UAL Jets4Jobs

[blott]

J4J's and CHQ...

When it was put to a vote the first time, we told them to "pound sand". Managment said "we will support whatever decision the pilot group makes".

Right after we said no, news about Republic surfaced. The union(teamsters) said our contract couldn't protect us, but they(teamsters) are trying their best to stop it.

The company said Republic would be cheaper than CHQ cause they would be paid PSA's rates. The union offered to have two pay rates, PSA rates for the j4j guys, and chq rates for the chq guys(50% split seats j4j and chq). And have everyone under chq's current contract rules. The company said no thanks...(I think they are talking about starting with 32, 145's for republic...also chq said they would give the pilot group a 2% raise if we voted yes to j4j)

We have been working on a new contract for 1.5 years. We voted down the last TA, which was a joke. the company doesn't want to come back to the table to talk. They also don't want to give us any retro pay for the last 1.5 years, which we figured is over $4 million the company has saved by stalling with contract talks. They have been holding this whole j4j deal in front of us as bait. etc, etc, etc...

Now...

The union put out a revised j4j deal up for vote a few days ago, which the union strongly supported. The revised j4j is better than the first deal, but still isn't good. Their view is basically this. You have to take a bullet, shoot yourself in the foot? or in the head?

We are trying to stop Republic. If this passes, Alpa said they would support us. They would send their guys to chq instead of Republic. ( we shall see ). There are also a few other good points if this passes, along with some bad. I'm tired of typing, so I'll stop for now.

(on a side note, about the over 50 seat deal, the j4j contract specifically states CRJ's and not EMB's, which the chq teamsters are trying to change the language in the contracts...)

(also, we had a non-formal informational picket outside IND (CHQ's office base) this past weekend. Trying to stop Republic. We could use all of your support, If you see us outside-walking the line in the future, please join in if you have the time, at least say "hello").

B

 

[Brother Francis]

March 28, 2003

Jet for Jobs Ballot Ratification Results



In accordance with IBT Local 747 by-laws, the undersigned hereby certifies the results of the Chautauqua “Immediate Small Jet Agreement” ratification vote as set forth below:

VOTES TO ACCEPT LOA 323

VOTES TO REJECT LOA 33

VOID BALLOTS 35

TOTAL BALLOTS 391

Fraternally yours,

E.E. Sowell

Secretary/Treasurer

 

[nfkealey]

Inform a newbie...

What does this mean for the 40+ per month new hires at CHQ?

 

[CHQ Pilot]

I think a note should be made that the J4Js agreement sent to the pilots at CHQ was not approved by CHQ, U, or ALPA. It was developed with much different terms. In the new J4J proposal, U pilots will not be pay protected at first year Captain rates. 50% of the new vancancies created by J4Js will be U pilots and those vacancies will be split between Captain and FO. U pilots would not get super seniority. They would go at the bottom of the list, meaning although they may be a Captain, they would be bidding at the bottom. The U pilots are only furloughed protected if any reduction in force is not on the U side. If a U pilot bids off the U system at CHQ they are no longer protected by any of the provisions.

The new J4Js proposal was solely offered to stop the formation of Republic. What the Company offered the Pilots in exchange for stopping Republic was accept J4Js, agree to the last TA that we voted down by 95% and have no retro pay. The Union proposed the new agreement in order to attempt to stop Republic without having it tied into a new TA. We did not want to give up our barganning rights to stop Republic. We feel that scope and better language can be put in the next contract without having to accept substandard wages and work rules. I do not feel we are caving into J4Js; nobody likes it. The Union hates it and the pilots hate it, but the idea of having Republic hang over our heads during negotiations and watching our power to get a fair contract go down the tubes became a bigger threat.

 

[Brother Francis]

It's LOA 83, as written.

http://www.afausairways.org/Restructure/alpa_ta2.htm

 

[RUhiring?]

"In the new J4J proposal, U pilots will not be pay protected at first year Captain rates"

FYI...none of the J4J carriers are pay protecting the U furloughees at first year captain rates. That was a provision in the original J4J program negotiated between the U pilots and U Management. However, in the second restructuring, the U MEC removed that provision. So the Express Carriers are not even being asked to accomodate this.

 

[CHQ Pilot]

CHQ pilots voted the first time on the orginal agreement. The pilots were always open to voting on the restructured agreement, but we not offered the chance. My orginal point of the differences was to point out that we were not essentially taking what we voted on the first time. There has been some confusion that we signed off on J4Js in its orginial form. As far as pay protection, the only line about pay for the U pilots came from the original agreement (LOA 81). I have not see anything in LOA 83 that addresses pay, so it has been a little ambigious to how the pay situation would be. If there is an Attachment that states this, then it was never made obvious to the CHQ pilots.

 

[RUhiring?]

It's a shame you had to vote with such limited information. From what I understand, the U pilots now in class with Mesa and Midway are being paid first year captain rates if they were hired to be captains. The pilots hired as FO's are being paid top scale FO rate (13 year, 15 year, or whatever year each contract tops out). If there is someone on this board that is actually in class, perhaps the could confirm or deny this.
In both cases however, their seniority date is the date that they start class with the respective Express carrier.

 

[Brother Francis]

http://www.afausairways.org/Restructure/alpa_ta.htm

ALPA TA Agreement

Attachment A
Revisions to Restructuring Agreement

EFFECTIVE DATE: January 1, 2003

ASSUMPTION: The ALPA Revisions to the Restructuring Agreement as set forth in this Attachment A shall only continue in effect if US Airways Group and the Company, as Debtors in Possession, provide for the assumption of the Agreement as modified by the Restructuring Agreement and by this Attachment A in any plan of reorganization, blah, blah, blah...

JETS FOR JOBS RATES: The Company may implement the following changes to rates of pay for MidAtlantic (“MDA”) and for Jets for Jobs with Participating Wholly Owned Carriers and Participating Affiliates:

1. Non MDA Jets for Jobs rates of pay

a. Captains paid in accordance with the applicable contract with longevity under that contract; no longevity credit for prior US Airways service

b. First Officer rates pay top of scale under applicable contract

2. MDA rates of pay for US Airways pilots

a. Captains paid in accordance with MDA contract blah, blah, blah, blah, blah