handle the truth-but the membership deserves it.


Rumor: APA could have arbitrated the Reno Scope violation.

TRUTH: That would have been a fatal mistake. While the language of Scope allowed for arbitration of limited disputes, the purchase of an entire airline, and operating it completely outside of APA’s contract, constituted an abrogation of every sentence in our contract- not just the Scope portion. APA legal advised, and the Board agreed, that to arbitrate AMR’s unilateral violation could have opened up the entire contract to re-interpretation from a “third party“. In view of how dangerous an out-of-control, pro-management judge proved to be ( Kendall ), APA’s decision to avoid subjecting our entire contract to interpretation by such a character was a very smart move.


Rumor: APA’s Board and National Officers were advised by General Counsel that the Reno Scope violation was a “Minor Dispute” and the union was therefore prohibited from engaging in “self help” (job action).

TRUTH: APA’s General Counsel advised APA leadership that the Reno purchase and operation by AMR was a “Major Dispute”, the legal description for a unilateral abrogation of an agreement. Under such circumstances either party is legally entitled to responses up to, and including, self help or lockout.


Rumor: APA admitted in court that the Reno purchase was really a “Minor Dispute”.

TRUTH: APA did stipulate to the legal “Minor Dispute” definition in Kendall ’s court. This was done during the course of the hearings, on advice of counsel, when it appeared that Kendall was eager to decide the “Major vs. Minor dispute” issue for us, and in so doing proceed to open up and rewrite the Scope clause. It cannot be overstated- AMR’s purchase and operation of Reno Air outside of APA’s contract fully satisfied the requirements of a “Major dispute”. APA stipulated to a “minor dispute” in Kendall’s court for only one reason- to keep Kendall ’s hostile hands off our Scope clause. APA leadership had to silently endure angry criticism for “changing their story” from some in APA’s membership while secretly knowing that by doing so they were keeping a hostile judge from damaging the heart of our contract- Scope. For obvious reasons this strategy could not be made public while the issue was still in court, so APA’s leaders took the heat in order to preserve the protections of our Scope clause for our membership. Some who later worked for the Darrah and Hunter administrations knew all of this, but continue to hurl false accusations about the “Major vs. Minor” issue to either protect their own records, or advance a failed candidate in this campaign. This kind of dishonesty is not only dishonorable, it’s the kind of subversion that jeopardizes the strength of our union as a whole, and they are accountable for it.

The FACT is, the Reno Scope violation was always a “Major Dispute”. Period.


Rumor: The Reno job action was illegal.

TRUTH: APA’s response to the continuing Reno violation was based on the fact that Carty’s purchase and operation of Reno Air constituted a breach of the entire APA contract and constituted a “Major Dispute” under the law. Under such conditions, APA had the legal right of self help, up to, and including, a strike. Once Kendall predictably declared the issue a “Minor Dispute“, any continuance of self help would be illegal. Kendall's “contempt” ruling against APA was based on his wildly inaccurate “opinion” that the union was not complying with his Order for pilots to return to work. His measure of the union’s compliance was an initial APA hotline tape he didn’t like, and thereafter primarily based on the daily status of the airline’s flight operations- a condition entirely controlled by AMR management.


Rumor: Kendall had factual grounds to support his ruling of “contempt” against APA.??TRUTH: While Kendall complained that APA’s initial hotline did not meet his order, the fact is that the initial hotline was put on the air before review of counsel because the attorneys were temporarily out of contact- literally en route, aboard aircraft. Pilots hearing about AMR's lawsuit called the union worried that they were “named defendants“. In an attempt to address these concerns, APA’s first hotline stated, incorrectly, that the judge’s order applied only to APA’s National Officers, Board, and Negotiating Committee, but not the line pilots. This was an honest mistake. It should have stated that the AMR lawsuit, which led to Kendall’s TRO, was filed against APA leadership only- but that the judge‘s subsequent order applied to all pilots. This error was corrected hours later after APA’s attorneys were able to review the TRO language, and directed immediate changes to the hotline. In an effort to rapidly comply with the judge’s order, the initial hotline was quickly recorded, which led to an unintentional error. Kendall , of course, made the most of this mistake, falsely accusing the union of subterfuge and promising to bankrupt APA. Such outright hostility and prejudice from a supposedly “neutral” judge is remarkable.??Kendall went on to create more “facts”, unencumbered by reality. He declared that some 200 additional pilots called in sick after his order was issued, and found APA “in contempt” for that as well. What the judge chose to ignore was the fact that instantaneously stopping pilots from calling in sick system wide is like "like turning an aircraft carrier around on a dime". It’s simply not possible- and he knew it (AMR had fully briefed him in advance). The sick list continued to grow, initially ballooning as more pilots called in sick for their upcoming trips during the days of APA‘s initial court appearances. APA had to reach every pilot, irrespective of whether they were scheduled to fly or not, to advise them to clear the sick list if possible. Only after that did the sick list numbers begin to diminish, but Kendall had his red herring and made the most of it.?

Rumor: A number of union officials were still on the sick list after the TRO was issued in defiance of the TRO.

TRUTH: Yes, some were still on the sick list yet to clear, some were sick and remained sick. However, all that could fly, cleared PRIOR to their next trip. After the TRO, none of APA's officers disclosed their status publicly, one way or another, except in some cases, to say that they were clearing and returning to fly. It was AMR management who brought it to Kendall‘s attention, and Hunter/Darrah supporters who continue to try to make an issue of it. The fact is that when directed by the judge, APA began system wide efforts to get pilots back to work.