c9skytrain
Well-known member
- Joined
- Feb 25, 2003
- Posts
- 149
February 12, 2013
Fellow Pilots,
In the past few days, the MEC has learned of the existence of two previously unknown Memoranda of Understanding (MOU), signed between Southwest Airlines and the prior leadership of the Southwest Airlines Pilots’ Association (SWAPA). Both documents were negotiated and agreed to without the knowledge of or consultation with the ATN MEC or the ATN pilot group.
The first MOU appears to have been agreed to on September 20, 2011, although it was not signed until November, 2011. The ATN MEC, without being informed about those discussions or the MOU itself, sent the current Seniority Integration Agreement (SIA) for membership ratification on September 21, 2011.
This 2011 MOU states that current Southwest Airlines pilots would be awarded any future captain vacancies resulting from the transition of the AirTran B-737 and that the vacancy bid would close no later than the September, 2014, bid period. In essence, this MOU attempts to front-load captain training for Southwest pilots and further states that former AirTran pilots would be excluded because they are barred from holding a captain seat at Southwest prior to January 1, 2015. To put it even more plainly, it potentially provides a mechanism for current Southwest pilots to claim upgrades much more quickly than we thought was likely under the provisions of the three-party SIA.
The second MOU, signed on December 11, 2012, requires the company to establish a Southwest B-737 domicile in Atlanta in August 2013, in exchange for waiving the SIA provision requiring a B-717 domicile with 15 RON aircraft on January 1, 2015. We are still examining its implications and do not want to comment further on the legal issues—under the SIA, for example—until we have completed our analysis.
On many levels, it is unacceptable that Southwest management secretly negotiated an MOU with SWAPA while engaging in three-party talks with us, and that the MOU would run counter to the letter and the intent of the agreed-to SIA. It is also troubling that management then repeated the process this past December, with the domicile MOU.
Yesterday, in a Regular MEC Meeting held in our office, the MEC officers and status representatives communicated our deep dissatisfaction with this course of events to Vice President of Flight Operations Captain Chuck Magill and Senior Vice President of Labor Relations Captain Randy Babbitt. Though we will continue to engage management on this serious issue, it is the intent of your MEC to fully enforce the terms of the SIA agreement as negotiated, and as agreed to by Southwest Airlines, SWAPA and the AirTran pilots. We are working closely with our legal team to explore the full meaning and impact of these newly discovered MOUs, and we will use all of the resources at our disposal to rectify this situation.
In the meantime, it is very important that you continue to perform as the consummate professionals that you have proven to be. It is also imperative to avoid commentary in public or on any forum that can and will be read by Southwest management. The MOUs are attached in this message and posted on the ATN Merger Hub website. Please direct any questions to the P2P volunteers or send e-mails to atnp2pquestions@alpa.org. They are your conduit to the MEC and have been fully briefed on this matter. We will keep you updated as we move forward.
In service,
Your ATN Master Executive Council
Fellow Pilots,
In the past few days, the MEC has learned of the existence of two previously unknown Memoranda of Understanding (MOU), signed between Southwest Airlines and the prior leadership of the Southwest Airlines Pilots’ Association (SWAPA). Both documents were negotiated and agreed to without the knowledge of or consultation with the ATN MEC or the ATN pilot group.
The first MOU appears to have been agreed to on September 20, 2011, although it was not signed until November, 2011. The ATN MEC, without being informed about those discussions or the MOU itself, sent the current Seniority Integration Agreement (SIA) for membership ratification on September 21, 2011.
This 2011 MOU states that current Southwest Airlines pilots would be awarded any future captain vacancies resulting from the transition of the AirTran B-737 and that the vacancy bid would close no later than the September, 2014, bid period. In essence, this MOU attempts to front-load captain training for Southwest pilots and further states that former AirTran pilots would be excluded because they are barred from holding a captain seat at Southwest prior to January 1, 2015. To put it even more plainly, it potentially provides a mechanism for current Southwest pilots to claim upgrades much more quickly than we thought was likely under the provisions of the three-party SIA.
The second MOU, signed on December 11, 2012, requires the company to establish a Southwest B-737 domicile in Atlanta in August 2013, in exchange for waiving the SIA provision requiring a B-717 domicile with 15 RON aircraft on January 1, 2015. We are still examining its implications and do not want to comment further on the legal issues—under the SIA, for example—until we have completed our analysis.
On many levels, it is unacceptable that Southwest management secretly negotiated an MOU with SWAPA while engaging in three-party talks with us, and that the MOU would run counter to the letter and the intent of the agreed-to SIA. It is also troubling that management then repeated the process this past December, with the domicile MOU.
Yesterday, in a Regular MEC Meeting held in our office, the MEC officers and status representatives communicated our deep dissatisfaction with this course of events to Vice President of Flight Operations Captain Chuck Magill and Senior Vice President of Labor Relations Captain Randy Babbitt. Though we will continue to engage management on this serious issue, it is the intent of your MEC to fully enforce the terms of the SIA agreement as negotiated, and as agreed to by Southwest Airlines, SWAPA and the AirTran pilots. We are working closely with our legal team to explore the full meaning and impact of these newly discovered MOUs, and we will use all of the resources at our disposal to rectify this situation.
In the meantime, it is very important that you continue to perform as the consummate professionals that you have proven to be. It is also imperative to avoid commentary in public or on any forum that can and will be read by Southwest management. The MOUs are attached in this message and posted on the ATN Merger Hub website. Please direct any questions to the P2P volunteers or send e-mails to atnp2pquestions@alpa.org. They are your conduit to the MEC and have been fully briefed on this matter. We will keep you updated as we move forward.
In service,
Your ATN Master Executive Council
